SSHRC inviting Applications for Impact Awards 2020 (Canada)

Deadline: 1 April 2020

Applications are now open for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Impact Awards to build on and sustain Canada’s research-based knowledge culture in all research areas of the social sciences and humanities.

The awards recognize outstanding researchers and celebrate their research achievements, research training, knowledge mobilization, and outreach activities funded partially or entirely by SSHRC.

Award funds are to be used for activities that promote and further develop the work being honoured. In recognition of the crucial role post secondary institutions play in mobilizing research knowledge, at least 10 per cent of each award must be used to promote the recipient’s research achievements. Individual recipients and their institutions may choose to devote additional funds, including a higher percentage of the award funds, to these activities.

Funding Information

Eligible institutions are invited to put forward nominations for the:

• Gold Medal ($100,000);
• Talent Award ($50,000);
• Insight Award ($50,000);
• Connection Award ($50,000);
• Partnership Award ($50,000).

Eligibility Criteria

A nominee must:

• Be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada at the time of nomination;
• Be an active social sciences and humanities researcher or student;
• Hold or have held SSHRC funding pertinent to the award category;
• Be in good standing with SSHRC;
• Be affiliated with an eligible institution; and
• Maintain affiliation with an eligible institution for the duration of the Impact Award.

Nominees:

• Cannot nominate themselves;
• Can be nominated in two sequential years for the same award, following which two years must pass before they can be nominated in the same category;
• Can be nominated in only one category in any year; and
• Can be nominated in a subsequent year for a different SSHRC Impact Award.

Note: Current members of SSHRC’s governing council, previous Gold Medal winners, as well as Impact Awards jury members, are not eligible to be nominated.

Nomination Process

Eligible institutions are invited to put forward nominations for all SSHRC Impact Award categories. Each institution may submit only one nomination for each award in a given year, up to a maximum of five SSHRC Impact Award nominations. Institutions must provide the name and co-ordinates of a contact person to whom all inquiries and correspondence, including results, will be sent.

Note: A multidisciplinary jury made up of individuals from academia and the private, public and not-for-profit sectors reviews award nominations. Institutions are, therefore, encouraged to use plain language when preparing nomination packages.

Selection Criteria

• Gold Medal ($100,000)
  • Challenge—ambition and importance (25%):
    • Originality and significance of the body of work within the nominee’s fields of research.
  • Achievements—impact and outcomes (75%):
    • Evidence of the sustained quality, impact and influence of the nominee’s research achievements within and/or beyond the academic community;
    • Level of nominee’s engagement with, and quality of training and mentoring provided to, students,
    • Emerging scholars and participants, relative to the nominee’s career level;
    • Nominee’s national and/or international stature;
    • Nominee’s commitment, creativity and successes in sharing research knowledge within and/or beyond the academic community; and
    • Nominee’s overall contribution to knowledge.
• Talent Award ($50,000)
  • Challenge—ambition and importance (25%):
    • Originality and significance of the body of work within the nominee’s fields of research.
  • Achievements—impact and outcomes (75%):
    • Originality and significance of nominee’s body of academic achievement and research, including quality of publications relative to stage of career;
    • Evidence of impact of the nominee’s work within their fields of research and/or beyond the social sciences and humanities research community;
    • Nominee’s ability and commitment to communicate research results within and/or beyond the academic community;
    • Level of nominee’s engagement with, and quality of training and mentoring provided to, students, emerging scholars and participants, relative to the nominee’s career level; and
    • Nominee’s demonstrated potential for leadership and societal contributions within and/or beyond the academic community.
• Insight Award ($50,000)
  • Challenge—ambition and importance (25%):
    • Originality and significance of the body of work within the nominee’s fields of research.
  • Achievements—impact and outcomes (75%):
    • Evidence of contributions within the nominee’s fields of research, including, but not limited to, scholarly literature, and other knowledge mobilization contributions, such as commissioned reports, professional practice, public discourse, public policies, products and services, experience in collaboration, etc.;
    • Level of nominee’s engagement with, and quality of training and mentoring provided to, students, emerging scholars and participants, relative to the nominee’s career level; and
    • Evidence of influence and impact on research and/or societal outcomes.
• Connection Award ($50,000)
  • Challenge—ambition and importance (25%):
    • Originality and significance of the initiative within the nominee’s fields of research.
  • Achievements—impact and outcomes (75%):
    • • Effectiveness of research knowledge dissemination/exchange within the nominee’s fields of research and/or beyond the social sciences and humanities research community;
      • Evidence of contributions, including, but not limited to, scholarly literature and other knowledge mobilization contributions, such as commissioned reports, professional practice, public discourse, public policies, products and services, experience in collaboration, etc.;
      • Level of nominee’s engagement with, and quality of training and mentoring provided to, students, emerging scholars and participants, relative to nominee’s career level; and
      • Evidence of influence and impact on research and/or societal outcomes.
• Partnership Award ($50,000)
  • Challenge—ambition and importance (25%):
    • Originality and significance of the partnership within the nominee’s fields of research.
  • Achievements—impact and outcomes (75%):
    • • Evidence of mutual co-operation and sharing of intellectual leadership and resources within the nominee’s fields of research and/or beyond the social sciences and humanities research community;
      • Quality of partnership, including shared engagement and ownership;
      • Evidence of contributions, including, but not limited to, scholarly literature, and/or other knowledge mobilization contributions, such as commissioned reports, professional practice, public discourse, public policies, products and services, experience in collaboration, etc.;
      • Level of nominee’s engagement with, and quality of training and mentoring provided to, students, emerging scholars and participants, relative to the nominee’s career level; and
      • Evidence of influence and impact on research and/or societal outcomes.

For more information, visit https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/impact_awards-prix_impacts-eng.aspx