Indigenous Capacity and Leadership in Research Connection Grants (Canada)

The events and activities funded represent opportunities to engage and exchange knowledge on successful ways of conducting Indigenous research that are transformative and contribute to Indigenous-led research, including wholistic and distinctions-based approaches.

Aims

• Support the research priorities of Indigenous Peoples;
• Champion Indigenous leadership, self-determination and capacity in research, to the benefit of Indigenous communities;
• Increase awareness and understanding of Indigenous researchers, students and communities;
• Recognize Indigenous ways of knowing as an integral part of valid and authoritative research;
• Support Indigenous-led strategies and structures that address respectful and mutually beneficial data management and intellectual property rights in Indigenous research; and
• Decolonize Indigenous research through the development of clear structures and resources for Indigenous Peoples to grow research capacity, including creating greater accessibility to granting agency program funding.

Focus Areas

• Building relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples
• Supporting research priorities of Indigenous Peoples
• Creating greater funding accessibility to granting agency programs
• Championing Indigenous leadership, self-determination and capacity-building in research

Themes

• Supporting Indigenous Talent and Research Careers
• Engaging Indigenous Knowledge
• Strengthening Indigenous Capacity and Leadership in Research
• Fostering Mutually Respectful Relationships

Funding Information

• Grant amount: Up to $50,000
• Duration: 1 Year (with option to extend by one year with no additional funding)

Expected Outcomes

• Supporting knowledge mobilization and translation by Métis and First Nations researchers and community members at Indigenous not-for-profit organizations and postsecondary institutions;
• Strengthening knowledge and understanding by leveraging perspectives from across multiple disciplines, sectors and ways of knowing;
• Supporting First Nations and Métis leadership and capacity-building;
• Strengthening Métis and First Nations research capacities by supporting training activities within their communities, at Indigenous postsecondary institutions and at Indigenous not-for-profit organizations;
• Supporting development and growth of First Nations and Métis-led strategies and structures aligned with research data management practices and intellectual property rights in Indigenous research;
• Generating research outputs by communities, nations, institutions and organizations that address Métis and First Nations’ needs;
• Integrating reciprocity as essential to research methodology, planning and outcomes.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants and Institutions:
  • ICLR Connection Grant applications can be submitted by institutions or by individual applicants. Each application can be submitted by a team of researchers (consisting of one project director and one or more co-directors, co-applicants and/or collaborators). In the case of partnerships, the project director prepares the application on behalf of the partner organizations of the partnership.
  • Institutional ICLR Connection Grant applications must be submitted by an Indigenous institution in Canada that holds or is already in the process of applying for institutional eligibility, whether an Indigenous not-for-profit or Indigenous postsecondary institution (college or university), to conduct an event, outreach activity or combination of the two that allows the eligible institution to achieve the strategic objectives relevant to this funding opportunity.
  • Individual ICLR Connection Grant applications must be submitted by an individual (project director) affiliated with an eligible Indigenous institution in Canada that holds or is already in the process of applying for institutional eligibility, whether an Indigenous not-for-profit or Indigenous postsecondary institution (college or university) to conduct an event, outreach activity or combination of the two that primarily falls within the project director’s area of expertise and will allow them to make a significant contribution to their field of research. The project director and their team (consisting of one or more co-directors, co-applicants and/or collaborators) must each meet the eligibility criteria specific to their role.
  • Researchers whose primary affiliation is with a non-Canadian institution (not-for-profit or postsecondary) are not eligible for project director status.
  • Project directors must be affiliated with an eligible Canadian institution (Indigenous postsecondary institution or Indigenous not-for-profit organization) that holds institutional eligibility.
  • Students enrolled in a program of study are not eligible to apply. However, a PhD candidate is eligible to apply as a project director if they:
    • Will have met all requirements for the PhD before the grant is awarded, including all course work and successful defence of their dissertation;
    • Establish a formal affiliation with an eligible Indigenous postsecondary institution in Canada within five months of the grant start date, and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.

Evaluation Criteria

• Challenge
• Feasibility
• Capability

For more information, visit Government of Canada.