Partnership Development Grants
Applicant Instructions

Note: For these instructions, “applicant” and “project director” refer to individual applicants and the person acting on behalf of an institutional applicant.

Note: SSHRC recommends clearing your browser cache to ensure the most up-to-date instructions are consulted. Verify the date modified at the bottom of this webpage to ensure these instructions are for the latest funding cycle.

On this page


Documents to read before applying


Helpful tips

Write your proposal in clear, plain language. Use non-technical terms that can be understood by a range of audiences with varied areas of expertise.

SSHRC advocates for the practices listed below when applicable in your application. In addition, costs related to these activities are eligible:

  • responsible research data management strategies;
  • open access publishing activities;
  • dissemination in both official languages;
  • promotion and support of official language minority communities; and
  • effective research training.

If you experience technical difficulties, contact the helpdesk as early as possible in the application process. The helpdesk has a higher volume of requests during peak periods (i.e., September 1 to December 1) and on deadline days.


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, refer to the Accessibility in programs and services webpage for information on requesting assistance or contact accessibility-accessibilite@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca directly. 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:

Applicant or project director responsibilities

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

Research or financial administrator responsibilities

By clicking “Forward” (Forward to SSHRC), the research administrator or designated financial administrator for not-for-profit organizations (institutional approval) certifies that:

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.

Applications remain available for download via the SSHRC online system for 30 days after the deadline, after which they are deleted.

Note: Eligible postdoctoral researchers and doctoral candidates can submit their application directly to SSHRC. See Administering organization for more information.

Attaching a document

Many modules in your application will require you to attach a PDF document. 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 that your file 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.

Type of partnership

Indicate whether this is a new or existing partnership. A new partnership is one that was developed for the purposes of submitting an application to this funding opportunity.

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 in the drop-down list in the “Joint or special initiative” field in the Identification module.

By participating in a joint initiative, you acknowledge that SSHRC will share your application, committee evaluation documents and SSHRC’s funding decision with the joint initiative partner organization.

Note: Applicants interested in the Mitacs Accelerate joint initiative must submit a completed Mitacs Accelerate application form to Mitacs within one week of the deadline of the SSHRC funding opportunity to which they are applying. To access the Accelerate application form, contact a Mitacs Advisor. Your SSHRC application should also include summary information about your Mitacs internships under the Training and Mentoring section.

Research-creation proposals

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 support material.

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 (project director)

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, you must 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

Only an eligible Canadian institution or organization can administer grant funds. Institutions or not-for-profit organizations interested in administering SSHRC individual 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.

Organization information (not-for-profit organizations only)

Maximum two pages

When a not-for-profit organization is the administering organization and proposes to manage the funds, you must include the following information:

Note: Applicants who are postdoctoral researchers or students and who do not have an affiliation at the time of the grant application are asked to communicate with SSHRC at least five business days before the deadline to confirm how to forward their application.


Activity details / research activities (mandatory)

Sensitive Technology Research Areas

In accordance with the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC), the applicant must indicate whether research and related activities funded by this grant aim to advance any of the areas in the Sensitive Technology Research Areas (STRAs) List.

For more information, read the Tri-agency guidance for this policy.

If you answered “Yes”, you must complete and attach attestation forms to your grant application (in the STRAC Attestation, module) to comply with the policy.

If you answered “No”, no further steps are required under this policy.

Ethics

State whether or not your proposal involves human beings as research subjects. If it does, select “Yes” and consult the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans 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):

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 the above 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.

Partnership approaches

Partnership arrangements are defined by the nature of the activity/activities to be carried out. Select one or more possible formal partnership approaches in the drop-down menu. If your approach is not listed, select “Other” from the list and type your approach in the box provided.

Approaches available within the Partnership Development Grants can include, but are not limited to, the following, as well as a combination thereof:

Previous SSHRC funding (if applicable)
Maximum one page

If the proposed partnerships’ activities are the result of previous SSHRC-funded activities, explain how they differ from those previously financed through SSHRC grants. Describe the results and impacts of past SSHRC-funded activities, and explain how these could influence the new activities offered in your proposal. Describe any potential or perceived overlaps with, as well as value added for, other continued SSHRC funding. Also describe any links developed with the partner organizations as part of previous SSHRC-funded activities.

Participants

The categories of co-applicant, co-director and collaborator accord with financial regulations outlined in the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration, so 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 for a particular role.

Participant invitation process:

It is the responsibility of each invited person to complete, verify and submit their Accept Invitation form.

Your application will not be “Verified Successfully” until each participant you have invited has successfully completed and verified their invitation.


Status Definition

Invitation not yet accepted

Participant (co-applicant, co-director or collaborator) has not accepted the invitation.
OR
If the participant deleted the system-generated invitation email by error, as the applicant you can click “Resend email,” and the same invitation will be sent again.
OR
If the participant has declined the invitation, you must remove the person from the application by clicking “Clear entry.”

Invitation accepted but not yet verified

Co-applicant or co-director has accepted the invitation and a copy of their CV was attached to their Accept Invitation form on creation. The Accept Invitation form is incomplete. Click “View CV” to preview the co-applicant’s CV and form.
OR
Collaborator has accepted the invitation and the Accept Invitation form was created. Click “View form” to preview the collaborator’s form.

Invitation accepted and verified

Co-applicant or co-director’s Accept Invitation form has been completed and verified. Click “View CV” to preview the co-applicant or co-director’s CV and form.
OR
Collaborator’s Accept Invitation form has been completed and verified. Click “View Form” to preview the collaborator’s form.

SSHRC CV

Co-applicants and co-directors must submit a full or partial SSHRC CV, following the Co-applicants with SSHRC CV instructions. To complete the SSHRC CV, they must follow the instructions for co-applicants or the instructions for co-directors, as the case may be.

Research contributions and relevant experience attachment

In addition to meeting the CV requirements above, co-applicants and co-directors must also attach a document describing their research contributions and relevant experience. Co-applicants and co-directors may choose to devote more space to certain sections depending on the nature of their past contributions and experience (for example, those from non-academic sectors may choose to have a larger Relevant experience section).

Co-applicants and co-directors must submit their required PDF attachments with their own CV, not within the CV of the applicant or project director.

A copy of the co-applicant or co-director’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 or co-director’s CV as applicable. See Relevant experience for details.


Invited partner organizations (mandatory)

Partner organization invitation process:

It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure that the invited person verifies and completes the form in advance of the application deadline.

Your application will not be “Verified Successfully” if all the contacts you have invited have not successfully completed and verified their invitation.


Status Definition

Invitation not yet accepted

Partner organization contact has not accepted the invitation.

OR

If the partner organization contact deleted the system generated email by error, as the applicant you can click “Resend email,” and the same invitation will be sent again.

Invitation refused

Partner organization contact was unable to complete the form.

Invitation accepted but not yet verified

Partner organization form has been created but is incomplete. Click “View” to preview the form.

Form completed

Partner organization form has been verified and completed. The form will be attached electronically to your application once it has been submitted to SSHRC.

It is the responsibility of each invited partner organization contact to complete, verify and submit their Accept Invitation form, including their Letter of Engagement. Each letter should be written on official letterhead and include the following:

If you selected Mitacs Accelerate as a joint or special initiative under Identification, any partner organization that intends to host one or more internships may consider the stipend cost of hosting the Accelerate internships as a cash contribution in the SSHRC application.

By submitting, the partner organization is acknowledging that it has read and agrees in principle with the objective(s) of the proposal.

Note: If the organization with which the applicant is affiliated wishes to participate as a partner organization, the applicant must follow the same process for inviting a partner organization as outlined above. The letter of engagement must be signed by the appropriate official(s) (e.g., department chair, non-governmental organization executive).


List of potential partner organizations and other contributors (if applicable)

Maximum two pages

Attach a list of the potential partner organizations and other contributors you plan to engage during the lifetime of your grant. Include email addresses and website links, if available.

The list should be divided into the following categories:



Summary of proposal (mandatory)

Maximum one page

Provide a clear summary of your proposal indicating:


Knowledge mobilization plan (mandatory)

Maximum two pages

In planning your research project, consider the ways in which merit reviewers assess knowledge mobilization activities. For example, reviewers are advised to evaluate, under the Feasibility criterion, the “quality and appropriateness of the knowledge mobilization plans, including effective dissemination, exchange and engagement with stakeholders within and/or beyond the research community, where applicable.”

SSHRC encourages its funding recipients to disseminate research knowledge in both official languages, whenever feasible and/or appropriate.

Include a plan to increase knowledge uptake by target audiences, and anticipated outputs, outcomes and/or impacts of social sciences and humanities knowledge among various appropriate audiences or participants (academic and/or non-academic), including:

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 Open Access overview.


List of references or bibliography (mandatory)

Maximum 10 pages

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

If you have included references by the project director, co-directors, co-applicants or collaborators, indicate these in bold type.


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

Research and related outcomes include enhanced curriculum and teaching material, enriched public discourse, improved public policies, enhanced business strategies and increased innovations in every sector of society, as well as graduate supervision opportunities. Research outcomes, which are facilitated by the effective mobilization of knowledge, then permeate daily life in the form of new thinking and behaviour that lead 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
Maximum one page

Describe the potential long-term 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.


Goal and project description (mandatory)

Maximum five pages

Before writing your proposal, consult the evaluation criteria in the funding opportunity description. SSHRC encourages the use of tables and charts, as they are often the most effective and efficient way to capture the proposed structure and co-ordination of formal partnerships and activities.

Provide the following information in your description:

Contingency plans related to the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on your research project may be described in this section, if appropriate. This is not mandatory, but it may assist the merit review committee in assessing the feasibility of your proposal if your research plans are significantly disrupted, e.g., if international travel is not possible. 


Research-creation support material

Maximum one page

If in the Identification screen you have self-identified yours as a research-creation project, 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, follow these instructions:

SSHRC reserves the right to remove this section from the application if it does not relate to research-creation. SSHRC assumes no responsibility in cases where links provided are broken or the server is unavailable during the merit review period. Reasonable efforts will be made to view or listen to support material; however, due to technical challenges, SSHRC cannot guarantee the samples will be accessed. Reviewers will have very limited time per application to view, read or listen to samples of work. Only links provided in the support material attachment will be used by merit reviewers.

See SSHRC’s Guidelines for Research-Creation Support Materials for more information.


Description of formal partnership (mandatory)

Maximum four pages

Define and fully describe the partnership, so committee members can clearly understand that your proposal is a genuine formal partnership. In this attachment, explain:


Note: Although only one person can be the official applicant named on the application form for accountability reasons, it is permissible to propose a co-director leadership model in the narrative portions of the application, if appropriate.



Contributions plan (mandatory)

Maximum one page

Detail your plan to secure cash and/or in-kind contributions. The plan must describe:

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


Participants’ involvement (mandatory)

Maximum two pages

Explain the different types of expertise needed to ensure the partnership’s success. Describe the roles, responsibilities and contributions of the applicant and key co-applicants and/or co-directors and/or collaborators, as well as other key participants. Clearly indicate, where appropriate, whether they are from an academic or a non-academic sector (e.g., not-for-profit organization, philanthropic foundation, public or private sector organization), and how the activities and expertise of each member will support and enhance the proposed partnership.


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 initiatives. Clearly describe 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:

Mitacs Accelerate internship(s) summary information

If you selected Mitacs Accelerate as a Joint or special initiative under Identification, use the Training and mentoring section to provide summary information about the proposed internship(s), such as the objectives of the internship(s), the planned activities, and the anticipated benefits to the SSHRC project, to the organization(s) that will host the internship(s), and to the student(s) and/or postdoctoral researcher(s) involved. You will also need to submit the Mitacs Accelerate application form directly to Mitacs. You can obtain this form from a Mitacs Advisor.


Evidence of formal partnership (mandatory)

Maximum 15 pages

You must provide documented evidence that demonstrates the quality, commitment and agreement of the formal partnership. Evidence can include, but is not limited to:

Do not provide letters of engagement from partner organizations in this section, as these will already be included elsewhere in your application.

Note: Any information you provide in this section that is not documented evidence of a formal partnership may be removed from your application prior to its evaluation.



Funds requested from SSHRC (mandatory)

For each budget year, 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 to 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.

If you selected Mitacs Accelerate as a joint or special initiative under Identification, you may not request SSHRC funding for these internships. Funding for these internships must be requested via the Mitacs Accelerate application form. In addition, SSHRC funds may not be requested or used to cover the cost to the organization of hosting the Mitacs Accelerate internships.

SSHRC provides the following guidelines to committee members regarding the merit review of the budget subcriteria of the overall Feasibility score:


  • Committees may consider failing a project on the Feasibility criterion if they determine that 30% or more of the overall budget request is insufficiently justified and/or not appropriate to the proposed objectives or outcomes of the project.
  • Committees will use the principle of minimum essential funding to guide their budget discussions.
  • Committees may recommend minor budget reductions when they determine the request is inadequately justified and/or not appropriate as described above, and where they judge that savings could be achieved without jeopardizing the project objectives.

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 research, research training and/or research-related objectives. The work performed by stipend recipients should be an integral part of the project. Stipend rates are set by the institution concerned.

Other—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 annual salary of an employee who is being temporarily replaced because they will be devoting their time as a project director, co-director or 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 a project director, co-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, co-director or co-applicant, but is paid to the Canadian not-for-profit organization to offset the costs of replacing its employee.

For further information, see SSHRC’s Salary Research Allowances policy.

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.

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.

Nondisposable 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 nondisposable 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.

Tools for research and related activities

For tools for research and related activities, select “Other expenses” and specify “Tools.” You must combine all requested expenses related to tools (i.e., for software, equipment, and professional and technical services) in this category. You must then elaborate on these items in the Budget justification section. Consult SSHRC’s Guidelines for Support of Tools for Research and Related Activities and SSHRC’s Partnerships Tool-Kit for more information on social sciences and humanities tools.


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. Justify any funds that appear in the category “Other.”

Ensure your budget requests match the level of funding that is essential to complete the proposed activities. Note that the merit review committee may deem your application less competitive if it finds that you are requesting non-essential funding.

Note: In reviewing the funding you have requested, committee members take into account the quality of your overall financial planning, your justification of the proposed expenditures, and the institutional and partner organization funding you have secured. It is also important to indicate how the budget requested from SSHRC and the partners’ contributions will complement each other and benefit the objectives of the partnership.


Funds from other sources

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

Contributions from partner organizations should not be included in this section. If you selected Mitacs Accelerate as a joint or special initiative under Identification, the portion of the stipend cost provided by Mitacs may not be considered as a contribution in the SSHRC application.

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 in 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.

Include a description of funds from other sources in the Budget justification section.


Total project cost

Each partner organization will complete a “Contributions from partner organization” page (i.e., budget) indicating whether each budget item has been confirmed. When all Contributions from partner organization pages have been submitted, the amounts from each budget item will be automatically totalled. After the data are saved, the system will automatically display these totals in a PDF version of this page of the application form.

A. Total of all partner organizations’ contributions
The system will total the values entered for “Cash” and “In-kind.”

B. Total funds from other sources
Once you complete the “Funds from other sources” screen and save the data, the system will display the totals on line B.

C. Total funds requested from SSHRC
For each year, the amounts from “Student salaries and benefits / Stipends” to “Other expenses (specify)” will be automatically totalled. After the data are saved, the system will automatically display the totals on line C.

Total cost of project (A + B + C)
The system will automatically add lines A, B and C.


Impact assessment—Appendix A

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 take it into consideration in the selection of 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

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

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 (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:

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.

A “refereed work” involves its assessment:

Other refereed contributions

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

Nonrefereed 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. Therefore, 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 on students you have helped train within the last six years.

5. Relevant experience

In the Relevant experience section, non-academic and academic applicants 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:


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 period of 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:


Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC) Attestation Attachment Module

In accordance with the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC), all researchers involved in activities funded by a grant that aim to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area (STRA) must review the List of Named Research Organizations (NROs) and attest that they are not affiliated with, or receiving funding or in-kind support from any listed NRO.

You must submit attestation forms from the applicant, co-applicants and collaborators, as applicable, certifying that they have read, understand, and are compliant with this policy. Should your application be successful, you and your research team(s) will also be required to comply with the policy for the duration of the grant that aims to advance one or more STRAs.

The attestation forms may be shared with Government of Canada departments and agencies, for the purpose of national security assessment and to validate compliance with the policy.

For more information, read the Tri-agency guidance for this policy.


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