The Nursing Education Initiative (NEI) Grant Program is funded by Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) to provide RNs and NPs grants to support their clinical and specialty professional development. All RNs and NPs currently registered to practice in Ontario can apply for grants for eligible professional development education courses. Key Information
- Apply as early as possible. Funds are limited, and late applications will not be considered.
- Complete application packages must be received within 90 days of the course's final class or examination date.
- Each applicant can access a maximum of $1,500 per year.
- The grant calculation is based only on the amount of tuition paid. Other expenses will not be considered.
- Application forms must be supported by appropriate documentation, including: receipts, proof of completion example, and program core course list.
- Applications are scored according to the established MOHLTC evaluation criteria.
- The amount paid in grant(s) is subject to income tax and T4As are issued to recipients for the year in which the grant(s) were paid.
Process Applications must be completed using the secure online form on myRNAO.ca. You do not need to be an RNAO member to register for a free account on myRNAO. Once you have applied, you can monitor the status of your application(s) by logging in to your myRNAO account. Submitted applications that are fully completed, received within 90 days of the end of the course, include the required supporting documents, and meet the MOHLTC criteria will be deemed eligible. Eligible applications are put in a queue for grant calculation and payment. MOHLTC Eligibility criteria: Updated for professional development ending on September 1, 2016 or after
- Applicants can access a maximum of $1,500 in grants per year
- The grant calculation will only consider the tuition paid for the course. Other expenses such as books, course material, salary replacement, student fees, travel, meals, and accommodations are not eligible expenses for the grant
- Completed applications must be received within 90 days of the completion of the course
- The course must meet the MOHLTC eligibility rules below and is subject to the MOHLTC priorities
- Applicants must be registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario and entitled to practise as RNs or NPs, both at the time of their application and while participating in the education session.
Priority is given to:
- Nurses who have not received the maximum $1,500 from the fund in the previous year
- ducation provided at the college/university level leading to a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD degree; conferences, institutes, and other nursing /knowledge exchange forumswill be considered only after grants for post-secondary courses leading to a degree are processed
- RNs and NPs employed in priority employment areas, as defined by MOHLTC
- Nursing education in priority clinical areas, as defined by MOHLTC
Eligible education: Only the following professional development programs are eligible for grants:
- Core courses of post-secondary programs leading to a Bachelor, Master's or PhD degree in nursing, and provided by an accredited college or university (must be on OSAP list).
- Courses that lead to a specialty certificate in a nursing program related to an identified priority clinical specialty, and provided by an accredited college or university (must be on OSAP list).
- Funds may be reserved for workshops and/or courses to support a target group of nurses to become qualified in an area of practice related to key health-care transformation initiatives (ie: independent RN prescribing, primary care full scope of practice, etc.).
- Grant applications for conferences, institutes, and knowledge forums can be submitted. However, they will only be considered on a first-come, first-served basis at the end of the fiscal year, once the grants for post-secondary education have been issued, and if there are remaining funds available.
Grant calculation method Grant calculation will be applied according to a pre-set algorithm (please see examples below):
- The application will be scored according to the MOHLTC criteria.
- A previous funding adjustment factor will be applied to take into account Nursing Education Initiative (NEI) grants received by the applicant in the previous year.
- A funds availability factor will be applied to take into account the funds available for the volume of eligible applications received.