PSI Foundation

What PSI Foundation does

PSI Foundation (legally Physicians' Services Incorporated Foundation) is a non-profit, physician-sponsored granting agency established in 1970 by the physicians of Ontario. Its mission is to improve the health of Ontarians by funding health research that emphasizes patient care and supporting the continuing education of practicing physicians. The foundation operates exclusively within the Province of Ontario, awarding grants only to registered charities—primarily hospitals and medical schools—that hold charitable registration numbers under the Federal Income Tax Act. Since inception, PSI has grown its original $16.7M endowment to over $109M, which funds its granting activities.

The foundation's core product is a portfolio of grant programs addressing the physician-researcher career continuum. These include the PSI Research Trainee Award (up to $30,000/year for two years for clinician-scientist trainees), the Resident Research Grant (up to $30,000 for two years for medical residents as principal investigators), New Investigator Grants, Healthcare Research by Community Physicians Grants, Educational Fellowships for Practising Physicians, the Visiting Scholars Program ($15,000/year per institution), and the high-value PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship ($300,000 over two to three years). Applications are submitted through the SmartSimple online grants management system and undergo external peer review before consideration by the PSI Grants Committee.

PSI's business model is endowment-driven: it does not generate commercial revenue but deploys investment returns from its $109M+ endowment to fund grants. Its go-to-market is sales-led in the sense that eligible Ontario institutions and physician-researchers apply through structured competitive processes rather than purchasing products. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors, led by Executive Director Samuel Moore, and operated by a five-person staff team. Strategic priorities, as outlined in the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, emphasize community engagement, impact communication, and integration of diversity and transparency.

Name

PSI Foundation

Legal name

Physicians' Services Incorporated Foundation

Website

https://psifoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PSI Foundation is a physician-sponsored non-profit granting agency established in 1970 that funds Ontario-based health research and physician education through a portfolio of grant programs, supported by a $109M+ endowment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Research Grants

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Health research grants
• Medical education funding
• Physician research grants
• Knowledge translation fellowships
• Clinician scientist training

Headquarters

HQ city

North York

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Physician-sponsored endowment: PSI Foundation is funded through an endowment originally established by the physicians of Ontario in 1970. The foundation has grown its original endowment of $16.7M to over $109M, generating returns that fund grant programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PSI Foundation is a physician-sponsored granting agency that funds health research and medical education in the Province of Ontario. It manages multiple competitive grant and fellowship programs (including Research Trainee Awards, Resident Research Grants, New Investigator Grants, Health Research Grants, Visiting Scholars funding, and Knowledge Translation Fellowships), distributing returns from an endowment that has grown from an original $16.7M to over $109M.

Product overview

PSI Foundation is a physician-sponsored granting agency established in 1970 by the physicians of Ontario. The foundation manages a portfolio of grant programs including the PSI Research Trainee Award (salary support for trainees in Ph.D./M.Sc. programs), PSI Visiting Scholars Program (funds to attract external experts to Ontario institutions), and PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship ($300,000 fellowship for translational research). Additional programs include Health Research Grants for clinical, medical education, and health systems research, New Investigator Grants for early-career researchers, Resident Research Grants (up to $30,000 for medical residents as principal investigators), Healthcare Research by Community Physicians Grants, and Educational Fellowships for Practising Physicians. All applications are submitted through the SmartSimple online grants management system. The foundation's 2022-2025 Strategic Plan focuses on engaging with the community, communicating impact, and integrating diversity and transparency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PSI Research Trainee Award A salary support award providing clinically applicable research training opportunities to highly qualified candidates. Provides up to $30,000 per year for two years to M.D.s licensed by CPSO enrolled in Ph.D. or M.Sc. programs at Ontario universities, combined M.D./Ph.D. or M.D./M.Sc. trainees, or Clinician Investigator Program trainees.
• PSI Visiting Scholars Program A program providing $15,000 per year for hospitals and research institutes in Ontario to attract external expert scholars to address specific priorities identified by the institution and PSI's Grants Committee.
• PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship A fellowship valued at $300,000 over two or three years that protects a promising clinician's research time, allowing the Fellow to undertake high-impact translational research in Ontario. Since 2012, PSI has invested $5.7 million in this fellowship program.
• PSI Mid-Career Knowledge Translation Fellowship

Quantifiable outcome

• PSI invested $6.3 million total in knowledge translation research supporting 21 clinician researchers in Ontario since 2012
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Health Research Alliance (HRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSI Foundation achieved historic milestone as the first non-American member to join the Health Research Alliance, connecting with a network of leading health research funding organizations.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Greenwall Foundation:
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Major US health-focused philanthropy funding research and health system transformation. Comparable to PSI's Health Systems Research stream and KT Fellowship in targeting evidence-based improvements to healthcare delivery, though operates nationally with a multi-billion-dollar endowment.
• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation - Medical Research Program: US-based foundation funding physician-scientists and clinical research through competitive grants. PSI is a direct peer as a member-funded research foundation supporting clinician-researchers, but at a much larger scale (~$1.4B endowment) and US national footprint.

Others

• Health Research Alliance: A membership alliance of nonprofit health research funders where PSI became the first non-American member in 2021. Peer organizations within HRA include Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and RWJF, all of which pool best practices, share peer reviewer databases, and run joint programs relevant to PSI's operational model.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): Canada's primary federal health research funding agency. Operates with a vastly larger budget (over $1B annually) and broader mandate, but serves overlapping Ontario physician-researcher applicants with Project and Tri-Council grants that compete directly with PSI's New Investigator and Health Research Grants.

Regional players

• Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF): Saskatchewan's provincial health research funding agency offering establishment grants, KT funding, and research trainee awards. Mirrors PSI's career-continuum approach but is regionally focused on Saskatchewan, providing a useful comparable for provincial grantmaking models.
• Alberta Innovates Health Innovations: Alberta's health research funding arm within Alberta Innovates, supporting clinician-researchers and health system innovation. Comparable to PSI in targeting provincial physician-researchers but operates in a different provincial ecosystem with corporate and tech-transfer dimensions.
• Michael Smith Health Research BC: British Columbia's provincial health research funder with a comparable model of trainee awards, KT support, and health system research grants. Comparable in scale and structure to PSI but serves a different province, making it a strong functional peer and regional benchmark.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PSIFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/physicians-services-incorporated-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PSI Foundation