Connection Grants—
Applicant Instructions

On this page

• Documents to read before applying
• Application process
• Applicant (or lead organization for institutional grants)
• Activity details (mandatory)
• Event presenters
• Letters of support from sponsoring organizations (mandatory)
• Summary of proposal (mandatory)
• Expected outcomes (mandatory)
• Description of Connection project (mandatory)
• Training and mentoring (mandatory)
• List of references or bibliography (mandatory)
• Research-creation support material (if applicable)
• Funds requested from SSHRC (mandatory)
• Budget justification (mandatory)
• Funds from other sources (mandatory)
• Impact assessment—Appendix A
• Exclusion of potential reviewers (if applicable)
• Research contributions and relevant experience (mandatory)
• Career interruptions and special circumstances

Documents to read before applying

Application process

Accommodations and accessibility

If you need help completing online application forms due to circumstances arising from a disability, contact your institution (scholarship liaison officer, research grant office or other applicant support office) as early in the application process as possible to investigate available supports. If your institution cannot provide help, or needs SSHRC to collaborate on a solution, contact accessibility-accessibilite@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca. You can also contact SSHRC if you have questions or are seeking specific adaptation arrangements. You do not need to share your medical or sensitive personal information, and, to protect your privacy, should avoid doing so.

Frequently requested accommodations include, but are not limited to:

• one-on-one phone or video appointments to clarify funding program information or the application process, or receive technical support;
• alternative formats of online materials to enable access using assistive technology; and
• submission of the application (in full or part) through alternate means or format (e.g., hard copy, voice recording, or data entry by SSHRC staff on the applicant’s behalf).

Applicant or project director responsibilities

By clicking “Submit,” the applicant or project director certifies that all information is accurate. They are also responsible for:

• completing all mandatory fields (bold labels);
• attaching mandatory electronic files (application);
• ensuring all co-applicants and collaborators have submitted their “Accept Invitation” form;
• verifying and correcting the data until the “Verification Report” confirms verification; and
• clicking “Submit” (to research administrator) for approval by your institution’s or organization’s internal deadline. The electronic submission process ensures validation of the information by an institution’s or organization’s administrator before they forward your application to SSHRC on your behalf (status is “Forwarded”). Once processed by SSHRC, the status will change to “Received.”

Research or financial administrator responsibilities

By clicking “Forward” (Forward to SSHRC), the research administrator or designated financial administrator (institutional approval) certifies:

• the applicant or project director:
  • is affiliated with the institution or organization; and
  • has the necessary time and facilities to carry out the activity; and
• the postsecondary institution or not-for-profit organization:
  • is willing to administer any grant received following SSHRC policies;
  • agrees to take the necessary steps to ensure machine-readable files or computer databases are preserved and accessible under conditions agreed to by the institution or organization and the researcher;
  • will release funds to the successful candidate once all necessary certification requirements and conditions have been met;
  • will notify SSHRC of any change in the grant holder’s status during the tenure of the grant; and
  • has verified that the budgetary estimates are in accordance with its rates and policies.

Electronic submission process and acknowledgement of receipt of applications

Applicants must allow enough time for their institution’s or organization’s internal approval process, as specified by the relevant authorities. SSHRC will acknowledge receipt of your electronic application form and will assign you an application number. Cite this number in all correspondence with us.

Attaching a document

Many modules in your application will require you to attach a PDF file. You must follow the specified requirements for margins and font size or your application will be deemed ineligible. An error message will appear if the file you are trying to attach does not meet the required specifications for page length and file size. Once you have attached the electronic file, we recommend you click “View attached file” to ensure you have the proper file and it is not corrupted.

Identification (mandatory)

Application title

Provide a short, descriptive title for your proposal in non-technical terms. Restrict use of acronyms (e.g., UN, NATO). Use uppercase for only the first word of the title, proper nouns and acronyms.

Your application title will automatically be included in the Activity details section.

Project type

Please see the Connection Grants funding opportunity description for information about the difference between an event and an outreach activity.

Select “Event” and/or “Outreach Activity” from the drop-down list. If you select “Outreach Activity,” you must specify the type of activity in the box provided. Events are capped at $25,000; if your proposal requests more than this, your application will not be “Verified Successfully” and you won’t be able to submit it.

Learn more about the difference between an event and an outreach activity.

Event start and end dates

Indicate the start and end date of the project. Ensure that your project is taking place within the eligibility period of the competition cycle you are applying to.

Joint initiatives

See the funding search tool for a complete list of joint initiatives that may be relevant to your application.

If you want your project to be considered for one of these initiatives, select it from the drop-down list in the “Joint or special initiative” field in the Identification module.

Events or outreach activities proposals linked to research-creation

Before you select “Yes,” refer to the definition of research-creation for more information and examples of fields involving research-creation.

If you select “Yes,” see Research contributions and relevant experience and the Guidelines for Research-Creation Support Materials for instructions about creative outputs and supporting materials.

Does your proposal involve Indigenous research, as defined by SSHRC?

Select “Yes” if you wish to signal to the merit review committee that your application should be reviewed in the context of SSHRC’s definition of Indigenous research and its Guidelines for the Merit Review of Indigenous Research.

Applicant or project director

The applicant or project director has primary responsibility for the project and assumes administrative responsibility for the grant. Carefully review the Eligibility requirements for Connection Grants before completing this module.

Applicant (or lead organization for institutional grants)

Names and initials

This information has automatically been transferred from your account. To change your family name or first name, you must contact webgrant@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca. To change your initials, return to the “My Account” section of your portfolio to update the information.

Organization

The organization has automatically been transferred from the “current position” screen of your CV. To have a different affiliation on record for this application, click “List…” and make the necessary selection.

Administering organization (individual grants) or lead organization (institutional grants)

Only an eligible Canadian institution or organization can administer grant funds. Institutions or not-for-profit organizations interested in administering SSHRC individual or institutional grants must meet the Institutional Eligibility Requirements for the administration of grants and awards for the three federal research granting agencies, which is independent of the application process.

Activity details (mandatory)

Ethics

State whether or not your proposal involves human beings as research subjects. If so, select “Yes” and consult the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans—TCPS 2 (2018) and submit your proposal to your organization’s research ethics board.

Impact assessment

The Impact Assessment Form (Appendix A) must be completed and submitted with grant applications ONLY if at least one of the following situations applies to your research or research-related activities, as per the Impact Assessment Act, 2019 (IAA):

• any phase of the proposed research takes place on federal lands, other than lands under the administration and control of the Commissioner of Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, as interpreted in section 2 of the IAA;^{Footnote *}
• any phase of the proposed research takes place in a country other than Canada;^{Footnote *}
• the grant funds permit a designated project (listed in the Physical Activities Regulations) to be carried out in whole or in part; or
• any phase of the proposed research depends on a designated project (listed in the Physical Activities Regulations) being led or carried out by an organization other than SSHRC.

The first two points apply only to designated projects / physical activities listed in the Physical Activities Regulations (e.g., projects that involve physical work / alterations to the land or environment). If none of these situations apply to your research or research-related activities, Appendix A is not needed.

For more information, see SSHRC’s Guidelines on Impact Assessment.

Keywords

List keywords, separated by semicolons, that best describe your proposal.

Disciplines, areas of research, temporal periods, geographical regions and countries

Indicate and rank each entry relevant to your proposal, with Entry 1 as the most relevant and the last entry the least relevant.

Participants

The categories of “co-applicant” and “collaborator” accord with financial regulations outlined in the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration, so applicants and project directors are encouraged to discuss roles and involvement in the team at the outset and to be clear about whether participants will have access to research funds prior to inviting them in a particular role.

Participant invitation process:

• Select the role.
• Select “academic” or “non-academic.”
• Enter the family name. If you incorrectly type in a participant’s family name, you will receive an error message. The system will recognize the discrepancy only after the participant has accepted the invitation. For your application to be successfully verified, the participant’s family name must be identical to the family name found in SSHRC’s database.
• Enter the email address.
• Click “Save.” The system will generate an email to each person inviting them to participate in the application.

SSHRC CV

Co-applicants affiliated with a postsecondary institution must submit a full SSHRC CV.

Co-applicants from a non-academic organization have the option of submitting a full SSHRC CV or only completing the following mandatory fields:

• Identification module—Correspondence language
• Identification module—Permanent postal code
• Current Position module—Organization, department, start date
• Current Position module—Address
• Current Position module—Primary phone number
• Research Expertise module—Keywords
• Research Expertise module—Discipline #1

A copy of the co-applicant’s CV will be attached to the “Accept Invitation” form on creation. As the applicant or project director, you will then be able to view each co-applicant’s CV, as applicable.

Collaborators are not required to submit their SSHRC CV.

Research contributions and relevant experience attachment

In addition to meeting the CV requirements above, co-applicants and co-directors must also provide PDF attachments describing their research contributions and relevant experience. Co-applicants and co-directors affiliated with a non-academic organization are not required to submit research contributions but must submit relevant experience.

See Research contributions and relevant experience for details. Co-applicants can choose to devote more space to certain sections depending on the nature of their past contributions and experience (e.g., non-academic participants can choose to have a larger Relevant experience section).

Event presenters

If applicable, list the names of up to 15 key presenters. Presenters are defined by SSHRC as individuals who will make an active contribution to the project objectives and/or the production of any concrete deliverable(s). For each presenter, indicate whether you are requesting SSHRC funding to support their involvement and select the type of presenter (Presenter or Student presenter) from the drop-down list.

When appropriate, the list of event presenters should include students as well as a combination of established and emerging scholars.

After the data are saved, the system will automatically display the information alphabetically by family name on this screen.

As necessary, provide the information requested using “List…”. If the appropriate information is not listed, select “Other” and type the information in the box provided.

For each presenter, you must provide the following information:

• the title, if applicable, and a 100- to 150-word outline of their contribution;
• detailed justification for their inclusion in the project; and
• whether or not their attendance has been confirmed.

Letters of support from sponsoring organizations (mandatory)

SSHRC will not fund the full cost of any Connection project. Additional support in the form of 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, not individuals (see SSHRC’s Guidelines for Cash and In-Kind Contributions for more details). For example, an applicant / project director asking SSHRC for $10,000 in Connection Grant funding will have to provide additional support equal to at least $5,000.

Letters of support are required from each organization listed in your application as a sponsoring organization and contributing toward the required minimum of 50% in matching cash and/or in-kind contributions.

Only those contributions identified in letters of support that originate from sponsoring organizations and are signed by someone with signing authority for the organization will count toward the required 50% matching funds. Amounts appearing in letters of support from individuals will not be used in this calculation, even if an individual is confirming that they are contributing from their own personal grants or regardless of their signing authority. The letters must come from the sponsoring organization itself, not from individuals who have been awarded grants.

Each letter of support must:

• be signed by someone with signing authority for the organization;
• be submitted in one of Canada’s two official languages;
• include a statement confirming the organization’s financial contributions that clearly outlines the amounts and types of contributions, including the value of the organization’s contributions to the proposed project;
• include a statement indicating that the organization has read the proposal and agrees to its role and level of participation as outlined; and
• include a statement indicating that the organization is willing and able to complete activities assigned to it.

Failure to provide a letter of support that meets these criteria could result in the letter being removed from consideration in the calculation of the matching funds requirement. Failure to meet the minimum matching funds requirement could render the application ineligible.

Summary of proposal (mandatory)

Maximum one page

Provide a clear summary of your proposal indicating the challenges or issues to be addressed.

Note that by submitting an application, successful applicants consent to the use of this summary for promotional purposes outside the research community and to inform parliamentarians, media and members of the public who request information about research funded by SSHRC.

Expected outcomes (mandatory)

The project’s expected outcomes are essential for the merit review of the proposal and are part of the Challenge evaluation criterion. Elaborate on the potential benefits and/or outcomes of your proposed project. You will be able to share how your outcomes have evolved in follow-up achievement reports.

Outcomes

Connection project outcomes include:

• enhanced curriculum and teaching material;
• enriched public discourse;
• improved public policies, enhanced business strategies and increased innovations in every sector of society; and
• graduate supervision opportunities.

Project outcomes are facilitated by effective knowledge mobilization. They permeate daily life in the form of new thinking and behaviour, which leads to improvements in our economic, social, cultural and intellectual well-being.

For “Scholarly benefits,” “Social benefits” and “Audiences,” indicate and rank selections in order of importance. If the information is not listed, select “Other” from the list and type the information in the box provided.

Expected outcomes summary

Describe the potential benefits and outcomes (e.g., evolution, effects, potential learning and implications) that could emerge from the proposed project as a result of knowledge mobilization activities.

Description of Connection project (mandatory)

Maximum five pages

You must attach a PDF copy of your Description of Connection project. Before writing your proposal, consult the evaluation criteria in the funding opportunity description. Write your proposal in clear, plain language. Avoid jargon, acronyms and highly technical terms.

Include:

• a description of the proposed project (this can include a draft program or agenda, if applicable);
• a statement regarding the overall goal and specific objectives of the endeavour;
• a description of the research you will be disseminating, transferring, exchanging or mobilizing;
• a description of your main audience(s) (e.g., scholars, practitioners, etc.);
• an explanation as to why it is important to connect with the specified audience(s); and
• details on how all activities can be undertaken within one year.

If applicable, SSHRC encourages applicants to discuss how project results will be managed, including collection, preservation and sharing.

Open access and data management

Grant holders must follow the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications. To the extent possible, and in keeping with this policy and SSHRC’s endorsement of open access forms of knowledge dissemination, grant holders should make their research results openly available, through, for example, open access publications, websites, publicly accessible databases and/or institutional repositories. To learn more, see the Open Access overview.

Training and mentoring (mandatory)

Maximum one page

It is expected that students, emerging scholars (e.g., postdoctoral researchers and other scholars in similar situations) and/or other highly qualified personnel (e.g., practitioners, subject matter experts, Indigenous Elders) will meaningfully participate in the proposed initiative(s). Attach a PDF document that clearly describes the specific roles and responsibilities of students, emerging scholars and/or other highly qualified personnel, indicating the work they will be undertaking.

Consult the Guidelines for Effective Research Training in preparing this section of the application. These guidelines will also be provided to reviewers.

Include:

• the nature and extent of training, mentoring and employability activities;
• the capacity of the project director and team members to provide the proposed training, mentoring and employability activities;
• the anticipated number of students, emerging scholars and/or other highly qualified personnel. where applicable, indicate the level of study (i.e., undergraduate, master’s or doctoral) to be trained and mentored;
• the nature and level of specialized skills that the students, emerging scholars and/or other highly qualified personnel will develop as a result of their participation; and
• any career development opportunities for students, emerging scholars and/or other highly qualified personnel.

List of references or bibliography (mandatory)

Maximum two pages

Lists all references cited or works referred to in your proposal. SSHRC recognizes and allows the use of different referencing styles.

Research-creation support material (if applicable)

Maximum one page

If in the Identification screen you have self-identified your project as a research-creation project in the Identification screen, you can include a website link to provide samples of work that best illustrate the qualifications of the team and/or the nature of the proposed research-creation.

When including a website link:

• Provide the complete and exact URL and indicate the path to access the intended support material on the website.
• Include a list of up to three works or excerpts of works to which you would like to direct the reviewers (e.g., images, audio, video, written material). Provide titles, dates of creation/production and a brief context for the works presented. Explain why you are including these items and how they relate to your proposed project.
• Ensure the website and all links involved will be operational up to six months after the application deadline.
• Specify the browser and version that should be used.

Funds requested from SSHRC (mandatory)

Estimate the costs you are asking SSHRC to fund. All budget costs must conform to the rates and regulations of the applicant’s or project director’s institution or not-for-profit organization, and take into account the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration’s principles governing the appropriate use of funds. All costs must be justified in terms of the needs of the project, including costs for organizing and integrating team activities and for communicating results to audiences, stakeholders and the public. The budget will be reviewed according to the appropriateness of the requested budget, and the justification of other planned resources (e.g., time, human and financial), including cash and in-kind support already or to be secured from partner organizations.

Enter amounts rounded to the nearest dollar without any spaces or commas (e.g., 2000). For blank entries, leave the “0” value.

Personnel costs

For each of the categories below, enter the number of students and non-students you plan to hire, whether as salaried employees or as recipients of stipends.

Student and non-student salaries and benefits

For each applicable category, enter the number of students and non-students to be hired. Specify the total amount to be paid. When students are paid by wage, the amounts should follow the institution’s collective agreement or policy.

Student stipends

You may request stipends for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Stipends must be justified in terms of the project objectives. The work performed by stipend recipients should be an integral part of the project. Stipend rates are set by the institution concerned.

Salary research allowances

Salary research allowances are an eligible expense. These stipends are paid to a Canadian not-for-profit organization to cover up to 50% of the cost of the annual salary of an employee who is being temporarily replaced because they will be devoting their time as a project director or a co-applicant on a SSHRC-funded research project. The request for a salary research allowance must be justified in the proposal.

Salary research allowances can be used only by not-for-profit organizations that have project directors or co-applicants listed on the grant team. Postsecondary institutions and governmental organizations are not eligible for salary research allowances.

A salary research allowance is not a salary for the project director or co-applicant but is paid to the Canadian not-for-profit organization to offset the costs of replacing its employee.

Travel and subsistence costs

Enter, by budget year, the total amounts requested for travel abroad and within Canada for both the research team and student personnel.

Travel and subsistence costs must be based on rates approved by the institution or organization that will administer the funds.

Other expenses

Professional or technical services

Consulting fees for professional and technical services are eligible expenditures if the budget justification demonstrates expert advice is needed.

If a grant is awarded and you have planned to contract consultants for amounts that exceed $25,000, two independent cost estimates will be required by your host institution/organization.

Supplies

You can include other supply items (e.g., software, stationery, postage and telephone calls) only if they directly relate to the research and are not provided by the administering institution to their research personnel or by the employer.

Non-disposable equipment—computer hardware

Purchase or rental of computers and associated hardware is allowable only if these are not provided by the administering institution to their research personnel or by the employer.

Other non-disposable equipment

Purchase or rental of equipment (e.g., audio or video equipment) is allowable only if these are not provided by the administering institution to their research personnel or by the employer.

Other expenses

Specify other research and/or related expenses not already included.

Budget justification (mandatory)

Maximum two pages

Using the categories listed on the Funds requested from SSHRC page, explain how you will use the funds in each budget category to achieve the project objectives. For example, under the Student and non-student salaries and benefits categories, explain why these people need to be hired to meet the project’s objectives. Applicants are reminded of SSHRC’s mandate to provide training opportunities for students, emerging scholars and other highly qualified personnel, as applicable. Budget costs for research assistants, associates or project support personnel who are not students must be fully justified in terms of the needs of the project. Justify any funds that appear in the “Other” category.

SSHRC will not fund the full cost of any Connection project. Additional support in the form of cash and/or in-kind contributions (excluding registration fees) equivalent to a minimum of 50% of the amount requested from SSHRC must come from other sources. You must outline the overall cost of your event or outreach activity and clearly indicate which portion will be paid with SSHRC’s grant. SSHRC suggests including a table showing a cost breakdown of both the funds requested from SSHRC and the matching contributions.

Clearly describe how the budget requested from SSHRC and any sponsoring organizations’ contributions will complement each other and benefit the objectives of the Connection project.

Ensure that your budget requests are in accordance with the level of funding essential to complete the proposed program of activities. The merit review committee could deem your application less competitive if it finds you are requesting nonessential funding. Committees will use the principle of minimum essential funding to guide their discussions of project budgets.

Funds from other sources (mandatory)

List all contributors (e.g., host institution or organization, individuals, not-for-profit organizations, philanthropic foundations and private-sector organizations) that are providing cash and/or in-kind contributions for the proposal. Indicate if these funds have been confirmed.

Demonstrate your ability to secure at least the minimum matching funding by including letters of support from sponsoring organizations.

Only contributions confirmed by a letter of support from a sponsoring organization will be counted toward the 50% requirement for matching funds. See the instructions for the Letters of support from sponsoring organizations for more details.

You can draw on complementary funding from SSHRC research grants and/or other research funding agencies but must make clear in your budget proposal that there is no duplication of financial support for the same budget expenses.

If a funding source is not listed, select “Other” using the “List…” button. Type in the source name and amount and identify the contribution type.

If you have received more than one contribution of the same type from a single funding source (i.e., cash or in-kind) and with the same confirmation status, you must combine these into one entry (e.g., two confirmed $20,000 cash contributions from a university become one confirmed $40,000 cash contribution). Enter amounts rounded off to the nearest dollar—in Canadian currency—without spaces or commas (e.g., 40000). For blank entries, leave the “0” value.

When you save the data, five new blank entry lines will be added to the screen to allow you to enter additional funding entries, if necessary.

Impact assessment—Appendix A (if applicable)

If you have selected “Yes” to at least one of the questions in the Impact assessment section on the Activity details screen, you must complete the “Impact Assessment Form” (Appendix A) and upload it to the Impact assessment page.

Exclusion of potential reviewers (if applicable)

Maximum one page

List potential reviewers who, in your opinion, would be unlikely to provide an impartial review. Provide a justification for excluding potential reviewers (e.g., experts with whom you or members of your research team have had serious disputes). While SSHRC cannot be bound by this information, it will consider it when selecting reviewers.

This information will not be provided to external reviewers or members of the merit review committee. Any exclusion should be renewed with any subsequent applications, if still relevant.

Research contributions and relevant experience (mandatory)

Maximum five pages

This section is for applicants and project directors only. Co-applicants must attach the research contributions and relevant experience to their own SSHRC CVs.

Applicants must attach Research contributions and relevant experience. You have five pages in total to address the sections below, as applicable. You may choose to devote more space to certain sections depending on the nature of your past contributions and experience (for example, non-academic applicants may choose to have a larger “Relevant experience” section). The attachment should be presented in this order, as applicable:

1. Relevant research contributions over the last six years
2. Other research contributions
3. Most significant career research contributions
4. Contributions to training
5. Relevant experience

Individuals affiliated with not-for-profit organizations are not required to submit research contributions but must include relevant experience.

1. Relevant research contributions over the last six years

Outline your research contributions within six years of the application deadline date. In the case of those candidates claiming career interruptions (see Career interruptions and special circumstances), you may include publications drawn from your most recent periods of research activity to an overall total of six years.

Provide details, as appropriate, about the contributions you listed, as follows:

• In the left margin, identify with an asterisk (*) research contributions that resulted from previous SSHRC support.
• Specify your role in co-authored publications.
• For published contributions, provide complete bibliographic notices (including co-authors, title, publisher, journal, volume, date of publication and number of pages) as they appear in the original publication.
• For publications in languages other than French or English, provide a translation of the title and the name of the publication.
• For recent graduates, list theses.

Group your contributions by category in the following order, as applicable, listing your most recent contributions first.

Refereed contributions

Examples include books (where applicable, subdivide according to those that are single-authored, co-authored and edited works), monographs, book chapters, articles in scholarly refereed journals and conference proceedings.

As “refereed work” involves its assessment:

• in its entirety—not merely an abstract or extract;
• before publication; and
• by independent (at arm’s length from the author), anonymous, qualified experts.

Other refereed contributions

Examples include papers presented at scholarly meetings or conferences and articles in professional or trade journals.

Non-refereed contributions

Examples include book reviews, published reviews of work, research reports, policy papers and public lectures.

Forthcoming contributions

Indicate one of the following statuses: “Submitted,” “Revised and submitted,” “Accepted” or “In press.” Provide the name of the journal or book publisher and the number of pages. Do not list contributions not yet submitted.

Creative outputs

Examples of creative outputs may include exhibitions, performances, publications, presentations, and film, video and audio recordings.

List your most recent and significant achievements grouped by category. Creative outputs will be evaluated according to established disciplinary standards and creative and/or artistic merit.

If applicable, you can include a website link. SSHRC cannot guarantee links will be accessed.

2. Other research contributions

Describe any other contributions to research and the advancement of knowledge within the last six years, including your research contributions to non-academic audiences (e.g., public, policy-makers, private sector and not-for-profit organizations).

3. Most significant career research contributions

List and rank up to five of your most significant contributions over your entire career. The six-year rule does not apply to this section: contributions listed here may differ from those listed in other sections of your CV. Explain briefly the significance of the contributions listed.

4. Contributions to training

Provide the following information about students you have helped train within the last six years:

• your role in supervising or co-supervising ongoing and/or completed theses, listing these by the student’s level of studies.
• efforts you have made to involve students (e.g., doctoral, master’s or undergraduate) and/or postdoctoral researchers in your research activities.
• specify if opportunities for such contributions have been limited because your institution does not have graduate degree programs in your field or discipline.

5. Relevant experience

In the Relevant experience section, non-academic and academic project directors can describe their previous experience relevant to the topic and objectives they are investigating in the application, including their experience in engaging in and/or leading formal partnerships and collaborative research. Justify how this experience will aid you in the proposed activity.

Examples of relevant experience include: working within or with communities and/or organizations (e.g., not-for-profit, public and private sector organizations), non-academic career information, or voluntary work. Include:

• your experience in engaging in and/or leading formal partnerships and collaborative research;
• a brief description of the nature of the work they performed;
• an explanation of how this work has prepared you for your role in the project; and
• a description of the skills they developed (e.g., training, mentoring, analysis, networking).

Career interruptions and special circumstances

Maximum one page

SSHRC asks its merit review committees to consider career interruptions and special circumstances that have affected candidates’ record of research. In doing so, merit review committee members will be able to assess the productivity of each researcher more accurately and equitably, independent of any career interruptions or special circumstances in the last six years. Previous productivity is one element that can predict the success of the proposed research project.

All information provided to SSHRC is subject to the Privacy Act. The information included in this section of your application will be shared with both external assessors and merit review committee members for consideration as part of their assessment. Research Office Administrators will also have access to your application when submitting on behalf of the administering organization. For more information, see merit review. All SSHRC merit reviewers are subject to the Tri-Agency Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy and are prohibited from sharing this information outside of the merit review process.

Career interruptions occur when researchers are taken away from their research work for an extended time for health, administrative, family or other reasons, or reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Special circumstances involve slowdowns in research productivity or any circumstances that impact the progression of academic careers in a distinctive way. Researchers can use this section to indicate their research work was impacted by circumstances related to health (and/or disability), administrative, family, cultural or community responsibilities, socio-economic context, COVID-19, or other factors. For example, applicants from small institutions could indicate their teaching load in this section if the change in workload impacted their research output. Indigenous applicants can use the “Special Circumstances” section of their application form to describe special circumstances that may have had an impact on their academic or career paths.

Use this optional section to outline any career interruptions or special circumstances that have affected your research activities. Provide dates of interruptions and indicate the reason for the delay in general terms (e.g., illness, disability, family loss or illness, cultural or community responsibilities, socio-economic context, COVID-19).

SSHRC offers the following information for your awareness when considering how to describe your details of career interruptions and/or special circumstances:

• Applicants do not need to disclose any personal details of the career interruption or special circumstance.
• Applicants are asked to indicate how their research was impacted by delays to enable the reviewers to make an equitable assessment of the excellence of their research contributions while taking into account the impact of the interruption or special circumstances on their research production.
• Applicants are asked to quantify the impact on their research production as best they can, providing estimates of time or opportunities lost due to the interruption or special circumstances. For example, the amount of time and effort involved in seeking and receiving accommodations would be helpful to inform the committee’s assessment, by accounting for the impact of the special circumstances on the applicant’s research production.