Regional Recruitment and Retention of Veterinary Service Delivery for Food Animals (VET) Program | Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAF)

Stream 1: Veterinary practices may apply for up to 100% of eligible costs for one or more of the following activities to a maximum funding amount of $10,000.00:

• Organizing and hosting community/stakeholder engagement meetings and needs assessments.
• Outreach, relationship building, and hosting forums for improved communications between community veterinary clinics and community members in need of food animal veterinary services.

• Enhanced partnership development and establishment of community governance to lead strategic planning and support solutions for delivery of veterinary services for food animals and in rural areas.
• Development of a regional community-based strategic and business plan for improved food animal veterinary services adequately supported by and meeting the needs of regional clients and service providers (practices).
• Development of a strategic business plan for a veterinary practice based on the regional engagement and planning (i.e., development of a business plan for a vet practice to meet the regional/client service needs identified and vetted by engagement sessions).
• Advertising and recruitment campaigns.
• Community-identified and led initiatives in support of recruitment of veterinarians and RVTs to an established partner Veterinary Practice.

Stream 2: Veterinary practices may apply for 80% cost-share reimbursements for one or more of the following activities to a maximum funding amount of $40,000.00:

• Recruitment services to fill veterinarian or RVT vacancies or new positions to support delivery of veterinary services for food-producing animals (to a maximum of $5,000).
• Veterinarian and RVT expenses for visiting the community to participate in job interviews (to a maximum of $5,000).
• Hiring bonuses for newly recruited vets and RVTs that sign contracts (minimum 1-year full-time equivalent) with community veterinary practices that provide services for food-producing animals (can be split between multiple staff members).
• Funding for contracts and agreements (with a minimum duration of 1 year) between community veterinary practices and partners to expand high-demand veterinary services for food-producing animals.
• Establishing or enhancing the delivery of telemedicine for food-producing animals by community veterinary practices (to a maximum of $3,000).
• Other expenses identified by community veterinary practices and partners to facilitate the provision of high-demand veterinary services for food-producing animals may be considered.