Insight Development Grants Program – Canada

Deadline: 2-Feb-23

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has announced the applications for the Insight Development Grants Program to support research in its initial stages.

The grants enable the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and/or ideas. Funding is provided for short-term research development projects of up to two years that are proposed by individuals or teams.

Insight Development Grants foster research in its early stages, but are not intended to support large-scale initiatives. Long-term support for research is offered through SSHRC’s Insight Grants.

SSHRC collaborates with organizations from across the not-for-profit, private and public sectors to support and promote training, research and connection activities in the social sciences and humanities. SSHRC’s joint initiatives are designed to reflect its strategic objectives and mandate, inform decision-makers, and, in certain cases, address specific needs of its partners.

Categories

Funding is available for two distinct categories of scholars:
- Emerging scholars who will develop new research questions and/or approaches. Such projects may build on and further the applicant’s (or team’s) graduate work and/or represent a continuation of their overall research trajectory.
- Established scholars who will explore new research questions and/or approaches that are distinct from the applicant’s previous/ongoing research. Research projects should be clearly delimited and in the early stages of the research process. Insight Development Grant funding is not intended to support ongoing research for established scholars.

Funding Information

Insight Development Grants are valued at $7,000 to $75,000 over one to two years. A minimum budget of $7,000 is required in at least one of the years.
For the current competition, at least 50% of funds will be reserved for applications from emerging scholars.

Eligibility Criteria

Applications can be submitted by an individual researcher or a team of researchers (consisting of one applicant and one or more co-applicants and/or collaborators).
Applicants (except postdoctoral researchers and PhD students) must be affiliated with a Canadian institution that holds institutional eligibility at the time of application and before funding can be released. Researchers who maintain an affiliation with a Canadian institution, but whose primary affiliation is with a non-Canadian postsecondary institution, are not eligible for applicant status.
Applicants 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.
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.
If the proposal falls within the mandate of the federal government and the research or research-related activity is performed in government facilities, funding can be allocated for student salaries or stipends and travel costs only.
Postdoctoral researchers are eligible to be applicants for this grant. However, for SSHRC to release grant funds, successful applicants must formally establish an affiliation with a Canadian institution that hold institutional eligibility within three months of the grant start date (i.e., by September 2023 for the current competition), and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.
Students enrolled in a program of study are not eligible to apply. However, a PhD candidate is eligible to apply 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; and
- establish a formal affiliation with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution within three months of the grant start date (i.e., by September 2023 for the current competition), and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.