Using Your Funds
Grant Holder's Guide
Community University Research Alliances (CURA)
Dates to Remember
Basic Terms and Conditions
Financial Administration
After the Grant is Completed
Related SSHRC Policies
Contact Us
Dates to Remember
* Any Council commitment beyond three years is subject to a substantive peer review of progress. SSHRC will notify you in advance about any information that you will have to provide.
Basic Terms and Conditions
What is the period of tenure?
SSHRC grants are awarded for one to five years, depending on the program. Your Notice of Award will indicate the period of tenure for your particular grant.
Can I use my grant funds beyond the grant period indicated on my Notice of Award?
If you need an extension for a CURA grant, you must submit a written request to SSHRC before the end of the grant period, briefly stating why you need the extension and when you plan to terminate your grant. SSHRC will consider requests for extensions on a case-by-case basis. The extension does not qualify as a grant; you can submit another grant application and hold a new grant during the extension year.
May I spend my budget differently than specified in my application?
Yes, you may make changes in specific research plans and schedules and reapportion your budget without seeking approval from SSHRC, as long as you use your grant for the broad purpose for which it was originally awarded and you respect grant conditions and relevant program requirements. However, major changes in research objectives require prior Council approval.
There are three important exceptions to this general flexibility in reapportioning your budget:
Research Time Stipends. You may not reallocate research time stipend funds to research expenses nor may you reapportion funds designated for research to a research time stipend which has not been awarded.
Student Training. You cannot decrease—though you may increase—the total amount allocated to student training at the time of the award. You do, however, have flexibility in allocating that total between budget years and between categories of students receiving funding (e.g., master's versus doctoral students). Although SSHRC generally does not consider postdoctoral researchers to be students, you may spend funds from the student training budget on salaries for postdoctoral researchers. At the end of the grant period, you must demonstrate that the total amount allocated for student and postdoctoral salaries has in fact been spent for that purpose.
Knowledge Mobilization. Similarly, you cannot reduce the total amount, as indicated on the budget page of the proposal, allocated to knowledge mobilization activities. This amount is not a separate budget item, but includes funds for travel, workshops, office supplies, publication costs and other expenditures related to communicating research results. At the end of the grant period, you must demonstrate that your actual expenditures in these areas met or exceeded the amount originally approved by the adjudication committee.
What if I change institutions or move to another country?
CURA grants may not be transferred from one institution to another. Subject to SSHRC approval, grants may be transferred to a co-applicant who works at the same university or organization that received the grant.
Is information about my grant confidential?
Competition results in the research support programs are forwarded to university research administration officers. By applying through their universities, faculty members implicitly consent to have competition results released to their universities. University research administration officers and their staff must ensure that these results are released only to the applicants and those people directly involved in the administration of the grants program.
Universities are expected to store the material securely, and to ensure that it is not used or disclosed for any other purpose. After the material is no longer required, the university must destroy it promptly and in a secure manner.
What payment conditions can be attached to a grant?
Your grant may have certain conditions attached to it. For example, if you have not completed a financial or productivity report from a previous grant, your current grant payments will be withheld until you have met those conditions. Your Notice of Award gives you a detailed explanation of which grant is missing which report. No grant funds will be released until all payment conditions have been met.
Financial Administration
How are the grants paid?
Grant funds are sent directly to your university research or business office for retention on your behalf in a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant account. This arrangement relieves you of most of the administration of the grant: the research or business office maintains custody of the grant funds, disburses salaries and other expenditures authorized by you or your delegated authority and provides periodic reports to you and to SSHRC on the status of the grant funds.
The University may not disburse any funds on your behalf until you have met all the appropriate requirements, such as conforming to ethics guidelines.
Who can authorize expenditures from my grant account?
As applicant, you must authorize all expenditures from your grant fund, thereby certifying that these expenditures are essential for carrying out the activity supported by the grant. No other person may initiate or authorize any expenditure from your SSHRC grant account without your delegated written authority, which must be supplied to your university's business office.
The university (or your organization) is responsible for administering grant funds in accordance with SSHRC guidelines and may decline to release funds for an expenditure you have proposed or authorized if such expenditure contravenes SSHRC regulations or university or organizational policies. Administration, personnel and accounting procedures must conform to the standards, practices and policies of your university or organization.
If you do not comply with the regulations outlined in this guide, SSHRC can freeze or close your grant account(s) or all SSHRC accounts at your university or organization. If you use your grant funds to pay expenditures contrary to SSHRC's policy, you will have to repay the grant account or SSHRC. Fraudulent use of SSHRC funds will be referred to the appropriate legal authorities.
What signatures are required on which documents?
Statements of Account must be signed by the grant holder and a finance officer of the university or organization (who may either sign individual statements or sign and attach a covering note when sending the statements in bulk to SSHRC).
Journal vouchers and internal invoices must be signed by the grant holder or a designated representative. (If expenditures are charged to departmental accounts and internal journal vouchers are used to transfer the expenditures to the appropriate SSHRC grant account at a later date, details of the expenditure must be included with the journal voucher.)
Are my grant expenditures verified by SSHRC?
Review and Investigation Officers from SSHRC's Finance Division visit universities and other organizations every year. These visits allow the team to:
- assess whether researchers are well supported and have the tools necessary to properly and effectively manage their research funds;
- review the effectiveness of policies, controls and systems in place at the university or organization to ensure that SSHRC policies and regulations are followed and that research funds are well managed;
- review the expenditures of researchers to ensure that these were made in accordance with the Council's policies, regulations and guidelines and for the purposes intended;
- share and disseminate information on guidelines and expectations for financial and scientific accountability and integrity.
You must keep all accounts and records of monies received and expenditures, with supporting receipts and vouchers, for two years after the termination of the grant. These accounts and records must be made available to SSHRC or its agent on request.
Can I transfer account balances from one year to the next?
For multi-year grants, if the total funds awarded for a particular year are not spent in that year, you may transfer the balance to the next fiscal year of the grant.
Can I transfer money left over at the end of my grant term to a new grant?
You cannot transfer residual funds to a new grant. You must return to SSHRC any portion of your grant that remains unspent at the end of the grant period for which it was awarded.
Can I transfer SSHRC grant funds to another account?
No, with one exception: you may transfer grant funds from a SSHRC account at one institution or organization to a SSHRC account at another eligible Canadian institution or organization. If you wish to transfer funds in this way, have your former institution forward to SSHRC's Finance Division:
- your signed notice stating your date of departure from the institution;
- a signed Statement of Account that covers up to the date of your departure;
- a completed Form 303, Transfer to Another Institution.
In addition, the Finance Division will require a letter from the research grants officer at your new institution, countersigned by the appropriate dean or department head (or equivalent). This letter should give the date of your appointment and specify your academic status. Issuing of the letter also implies you have met all requirements for research involving the use of animals, human subjects or biohazards.
What expenses may I charge to my grant?
You may only charge to your grant those expenses that are directly related to achieving the objectives for which your grant was awarded.
Eligible expenses at the Letter of Intent stage are limited to travel, workshops, meetings, secretarial support and communication and dissemination activities.
Researchers who receive a CURA grant at the Formal Application stagemay charge the following expenses:
Personnel
Everyone employed with SSHRC grant funds must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident or must hold a valid Canadian employment visa or work permit issued by the federal government, unless you can show that the research requires that you hire someone outside the country.
Employees in Canada who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents must comply with all federal regulations concerning employment. As the employer, the university or host organization is responsible for ensuring that these conditions are met.
Research personnel and support staff: Your grant can be
used to pay the salaries and related federal, provincial
and institutional non-discretionary benefits, for work
performed by research personnel, support staff and other
personnel (i.e., administrative personnel, summer
students, research associates and technicians).
Institutional non-discretionary benefits normally include
long- and short-term disability insurance, life insurance,
pension, medical, vision and dental care and maternity
leave.
Note: SSHRC defers to Canada Customs and Revenue Agency regulations regarding salaries.
The following are eligible personnel expenses:
- Release time for the academic director: according to SSHRC's Research Time Stipend (RTS) provisions or, in well justified circumstances, salary replacement up to a maximum of 50% of the salary;
- Release time or salary time for the non-academic director or co-director up to a maximum of 50% of the salary;
- Salary of a professional co-ordinator;
- Salary for an administrative assistant;
- Release time for professors involved in the CURA;
- Release time for partners involved in the CURA; and
- Research training opportunities for students: assistantships, internships, apprenticeships, job placements, co-op placements and work terms.
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SSHRC doctoral fellows: SSHRC doctoral fellows can accept research or teaching assistantships. Your university's or organization's policy on these matters determines the number of hours they can work.
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Relatives: The employment of relatives is permitted provided they have appropriate qualifications and all university or organization's regulations and recruitment policies are followed.
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Research Time Stipends:
SSHRC recognizes the need for grant holders to have sufficient time to conduct the programs of activities. In the case of university based researchers, the normal regulations of SSHRC's Research Time Stipend Policy for course release apply. These costs are shared by the university and SSHRC.
In the case of practitioners based outside universities, SSHRC recognizes the inability of most organizations to share these costs. Non-university based applicants or co-applicants may request up to a maximum of 50% of their salary for release time or salary replacement.
If both the university and SSHRC portions of the stipend are used to release members of the research team from teaching during the period of the grant, these funds do not have to be assigned as indicated in the original application. Research Time Stipends may be used to pay for the actual teaching replacement costs of either the applicant or any Co-applicant listed in the application.
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Student Stipends: Students may not receive stipends while holding a SSHRC doctoral or postdoctoral fellowship. However, SSHRC fellowship and stipend recipients may concurrently hold teaching assistantships or research assistantships from other sources.
The award of a student stipend should be made in accordance with the objectives of the research project or program and the work performed by students who receive stipends should be an integral part of the grantee's program of research.
Master's students are eligible for stipends up to $12,000 per year, doctoral students may receive up to $15,000 per year, and postdoctoral fellows may receive up to $31,500 per year.
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Recruiting costs for research personnel such as advertising and airfare for candidates, etc.
- Fees paid to research subjects (such as modest incentives for participation), where ethically acceptable.
Professional and technical services and contracts
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Computer Services: All computer services for which researchers must pay a user fee are eligible expenses. The university or organization's computer services are expected to offer grant holders most-favoured-user rates.
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Consultants: Grant recipients are expected to have the full qualifications and experience necessary to carry out research programs/projects for which they are funded, or to obtain the help of fellow scholars as part of reciprocal scholarly collaboration. Consulting fees may be charged against the grant only if the application proposal demonstrates that expert advice is needed to resolve highly technical problems.
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Safety waste disposal.
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Cost of subcontracts.
- Costs involved in providing personnel with training and/or development in novel techniques required for the conduct of the research project.
Communication of results (eligible expenses include):
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Preparation and circulation of materials for mass media and other audiences (eg. videotapes, CDs, slides, etc.);
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Travel to meetings to present or discuss results of SSHRC-funded research;
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Translation;
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Holding a workshop, seminar, round table, conference or public lecture whose activities relate directly to the research funded. (The cost of meals for workshop participants may be charged to the grant, but alcoholic beverages may not.);
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Preparing a publication (for example, preparing a camera-ready manuscript, preparation and/or purchase of illustrations, figures, maps, drawings and photographs);
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For research activities leading to publication: salaries of office staff (including editorial assistants), and travel and subsistence related to preparing the publication;
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Preparation of primary data to make them accessible to other researchers/practitioners, and distributing copies of data, reports or publications either within Canada or abroad;
- Development of Web-based information, including Web maintenance fees.
Equipment and supplies
All items purchased with SSHRC funds are the property of the university or organization administering the award. Any non-disposable items (including books, research materials and documents) must be formally listed in the university's or organization's inventory.
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Computer hardware and software: You may purchase or rent computers and associated hardware and software, if you do not have access to such items through the institution or organization.
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Other non-disposable equipment: You may purchase or rent equipment, such as microfilm readers, tape recorders, cameras, video equipment, field vehicles, laboratory accessories and equipment, if you do not have access to such items through the institution or organization.
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Other supplies: You may claim the following items only if they are directly related to the program of activities: disposable supplies (such as stationery), postage, telephone calls, cards, tapes, books, documentation, microfilm and duplicated material.
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Safety related expenses for field work, such as protective gear, immunizations, etc.
- Monthly charges for the use of the Internet from your office or home.
Equipment and supplies (during sabbatical and leave periods)
Travel and related subsistence costs
You may claim travel and related subsistence costs, only if data or sources of information essential to the program of activities are not available in your immediate vicinity or if you have to travel to communicate your research results.
You may charge the travel and subsistence costs of research collaborators, both Canadian and foreign, only if the visit is for research planning, exchange of information or for the communication of research results.
Travel and subsistence costs for research and student assistants can be charged to the grant if the visit is essential to the research.
Travel costs must be based on standard rates or policies in effect at your institution or organization. If no guidelines for travel per diems exist at your institution or organization, the federal government Treasury Board guidelines apply. These are available from SSHRC.
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Travel: You may claim the cost of air travel, provided that you obtain the lowest fare possible and that the cost does not exceed the equivalent of full economy fare. Subsistence costs may be claimed for the additional days a traveler may be required to stay in order to take advantage of a lower fare, provided that the total cost of the fare and subsistence is less than the cost of a full economy fare. If an upgrade is necessary for medical or other reasons, you must seek reimbursement elsewhere (i.e., your health insurance plan). Rental or mileage costs are allowed only if the use of a car is essential. Normal commuting costs may not be paid from a SSHRC grant account.
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Subsistence: These costs must be justified by research needs and may be applied only to time spent away from your home. You may claim subsistence only when overnight accommodation is required. Subsistence costs may not be claimed for more than 125 days per person per year.
Other types of eligible travel expenditures
A member of the research team who is a nursing mother or single custodial parent can claim child care or babysitting expenses while travelling. The allowable cost for a single parent is limited to overnight child care costs incurred while travelling.
During sabbatical and leave periods: Travel costs to attend a conference during a sabbatical leave.
Networking activities
Costs related to networking activities may be charged to the grant. These costs may include travel and subsistence, purchase of a fax or other telecommunication tools, hiring of network coordinators, food and drink (excluding alcoholic beverages) for research meetings or workshops, etc.
Will I have to provide receipts for all my eligible expenses?
You are required to provide supporting documentation for all eligible expenses including internal expense allocations and shared expenses. This documentation must include original receipts or invoices and a statement justifying the expenses in the context of the program of research. The documentation you submit must be in compliance with university guidelines.
For internal or shared expenses your documentation must include the amount charged to your SSHRC account, a description of how the amount was calculated and what the charge was for.
Travel claims
Every traveler claiming expenses from a SSHRC grant must prepare an individual claim for each trip. For claimants other than the grant holder, the affiliation with the grant holder research group must be specified.
Travel claims must be countersigned by the department head or dean (or equivalent) as to the relevance of the travel to the funded research. In most universities and organizations, the business office or the human resources office is responsible for collecting and storing documentation related to eligible expenses.
Your travel claim must include the following information:
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Purpose of the trip;
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Dates and destinations (persons or organizations visited);
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Official documentation indicating the dates of conferences and workshops;
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Details of daily claims for expenditures relating to those visits;
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Details of any vehicle used;
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Original receipts, such as hotel bills, car rental agreements, etc. (invoices and credit card slips are not valid receipts);
- The claimant's signature certifying that all expenditures on the claim are for purposes for which the grant was awarded, that the charges included have not been claimed from other organizations, and that reimbursements for expenditures received from other organizations will be disclosed to the grantholder's university or organization.
Air travel ticket receipts
Original air travel ticket receipts must be returned with the grant holder's travel claim. Boarding passes will not be accepted in lieu of ticket receipts, except in the case of electronic tickets.
Personnel: compensation and benefits
You must be able to provide signed employment records, which include the employee's name, category, salary level, period of employment and details of any employee benefits paid from the grant.
Equipment
You must be able to supply original invoices describing what you purchased and the price you paid for it.
Who owns equipment purchased with SSHRC grant funds?
Equipment purchased with SSHRC grant funds is your property during the period of your grant. Once the grant period is finished, however, the
equipment becomes the property of your university or organization. If
you change universities or organizations and you transfer your grant to
your new university or organization, the equipment you purchased in order
to carry out your research remains your property until the period of the
grant is over. After that, the equipment belongs to your new university
or organization.
What costs are ineligible?
Any activity that is not required to achieve the research objectives
of the program or project is ineligible. For example, the following expenses
are ineligible:
- Any costs incurred before a grant is awarded.
- Research by university researchers or practitioners leading to a
degree.
- Costs incurred by partners who are not from a non-profit organization.
- Education-related costs, such as thesis defence, publication, tuition
and course fees, etc.
- Research costs of research collaborators. (Note: some travel costs
may be eligible as explained under Travel and related
subsistence costs.)
- Any research expenses related to work being carried out by the researcher
under contract to a public or private agency or firm for their own purposes,
with the exception of work commissioned by a non-government publisher.
- Fees for consultation with colleagues.
- Contingency allowances.
- Indirect costs (e.g., medical insurance) or administrative overhead.
- Purchase or rental of standard office equipment such as desks, chairs,
filing cabinets, photocopiers, facsimile machines and answering machines.
- Sales taxes to which an exemption or rebate applies.
- Child-care expenses. See Other types of eligible
travel expenditures for exceptions.
- The cost of memberships in professional associations.
- Professional training or development, including computer and language
training.
- Preparation of teaching materials.
- Curriculum development (e.g., preparing course material or syllabus
designed for a program of teaching—unless it is of demonstrated
theoretical importance or part of a research program or project).
- Simple collection or assembling of information (rather than analysis
designed to answer a research question or test an hypothesis).
- Entertainment costs.
- Hospitality costs.
- The purchase of land.
- Discretionary severance and separation packages.
- General departmental expenses. Although researchers may use grant
funds to share common research expenses, the cost of the shared expenses
must be pro-rated on the basis of benefit obtained. The grant funds
may not be used to contribute to shared expenses for which the researcher
will obtain no benefit.
- Administrative (or management) charges and fees.
- Passports and immigration fees.
- Standard monthly connection or rental costs of telephones.
- Connection or installation of lines (telephones or other links).
- Voice mail, cellular phone rental or purchase.
- Library acquisitions, computer and other information services provided
to all members of a institution or organization.
- Any part of the salary, or consulting fee, of an individual whose
status would make them eligible to apply for a grant.
- During sabbatical and leave periods:
- Transportation costs of research personnel to and from your sabbatical
or leave location for supervisory or academic purposes.
- Transportation costs to the home institution for supervisory purposes
during sabbatical leave.
- Living expenses during sabbatical leave.
Note: This list is not exhaustive. If you are in doubt about
the eligibility of a particular expense, contact your research grant officer
or organizational business office for clarification. If the university
is not sure about the eligibility of an expense, your research grant officer
or financial officer will contact SSHRC for further clarification.
After the Grant is Completed
What reports will I be required to submit?
See CURA Dates to Remember.
Can my university business office or organizational business office
submit computerized statements of account?
SSHRC accepts computerized statements as long as you use the categories
on the Tri-Council
Statement of Account form.
Can I get additional funding for my research?
There is no commitment of support beyond the term of the grant. To request
further funding in order to continue or complete a program of research
or a project, you must submit a new application.
Should I acknowledge SSHRC when communicating my research findings?
As a recipient of Canadian government funds, it is important for you
to let Canadians know how their tax money is being spent. Therefore, you should acknowledge the assistance of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in all workshop and conference materials, publications
and media coverage of activities funded through SSHRC grants.
Please see the SSHRC Research Data Archiving
Policy and the guidelines on the use of SSHRC's logo.
Related SSHRC Policies
Integrity in Research and Scholarship
Non-Discrimination Policy
Tri-Council Policy
Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans
Contact Us
For grant information, contact an awards administration officer from SSHRC's Finance Division by telephone at 613-995-2694 or by E-mail at awdad@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca.
Or you can write to us at:
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
350 Albert Street
P.O. Box 1610
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6G4
Fax: 613-996-0458