SSHRC announces Connection Grants in Canada

Deadline: 1-Aug-23

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) is seeking applications for the Connection Grants to 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.

These grants support events and outreach activities geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives. These events and activities represent opportunities to exchange knowledge and to engage with participants on research issues of value to them. Events and outreach activities funded by a Connection Grant can often serve as a first step toward more comprehensive and longer-term projects.

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.

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.

Eligibility Criteria

• Subject matter
  • Most SSHRC funding is awarded through open competitions. Proposals can involve any disciplines, thematic areas, approaches or subject areas eligible for SSHRC funding. See the guidelines on subject matter eligibility for more information.
  • Projects whose primary objective is to conduct research activities (e.g., literature reviews, field work, data collection, interviews) or to develop stand-alone volumes are not eligible for funding under this funding opportunity.
• Proposed events and outreach activities
  • All activities must take place within 12 months of the start date indicated on the notice of award (see decision dates in the funding cycle schedule).
  • Proposed events and outreach activities must produce timely and concrete deliverables, such as conference proceedings or other knowledge products developed for traditional formats and/or employing digital and/or multimedia formats (unless specifically intended to create new, longer-term linkages or to initiate collaboration).
  • Proposed events and outreach activities can be one-time encounters or catalysts designed to lead to longer-term partnerships and/or sustained programs of scholarly research.
• Events
  • Events are short-term activities that are usually completed in a week or less (e.g., a two-day conference or a one-week workshop). The bulk of the activities will happen within this short period. As part of the overall proposal, applicants can request support for longer-term activities directly related to the event (e.g., developing proceedings, publications or reports, or other forms of knowledge synthesis).
  • Proposed events can be:
    • face-to-face or involve virtual interaction;
    • discipline-specific, or cross-disciplinary and/or cross-sectoral; and
    • open- or closed-invitation.
• Outreach activities
  • Proposed outreach activities must be designed to engage a broader public in social sciences and humanities knowledge through one or a combination of the following: knowledge dissemination, transfer, brokering, translation, synthesis, exchange, networking or co-creation beyond what would typically be achieved through an event. 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);
    • summer schools/institutes;
    • 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.
  • Projects can occur in Canada or abroad. If a proposed project is to occur abroad, the applicant must justify the project’s potential to mobilize Canadian research on an international stage, and why the project must happen outside Canada.
  • Connection Grants are intended to support applicants and project directors who are running a knowledge mobilization event or outreach activity. Applicants must provide evidence that they are playing an active and significant role in the organization and delivery of the event or outreach activity.
• 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 institutions; not-for-profit organizations; philanthropic foundations; think tanks; or municipal, territorial or provincial governments; or
    • International postsecondary institution.

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.

For more information, visit Connection Grants.