Sport Participation Research Initiative
2011-2012 Competitions
A Joint Initiative of SSHRC and Sport Canada
| Application deadline |
Value |
Duration |
Results announced |
Apply |
| Insight Development Grants
February 1, 2012 |
$7,000 up to $75,000 |
1 to 2 years |
June 2012 |
See details under Description below |
| Insight Grants
October 15, 2011 |
$7,000 up to $100,000 annually, to a maximum of $250,000 over three years |
3 to 5 years |
March 2012 |
See details under Description below |
Postdoctoral Fellowship Supplements
October 6, 2011 |
$10,000 in addition to the value of the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship |
12 months |
June 2012 |
See details under Description below |
Doctoral Award Supplements
For applicants registered at a Canadian postsecondary institution,
the institution sets the deadline. For all other applicants, the deadline is November 7, 2011. |
$10,000 in addition to the value of the doctoral award |
12 months |
June 2012 |
See details under Description below |
Context
Objectives
Description
Value and Duration
Eligibility
Evaluation and Adjudication
Administrative Regulations and Related Information
Contact Information
Context
Participation in sport is widely accepted as contributing powerfully to personal and social development. The physical exercise involved in sports is a vital component of a healthy lifestyle that helps promote personal well-being and prevent disease, while the social dimensions of such participation contribute to stronger, more cohesive communities.
Despite these benefits, over the past decade Canadians’ participation in sport has declined significantly. Research and public enquiry have also raised concerns about the quality of the experience of participating in sport. The federal government’s Canadian Sport Policy (PDF document, 380 KB), published in 2002, recognizes the importance of research-based knowledge to address this decline in sport participation. Halting and reversing this decline will require the systematic application of such knowledge.
Accordingly, Sport Canada, a branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage, in consultation with the sport research community, the policy research community and the federal research granting agencies, is building Canada's capacity to conduct research on and related to participation in sport.
The joint Sport Participation Research Initiative (SPRI) supports this objective by funding selected doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers and postsecondary institution-affiliated researchers to conduct research on matters related to enhancing participation in sport in Canada.
Objectives
This initiative has two broad objectives:
- to promote Canadian research that will develop better understanding, based on empirical evidence, of Canadians' participation in sport, in order to better inform programs and policies intended to promote and enhance Canadians' participation in sport; and
- to build Canada's capacity to conduct research on and related to participation in sport, specifically in the target areas described below.
To help achieve these objectives, all SPRI grant and award holders are expected to participate in an annual Sport Canada Research Initiative conference as a condition of holding their grant or award.
Description
The initiative offers three separate funding mechanisms to support research on participation in sport in Canada.
Research Grants
The partners seek to stimulate short- and long-term research in sport participation in Canada by increasing the funding available through the Insight Development Grants and Insight Grants funding opportunities.
Sport Canada considers for funding applications that propose programs of research relevant to its policy priorities and that SSHRC adjudication committees have recommended for funding, but that, due to budgetary constraints, do not receive an Insight Development Grant or Insight Grant.
Note that the initiative is designed to complement, not replace, existing SSHRC support for sport participation research offered through the Insight program.
Postdoctoral Fellowship Supplements
Applicants for a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship who indicate their interest on the application form and who are working in one or more of the target areas identified below will be considered for a Sport Canada Postdoctoral Fellowship Supplement.
Only applications that are recommended for funding at SSHRC are referred to Sport Canada. Postdoctoral researchers who already hold a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship are ineligible to apply for this supplement. If interested, please contact the Research Training Portfolio.
Doctoral Award Supplements
Applicants for a SSHRC doctoral award who indicate their interest on the application form and who are working in one or more of the target areas identified below will be considered for a Sport Canada Doctoral Award Supplement.
Only applications that are recommended for funding at SSHRC are referred to Sport Canada. Those who already hold a SSHRC doctoral award are ineligible to apply for this supplement. If interested, please contact the Research Training Portfolio.
Target Areas
For all three awards—Research Grant, Postdoctoral Fellowship Supplement and Doctoral Award Supplement—the partners invite proposals that address the broad objectives described above and that focus on one or more of the following specific areas of research:
- identification and overcoming of barriers to participation in sport;
- training of participants, volunteers, coaches and administrators in sport;
- development, monitoring and evaluation of policies designed to enhance participation in sport;
- development of capacity and infrastructure that will enhance participation in sport; and
- identification and assessment of the benefits and outcomes of participation in sport.
Value and Duration
Research Grants
SPRI Research Grants are available for Insight Grant applications and are worth up to a maximum of $100,000 annually, but not totaling more than $250,000 in a three-year period.
Insight Grant applicants who request funding for up to five years and for more than $250,000 via the Insight Grant application may also be considered for SPRI funding. Those applicants will be requested to resubmit an adjusted three-year budget.
SPRI Research Grants are also available through the Insight Development Grants funding opportunity. These grants have a maximum value of $75,000 over one to two years.
For both funding opportunities, a minimum requested budget of $7,000 is required for at least one year of the project.
Postdoctoral Fellowship Supplements
SPRI Postdoctoral Fellowship Supplements are tenable for 12 months and are worth $10,000, in addition to the annual value of the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Doctoral Award Supplements
SPRI Doctoral Award Supplements are tenable for 12 months and are worth up to $10,000, in addition to the annual value of the SSHRC doctoral award.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for and maintain SPRI funding, all grant and award holders are expected to meet and follow program funding conditions determined by Sport Canada, in addition to the eligibility requirements outlined below for each specific type of grant or award. Applications submitted to SSHRC that would be more appropriately evaluated by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research will not be accepted. To determine if your research falls within SSHRC's mandate, please see the guidelines on subject matter eligibility.
Research Grants
Applicants and participants
The SPRI partners invite proposals from individual researchers and research teams affiliated with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution who are working in Canada in one or more of the target areas of interest.
A researcher currently holding an SPRI grant may not submit a new SPRI application as a principal applicant. A researcher may not submit an application for an SPRI grant and another application for an Insight Development Grant or Insight Grant as a principal applicant in the same competition. All applicants must comply with other SSHRC eligibility criteria for the Insight Grants and Insight Development Grants funding opportunities.
Teams may consist of an applicant (principal investigator / project director) and/or one or more co-applicants (co-investigators) or collaborators. Each participant must meet the relevant general eligibility criteria as set out in the Definitions of Terms.
Institutions
Institutions that propose to administer any grant awarded under this program must meet the requirements for managing SSHRC funds and must hold or obtain institutional eligibility.
Postdoctoral Fellowship Supplements
Applicants for a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship who are working in one or more of the target areas of interest, and who are affiliated with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution, are eligible to apply.
Doctoral Award Supplements
Applicants for a SSHRC doctoral award who are working in one or more of the target areas of interest, and who are affiliated with an eligible Canadian university, are eligible to apply.
Evaluation and Adjudication
Each application for an SPRI Research Grant is adjudicated first by the relevant SSHRC adjudication committee. Then, if the application is recommended for funding but, due to budgetary constraints, is placed on SSHRC's supplementary list, it is referred to the Sport Canada Relevance Committee.
The Relevance Committee is made up of the Sport Canada research co-ordinator and members of the academic community. This committee assesses whether the research will contribute to efforts to enhance sport participation in Canada. The committee reviews each application and forms a consensus on whether the proposed research adequately meets the program's objectives and target areas. To this end, applications must clearly and specifically indicate how the proposed research applies to the initiative's sport participation objectives.
The SPRI Relevance Committee's decisions cannot be appealed.
In the case of applications for the Postdoctoral Fellowship Supplement and the Doctoral Award Supplement, the procedure is similar. The significant difference is that the postdoctoral fellowship and doctoral award adjudication committees will only refer successful applications to the Sport Canada Relevance Committee.
SPRI adjudication timelines
| Funding opportunity |
Review by SSHRC adjucation committees |
Relevance review by Sport Canada |
Results announced |
SPRI grant/award start date |
| Insight Development Grants |
May 2012 |
May 2012 |
June 2012 |
January 2013 |
| Insight Grants |
March 2012 |
| Postdoctoral Fellowship Supplements |
February 2012 |
| Doctoral Award Supplements |
April 2012 |
Conditions of Funding
In order to receive and maintain eligibility for an SPRI grant or award, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- The proposed research must meet the SPRI objectives on sport participation and have a focus on one or more of the target areas of research.
- During the life of their grant and until the end of their research projects, grant and award holders must participate in the annual Sport Canada Research Initiative conference in Ottawa, to which they will be invited by Sport Canada. SPRI funding includes costs related to travel to the conference. Therefore, applicants must include costs related to attendance at the conference as part of their research proposal's budget.
- As part of the knowledge transfer component of the SPRI funding, grant and award holders will be required to prepare a short paper targeted at the sport policy and practitioner communities, summarizing the key findings of their research. The deadline for knowledge transfer materials will coincide with the due date for the SSHRC final report (September of the final year of the grant). Sport Canada will contact grant and award holders at their funding end date to communicate the due date and SPRI knowledge transfer guidelines. Grant and award holders will be asked to follow the knowledge transfer template provided by Sport Canada in preparing their paper. Grant and award holders are encouraged to seek publication of their paper in an open source publication.
Administrative Regulations and Related Information
For descriptions of SSHRC terms, see Definitions of Terms.
Research Grants
All applicants and grant holders must comply with the Regulations Governing Grant Applications and with the regulations set out in the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.
Postdoctoral Fellowship and Doctoral Award Supplements
All applicants for and holders of fellowships and scholarships must comply with the Regulations Governing Fellowship Applications and with the regulations set out in the Award Holder's Guide.
Contact Information
For more information about the SPRI, please contact:
Fatima Bidas
Program Officer
Research Portfolio
SSHRC
350 Albert Street
P.O. Box 1610
Ottawa, ON K1P 6G4
Tel.: 613-943-1560
Fax: 613-992-7635
Email:
fatima.bidas@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
Joanne Kay
Senior Research and Policy Analyst
Policy and Planning
Sport Canada
15 Eddy Street, 16th Floor
Gatineau, QC K1A 0M5
Tel.: 613-294-3036
Fax: 514-939-1918
Email:
joanne.kay@pch.gc.ca
Website: www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/sportcanada