Apply now for Connection Grants Program 2025 (Canada)

Connection Grants support workshops, colloquiums, conferences, forums, summer institutes, documentaries or other events or outreach activities that facilitate:

• disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary exchanges in the social sciences and humanities;
• scholarly exchanges between those working in the social sciences and humanities and those working in other research fields;
• interpectoral exchanges between academic researchers in the social sciences and humanities and researchers and practitioners from the public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors; and/or
• international research collaboration and scholarly exchanges with researchers, students and non-academic partners from other countries.

Funding Information

• Connection Grants supporting events are valued at $7,000 to $25,000 over one year.
• Connection Grants supporting outreach activities are valued at $7,000 to $50,000 over one year.
• A minimum request of $7,000 is required.

Eligible Activities

• Proposed activities can include, but are not limited to:
  • adaptation (including translation, for example, into French, English or Indigenous languages) of texts or presentations for the purpose of broader knowledge mobilization to different audiences;
  • development of policy briefs, knowledge syntheses and scoping reviews;
  • development of articles for print or online publication in newspapers or weekly or monthly magazines whether specialized or general interest;
  • virtual networking;
  • media events (such as television/radio presentations);
  • speaker series;
  • public debates;
  • documentaries;
  • artistic exhibits, performances or festivals;
  • development/use of interactive technologies, audiovisual products or software; and/or
  • development/use of educational aids, instruments or equipment.

Ineligible Activities

• the following association activities are not eligible for funding:
  • annual general meetings or any other activity directly related to an association’s business meetings;
  • book launches or similar report dissemination;
  • receptions for association members; and
  • any activities normally paid for by the association’s operating fees.

Eligibility Criteria

• Most SSHRC funding is awarded through open competitions. Proposals can involve any disciplines, thematic areas, approaches or subject areas eligible for SSHRC funding.
• Projects whose primary objective is to conduct research activities (e.g., literature reviews, field work, data collection, interviews) or to develop stand-alone volumes, curriculum development, or preparation of teaching materials are not eligible for funding under this funding opportunity.

Evaluation Criteria

• The following criteria and scoring scheme are used to evaluate the applications:
  • Challenge – The aim and importance of the endeavor (40%):
    • originality, significance and expected contribution to the preservation of, access to and/or mobilization of research knowledge;
    • quality of the proposed project and appropriateness of the approach;
    • quality and significance of the research being mobilized;
    • quality of training and mentoring to be provided to students, emerging scholars and other highly qualified personnel, and opportunities for them to contribute; and
    • potential for the project results to have influence and impact within and/or beyond the social sciences and humanities research community.
  • Feasibility – The plan to achieve excellence (30%):
    • appropriateness of the proposed timeline and probability that the objectives will be met;
    • appropriateness of the requested budget and justification of proposed costs; and
    • indications of other planned resources including leveraging of cash and in-kind support from other sources.
  • Capability – The expertise to succeed (30%):
    • quality, quantity and significance of past experience and published and/or creative outputs of the applicant / project director and any co-applicants relative to their roles in the event or activity and the stage of their career;
    • evidence of past knowledge mobilization activities (e.g., films, performances, commissioned reports, knowledge syntheses, experience in collaboration / other interactions with stakeholders, contributions to public debate and the media) and of impacts on professional practice, social services and policies, etc.; and
    • quality and quantity of past contributions to the training and mentoring of students, postdoctoral researchers and other highly qualified personnel.

For more information, visit Government of Canada.