Funding Opportunities
Aid to Small Universities (ASU)
| Next application deadline |
Value |
Duration |
Results announced |
Apply |
| December 1, 2010 |
Up to $30,000 per annum |
3 years |
End of March 2011 |
Application form not available
|
Objectives
Description
Value and Duration
Eligibility
Evaluation and Adjudication
Administrative Regulations
More Information
Objectives
The objective of this program is to enable small universities to develop
and strengthen focused research capacity in the social sciences and humanities.
Description
Grants are awarded on a competitive basis for a three-year period.
Examples of activities that the ASU program supports:
- start-up costs/partial funding of research centres;
- stipends to doctoral students, provided the program of studies is
related to the ASU grant;
- agenda-setting seminars;
- visiting scholars (travel and stipend);
- organization of colloquia or symposia;
- seed funding for collaborative research or the development of partnerships.
Value and Duration
The maximum value of a grant is $30,000 per year for three years. Each
university must justify its grant request, and the amount requested is
subject to review.
Note: The ASU is not intended to provide sustaining support to
institutions, nor is it intended as an alternative to SSHRC's national
grants programs. Therefore, SSHRC limits support of research infrastructure,
such as centres and institutes, to six years.
Eligibility
To be eligible for this program, an institution must meet a number of
criteria:
-
a) be an institutional member of the
Association
of Universities and Colleges of Canada
(AUCC);
or
b) be an institutional member of the AUCC, and be affiliated with
an institution itself too large to be eligible for the ASU Program,
and operate in a cultural environment, substantially different from
that of the larger parent institution;
-
have active degree-granting status for social sciences and humanities
disciplines at the undergraduate level or beyond;
-
have fewer than 250 full-time faculty in SSHRC fields;
-
be independent of the federal government for the purpose of faculty
employment status.
Evaluation and Adjudication
SSHRC adjudicates all ASU grant applications, and awards all available
funds, through a competitive process. A selection committee of senior
SSHRC officers and scholars from the research community evaluates each
application. Grants are awarded on the basis of the institution's development
plan and its inclusion of the following elements:
1. Research concentration — a review and assessment of:
- the most promising areas of concentration;
- options for new areas of concentration;
- areas already selected and supported with ASU funds;
- the continuing needs of these areas; and
- the expected time frame for autonomy from ASU support.
2. Strategies (funding opportunities) — details on the various
strategies that will be used to strengthen research capacities in the
selected areas of concentration.
3. Focus points or research centres — where appropriate,
a review and assessment of:
- plans to support focus points or research centres; and
- milestones in the movement of these toward their potential as areas
of research concentration.
4. Appropriateness of funds requested from SSHRC.
Administrative Regulations
All applicants and grant holders must comply with the
Regulations
Governing Grant Applications
and with the regulations set out in the
Grant Holder's Guide
.
More Information
Please address questions about the Aid to Small Universities program
to:
Lorraine Anderson
Team Leader
Research and Dissemination Grants Division
SSHRC
350 Albert Street
PO Box 1610
Ottawa, ON K1P 6G4
Tel.: 613-947-4233
Fax: 613-992-7635
Email:
lorraine.anderson@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca