Applications open for Connection Grants (Canada)

Connection Grants support workshops, colloquiums, conferences, forums, summer institutes 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;
• intersectoral 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.

Objectives

• Connection Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Research Partnerships program.
• The objectives of the Research Partnerships program are to:
  • strengthen knowledge and understanding by leveraging perspectives from across multiple disciplines and sectors;
  • support collaboration among postsecondary institutions, and between postsecondary institutions and organizations from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, to co-create knowledge and increase use of research outputs;
  • mobilize research knowledge, within academia and other sectors, that can lead to intellectual, cultural, social and economic outputs and outcomes;
  • increase the accessibility and use of research knowledge within and beyond the postsecondary sector; and
  • support a high-quality training experience for students and/or postdoctoral researchers.

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.
• SSHRC is willing to consider amounts higher than $50,000, although such applications must satisfactorily justify the need for the higher amount, as well as provide evidence the entire award can be managed within the one-year timeframe.

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;
  • 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

• Although applicants can apply for Connection Grants to support eligible events and outreach activities organized by academic associations, 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

• Participants and audiences
  • Participants or audiences, in Canada and abroad, for both events and outreach activities, can include, among others:
  • academic researchers;
  • non-academic researchers;
  • policy-makers;
  • professional practitioners;
  • representatives from public, private or not-for-profit organizations;
  • representatives from community-based, local or regional non-academic organizations; and/or
  • students at all levels.
• Applicants
  • Applications can be submitted by institutions or by individual applicants and teams (consisting of one applicant or project director and one or more co-applicants and/or collaborators).
  • Institutional Connection Grant applications must be submitted by a Canadian institution that holds institutional eligibility to conduct an event, an outreach activity or a combination of the two that allows the institution to achieve strategic objectives relevant to its mission and mandate. The project director must be affiliated with the host institution (the applicant), prepare the application on behalf of the host institution and be responsible for the overall leadership of the project. The term “institution” from this point on in this description refers to both postsecondary institutions and not‑for‑profit organizations.
  • Individual Connection Grant applicants (except postdoctoral researchers) must be affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution that holds institutional eligibility at the time of application. Applicants conduct an event, outreach activity or a combination of the two that primarily falls in their areas of expertise and will allow them to make a significant contribution to their field of research. In the case of a team approach, all team members must meet the eligibility criteria specific to their role.
  • Postdoctoral researchers are eligible to be applicants or project directors if they have formally established an affiliation with an eligible institution within three months of the grant start date and maintain this affiliation for the duration of the grant period Postdoctoral researchers should consult the Resarch Grants Office of the eligible institution(s) at which they will be seeking affiliation early in the process to confirm that administration of the grant is possible.
  • Federal scientists who are affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution must demonstrate that their proposed research or research-related activity is not related to either the mandate of their employer or the normal duties for which they receive payment from that employer.
• Institutions
  • Grant funds can be administered only by an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution. Institutions proposing to administer a grant awarded under this funding opportunity must hold or obtain institutional eligibility.
• Co-applicants
  • Individuals (including postdoctoral researchers) are eligible to be co-applicants if they are formally affiliated with any of the following:
    • Canadian eligible postsecondary institution; not-for-profit organization; philanthropic foundation; think tank; or municipal, territorial or provincial government; or International postsecondary institution.
• Collaborators
  • Any individual who makes a significant contribution to the project is eligible to be a collaborator. Collaborators do not need to be affiliated with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution.
  • Individuals from the private sector or federal government can participate only as collaborators.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Researchers who maintain an affiliation with a Canadian postsecondary institution, but whose primary affiliation is with a non-Canadian postsecondary institution, are not eligible for applicant or project director status.
• Applicants or project directors who have received a SSHRC grant of any type but have failed to submit an achievement report by the deadline specified in their Notice of Award are not eligible to apply for another SSHRC grant until they have submitted the report.
• Students enrolled in a program of study are not eligible to apply.
• Connection Grant proposals led by students can be submitted, provided the proposals involve both students and researchers and are submitted on behalf of the student by a faculty member at an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution. Students can be collaborators, but not co-applicants. Students who are collaborators on a project team cannot be paid a stipend or wage by the grant.

For more information, visit SSHRC.