Sponsor

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Program

Connection Grants

Description

Connection Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Research Partnerships program.

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 engage with participants on research issues they value. Events and outreach activities funded by a Connection Grant can often serve as a first step toward more comprehensive and longer-term projects.

Connection Grants support workshops, colloquiums, conferences, forums, summer institutes, documentaries 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.

Only a Canadian institution that holds institutional eligibility can administer funds. However, the intellectual leadership and governance for Connection Grant activities can come from within the research community and/or from within the not-for-profit sectors.

SSHRC welcomes applications involving Indigenous research, as well as those involving research-creation. To this regard, Connection Grants support events and outreach activities related to research-creation and Indigenous research.

Joint Initiatives:

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.

Learn more about joint initiatives.

For a complete list of available joint initiatives, see SSHRC’s funding search tool.

Research Data Management Capacity Building Initiative:

Through this initiative, SSHRC is committed to funding at least 10 meritorious Connection Grant proposals per competition to help the social sciences and humanities research community develop and adopt research data management standards, tools and skills. Learn more about the Research Data Management Capacity Building Initiative.

Unless otherwise indicated, there is no separate application process for most initiatives and supplements. However, candidates must select this initiative on the first page of the application to indicate they wish to be considered for an initiative or a supplement. They also need to explain why they wish to be considered in their application form.

Future Challenge Areas:

SSHRC invites all applicants to review Imagining Canada’s Future’s 16 future global challenges and to consider addressing one or more of these areas in their research proposal. This is not an evaluation criterion for merit review and does not offer additional or dedicated research funds for this funding opportunity.

Eligibility

Review the Eligibility criteria related to subject matter, proposed events and outreach activities, participants and audiences as well as applicant eligibility. 

Funding Availability

Value and Duration:

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.

Matching Funds:

SSHRC will not fund the full cost of any Connection Grant project. Additional support in the form of eligible cash and/or in-kind contributions (excluding registration fees) equivalent to a minimum of 50% of the amount requested from SSHRC must come from sponsoring organizations. For example, an applicant asking SSHRC for $10,000 in funding will have to demonstrate additional support equal to at least $5,000. SSHRC will consider only eligible funds stemming from sponsoring organizations in its calculations of matching funds; Individual contributions will not be considered in the calculation of matching funds.

Applicants must demonstrate their ability to secure at least the minimum matching funding. Applicants must do so by including letters of support from sponsoring organizations that clearly confirm the amounts and types of contributions the organizations are providing for the proposed event or activity. A letter of support must be signed by someone with signing authority for the organization.

Only contributions from sponsoring organizations identified in signed letters of support will count toward the required 50% matching funds. Amounts appearing in letters of support from individuals will not be used in this calculation.

Applicants can draw on complementary funding from SSHRC research grants and/or other research funding agencies but must make clear in their budget proposal that there is no duplication of financial support for the same budget expenses. While such funds can be used in this complementary way, these funds cannot be counted toward the 50% requirement for matching funds.

See SSHRC’s Guidelines for Cash and In-Kind Contributions for more details.

Indirect Costs

There are no indirect costs on the funding provided directly by SSHRC. The external partner(s) funds are subject to the applicable indirect cost rate as specified in the Full Cost of Research Policy.

Special Notes

All applicants for SSHRC funding should consult the following guidelines while preparing their applications:

Deadlines

If College-level review is required, your College will communicate its earlier internal deadlines.

TypeDateNotes
Internal Deadline

February 3 Deadline

PI to submit a signed OR-5 form along with a copy of the full application to research.services@uoguelph.ca.

Please select 'submit' on the SSHRC Portal on or before the internal deadline. 

External Deadline

Application will be submitted to SSHRC electronically by the Research Services Office (RSO).

Internal Deadline

May 1 Deadline

PI to submit a signed OR-5 form along with a copy of the full application to research.services@uoguelph.ca.

Please select 'submit' on the SSHRC Portal on or before the internal deadline.

External Deadline

Application will be submitted to SSHRC electronically by the Research Services Office (RSO).

Internal Deadline

August 1 Deadline

PI to submit a signed OR-5 form along with a copy of the full application to research.services@uoguelph.ca.

Please select 'submit' on the SSHRC Portal on or before the internal deadline. 

External Deadline

Application will be submitted to SSHRC electronically by the Research Services Office (RSO).

Internal Deadline

November 3 Deadline

PI to submit a signed OR-5 form along with a copy of the full application to research.services@uoguelph.ca.

Please select 'submit' on the SSHRC Portal on or before the internal deadline. 

External Deadline

Application will be submitted to SSHRC electronically by the Research Services Office (RSO).

How to Apply

Please see the Connection Grant Application Instructions.

Information For Co-applicants

If you need to meet a deadline set by the lead institution for this opportunity, please ensure that you provide the Office of Research with at least five days notice in advance of the lead institution’s deadline to review the application, or your proposed component of the project. Please be in touch with the Office of Research (contact information below) ahead of the deadline if it looks like it will be difficult for you to submit all the required documentation on time (i.e. budget, proposal, OR-5 Form).

For Questions, please contact

SSHRC

Email: connection@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
Toll-free: 1-855-275-2861

Office of Research

Ariah Easley, Awards & Agreements Officer
Research Services Office
aeasley@uoguelph.ca

Alert Classifications
Category:
Funding Opportunities and Sponsor News

Disciplines:
Humanities
Information and Communications Technology
Social Sciences