Policy Innovation Partnership Grants in Canada

Focus Areas

• Engaging one or more federal government departments to identify and address public policy needs;
• Conducting long-term research that generates knowledge with the potential to inform federal policy-making;
• Working with, adapting and/or developing comprehensive datasets relevant to the needs of the public policy community and future researchers;
• Improving access and use of research knowledge within Canada’s policy-making communities; and
• Supporting high-quality training experiences for students and/or postdoctoral researchers.

Funding Information

• Grant amount: Up to $6 million
• Duration: Up to 15 years

Uses of the Fund

• Grant funds can be used to compensate project co-ordinator/manager positions, with three restrictions:
  • They cannot be a participant on the grant;
  • They cannot be paid for administrative services that the institution normally provides; and
  • They cannot be paid to conduct research activities.
• Grant funds cannot be used to remunerate team members. This includes postdoctoral fellows serving in any of these capacities.
• Grant funds cannot be used for course release time to allow an individual to engage in research activities.
• Grant funds can be used for consulting fees for expert and/or professional and technical services that contribute directly to the proposed research activities, as long as the service is not provided by a team member or an individual whose status would make them eligible to hold a SSHRC grant.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants
  • Applications must be submitted by an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution. The project director must be affiliated with the host institution (the applicant), and prepares the application on behalf of the host institution and the formal partnership.
  • 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.
  • Postdoctoral researchers and students enrolled in a program of study are not eligible to apply as project directors.
• 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-directors and co-applicants
  • Individuals are eligible to be co-directors or 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.
    • International: postsecondary institution.
  • Postdoctoral researchers who are affiliated with a postsecondary institution are eligible to be co-directors or co-applicants. Students enrolled in a program of study are not eligible to be co-directors or co-applicants.
• Collaborators
  • Any individual who makes a significant contribution to the research program 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.
• Partner organizations
  • At least one partner organization must be a Canadian federal government department. Other partner organizations can be Canadian or international institutions or organizations (public, private, not-for-profit) of any type, including provincial or municipal government departments.

Evaluation Criteria

• Challenge
• Feasibility
• Capability

For more information, visit Government of Canada.