Connection Grants

2023-24 Competitions

On this page

• Description
• Future Challenge Areas
• Value and duration
• Eligibility
• Application process
• Evaluation and merit review
• Regulations, policies and related information
• Contact information

Description

Connection Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Research Partnerships program.

These grants support events and outreach activities geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives. These events and activities represent opportunities to exchange knowledge and to engage with participants on research issues of value to them. Events and outreach activities funded by a Connection Grant can often serve as a first step toward more comprehensive and longer-term projects.

Connection Grants support workshops, colloquiums, conferences, forums, summer institutes, or other events or outreach activities that facilitate:

• disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary exchanges in the social sciences and humanities;
• scholarly exchanges between those working in the social sciences and humanities and those working in other research fields;
• intersectoral exchanges between academic researchers in the social sciences and humanities and researchers and practitioners from the public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors; and/or
• international research collaboration and scholarly exchanges with researchers, students and non-academic partners from other countries.

Only a Canadian institution that holds institutional eligibility can administer funds. However, the intellectual leadership and governance for Connection Grant activities can come from within the research community and/or from within the public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors.

SSHRC welcomes applications involving Indigenous research, as well as those involving research-creation.

Joint initiatives

SSHRC collaborates with organizations from across the not-for-profit, private and public sectors to support and promote training, research and connection activities in the social sciences and humanities. SSHRC’s joint initiatives are designed to reflect its strategic objectives and mandate, inform decision-makers, and, in certain cases, address specific needs of its partners.

Learn more about joint initiatives.

For a complete list of available joint initiatives, consult SSHRC’s funding search tool.

Research Data Management Capacity Building Initiative

Through this initiative, SSHRC will fund at least 10 meritorious Connection Grant proposals per competition to support the social sciences and humanities research community develop and adopt research data management standards, tools and skills. Learn more about the Research Data Management Capacity Building Initiative.

Unless otherwise indicated, there is no separate application process for most joint initiatives or for the Research Data Management Capacity Building Initiative. However, candidates must indicate that they wish to be considered for an initiative, and explain why, in their application form.

Future Challenge Areas

SSHRC invites all applicants to review Imagining Canada’s Future’s 16 future global challenges and to consider addressing one or more of these areas in their research proposal. This is not an evaluation criterion for merit review and does not offer additional or dedicated research funds for this funding opportunity.

Value and duration

Connection Grants supporting events are valued at $7,000 to $25,000 over one year.

Connection Grants supporting outreach activities are valued at $7,000 to $50,000 over one year.

A minimum request of $7,000 is required.

SSHRC is willing to consider amounts higher than $50,000, although such applications must satisfactorily justify the need for the higher amount, as well as provide evidence the entire award can be managed within the one-year timeframe.

Matching funds

SSHRC will not fund the full cost of any Connection Grant project. Additional support in the form of eligible 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. For example, an applicant asking SSHRC for $10,000 in funding will have to demonstrate additional support equal to at least $5,000. SSHRC will consider only eligible funds stemming from sponsoring organizations in its calculations of matching funds; individual contributions will not be considered in the calculation of matching funds.

Applicants must demonstrate their ability to secure at least the minimum matching funding. Applicants must do so by including letters of support from sponsoring organizations that clearly confirm the amounts and types of contributions the organizations are providing for the proposed event or activity. A letter of support must be signed by someone with signing authority for the organization.

Only contributions from sponsoring organizations identified in signed letters of support will count toward the required 50% matching funds. Amounts appearing in letters of support from individuals will not be used in this calculation.

Applicants can draw on complementary funding from SSHRC research grants and/or other research funding agencies, but must make clear in their budget proposal that there is no duplication of financial support for the same budget expenses. While such funds can be used in this complementary way, these funds cannot be counted toward the 50% requirement for matching funds.

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

Salary research allowance

Applicants and co-applicants from eligible not-for-profit organizations can request a salary research allowance to release them from duties to their organization to participate in the knowledge mobilization events and activities only.

Eligibility

Subject matter

Most SSHRC funding is awarded through open competitions. Proposals can involve any disciplines, thematic areas, approaches or subject areas eligible for SSHRC funding. See the guidelines on subject matter eligibility for more information.

Projects whose primary objective is to conduct research activities (e.g., literature reviews, field work, data collection, interviews) or to develop stand-alone volumes are not eligible for funding under this funding opportunity.

Proposed events and outreach activities

• All activities must take place within 12 months of the start date indicated on the notice of award (see decision dates in the funding cycle schedule).
• Proposed events and outreach activities must produce timely and concrete deliverables, such as conference proceedings or other knowledge products developed for traditional formats and/or employing digital and/or multimedia formats (unless specifically intended to create new, longer-term linkages or to initiate collaboration).
• Proposed events and outreach activities can be one-time encounters or catalysts designed to lead to longer-term partnerships and/or sustained programs of scholarly research.

Events

Events are short-term activities that are usually completed in a week or less (e.g., a two-day conference or a one-week workshop). The bulk of the activities will happen within this short period. As part of the overall proposal, applicants can request support for longer-term activities directly related to the event (e.g., developing proceedings, publications or reports, or other forms of knowledge synthesis).

Proposed events can be:

• face-to-face or involve virtual interaction;
• discipline-specific, or cross-disciplinary and/or cross-sectoral; and
• open- or closed-invitation.

Outreach activities

Proposed outreach activities must be designed to engage a broader public in social sciences and humanities knowledge through one or a combination of the following: knowledge dissemination, transfer, brokering, translation, synthesis, exchange, networking or co-creation beyond what would typically be achieved through an event. Proposed activities can include, but are not limited to:

• adaptation (including translation, for example, into French, English or Indigenous languages) of texts or presentations for the purpose of broader knowledge mobilization to different audiences;
• development of policy briefs, knowledge syntheses and scoping reviews;
• development of articles for print or online publication in newspapers or weekly or monthly magazines—whether specialized or general interest;
• virtual networking;
• media events (such as television/radio presentations);
• summer schools/institutes;
• speaker series;
• public debates;
• artistic exhibits, performances or festivals;
• development/use of interactive technologies, audiovisual products or software; and/or
• development/use of educational aids, instruments or equipment.

Projects can occur in Canada or abroad. If a proposed project is to occur abroad, the applicant must justify the project’s potential to mobilize Canadian research on an international stage, and why the project must happen outside Canada.

Connection Grants are intended to support applicants and project directors who are running a knowledge mobilization event or outreach activity. Applicants must provide evidence that they are playing an active and significant role in the organization and delivery of the event or outreach activity.

Ineligible activities

Although applicants can apply for Connection Grants to support eligible events and outreach activities organized by academic associations, the following association activities are not eligible for funding:

• annual general meetings or any other activity directly related to an association’s business meetings;
• book launches or similar report dissemination;
• receptions for association members; and
• any activities normally paid for by the association’s operating fees.

Participants and audiences

Participants or audiences, in Canada and abroad, for both events and outreach activities, can include, among others:

• academic researchers;
• non-academic researchers;
• policy makers;
• professional practitioners;
• representatives from public, private or not-for-profit organizations;
• representatives from community-based, local or regional non-academic organizations; and/or
• students at all levels.

Applicants

Applications can be submitted by institutions or by individual applicants and teams (consisting of one applicant or project director and one or more co-applicants and/or collaborators).

Institutional Connection Grant applications must be submitted by a Canadian institution that holds institutional eligibility to conduct an event, an outreach activity or a combination of the two that allows the institution to achieve strategic objectives relevant to its mission and mandate. The project director must be affiliated with the host institution (the applicant), prepare the application on behalf of the host institution and be responsible for the overall leadership of the project. The term “institution” from this point on in this description refers to both postsecondary institutions and not‑for‑profit organizations.

Individual Connection Grant applicants (except postdoctoral researchers) must be affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution that holds institutional eligibility at the time of application. Applicants conduct an event, outreach activity or a combination of the two that primarily falls in their areas of expertise and will allow them to make a significant contribution to their field of research. In the case of a team approach, all team members must meet the eligibility criteria specific to their role.

See the section below on Institutions for more information.

Researchers who maintain an affiliation with a Canadian postsecondary institution, but whose primary affiliation is with a non-Canadian postsecondary institution, are not eligible for applicant or project director status.

Applicants or project directors who have received a SSHRC grant of any type but have failed to submit an achievement report by the deadline specified in their notice of award are not eligible to apply for another SSHRC grant until they have submitted the report.

Postdoctoral researchers are eligible to be applicants or project directors if they have formally established an affiliation with an eligible institution within three months of the grant start date, and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.

Students enrolled in a program of study are not eligible to apply.

Connection Grant proposals led by students can be submitted, provided the proposals involve both students and researchers, and are submitted on behalf of the student by a faculty member at an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution. Students can be collaborators, but not co-applicants. Students who are collaborators on a project team cannot be paid a stipend or wage by the grant.

Federal scientists who are affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution must demonstrate that their proposed research or research-related activity is not related to either the mandate of their employer or the normal duties for which they receive payment from that employer.

If the proposal falls within the mandate of the federal government and the research or research-related activity is performed in government facilities, funding can only be allocated for student salaries, stipends and travel costs .

Institutions

Grant funds can only be administered by an eligible Canadian institution. Institutions proposing to administer a grant awarded under this funding opportunity must hold or obtain institutional eligibility.

All not-for-profit organizations that require institutional eligibility must contact institutional.eligibility@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca at least five business days prior to the application deadline to be added to the application form and begin the eligibility process.

Indigenous not-for-profit organizations wanting to administer multiple Partnership Development Grants, Partnership Grants and/or Connection Grants going forward are encouraged to begin the institutional eligibility application process at least two months prior to the relevant funding opportunity’s application deadline.

Institutions must contact institutional.eligibility@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca to begin the institutional eligibility application process, or if they have questions about institutional eligibility.

Co-applicants

Individuals (including postdoctoral researchers) are eligible to be co-applicants if they are formally affiliated with any of the following:

• Canadian eligible postsecondary institutions; not-for-profit organizations; philanthropic foundations; think tanks; or municipal, territorial or provincial governments; or
• International postsecondary institution.

Collaborators

Any individual who makes a significant contribution to the project is eligible to be a collaborator. Collaborators do not need to be affiliated with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution.

Individuals from the private sector or federal government can only participate as collaborators.

Multiple applications and holding multiple awards

Individuals can apply, as an applicant, for only one Connection Grant per calendar year. An applicant cannot apply for or hold more than one Connection Grant for the same event or outreach activity.

Applicants or project directors on an active SSHRC Connection Grant cannot apply as an applicant or a project director for another individual or institutional Connection Grant.

See SSHRC’s regulations regarding multiple applications and holding multiple awards for more information.

Monitoring

Grant holders will be expected to report on the use of grant funds, on funded activities undertaken during the grant period, and on outcomes. Successful applicants will be informed of reporting requirements when they receive their notice of award.

Application process

Applicants must complete the application form in accordance with accompanying instructions. Applications must be submitted electronically by an authorized research grants officer, or equivalent, from the applicant’s institution, or by a representative of the not-for-profit organization that has financial signing authority and is not participating in the project.

Eligible postdoctoral researchers not currently affiliated with a SSHRC eligible institution can submit their applications directly to SSHRC.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications well in advance of the start date of the proposed event or outreach activity. They should submit their application by the deadline corresponding to the decision date most appropriate to their project’s needs, keeping in mind SSHRC cannot award a grant retroactively for an event or outreach activity that has taken place prior to the final funding decision. All funded activities must take place within one year of the start date indicated on the notice of award.

Applicants needing help while preparing their application should communicate with SSHRC well in advance of the application deadline.

SSHRC makes Connection Grant funding decisions through a merit review process during four funding cycles per year, according to the following schedule:

Once the 8 p.m. (eastern) application deadline has passed, the application server will be offline for 48 hours and unable to accept applications. After this time, the server will come back online, ready to accept applications for the next competition deadline.

Evaluation and merit review

Applications are reviewed, and available funds awarded, through a competitive merit review process. SSHRC bases funding decisions on the recommendations of the merit review committee and on the funds available. Committee discussions are guided by the principle of minimum essential funding.

Evaluation criteria and scoring

The following criteria and scoring scheme are used to evaluate the applications:

1. Challenge—The aim and importance of the endeavour (40%):
   • relevance of the proposal to the objectives of the Research Partnerships program;
   • originality, significance and expected contribution to the preservation of, access to and/or mobilization of research knowledge;
   • quality of the proposed project and appropriateness of the approach;
   • quality and significance of the research being mobilized;
   • quality of training and mentoring to be provided to students, emerging scholars and other highly qualified personnel, and opportunities for them to contribute; and
   • potential for the project results to have influence and impact within and/or beyond the social sciences and humanities research community.
2. Feasibility—The plan to achieve excellence (30%):
   • appropriateness of the proposed timeline and probability that the objectives will be met;
   • appropriateness of the requested budget and justification of proposed costs; and
   • indications of other planned resources including leveraging of cash and in-kind support from other sources.
3. Capability—The expertise to succeed (30%):
   • quality, quantity and significance of past experience and published and/or creative outputs of the applicant / project director and any co-applicants relative to their roles in the event or activity and to the stage of their career;
   • evidence of past knowledge mobilization activities (e.g., films, performances, commissioned reports, knowledge syntheses, experience in collaboration / other interactions with stakeholders, contributions to public debate and the media) and of impacts on professional practice, social services and policies, etc.; and
   • quality and quantity of past contributions to the training and mentoring of students, postdoctoral researchers and other highly qualified personnel.

Scoring table

Merit review committee members assign a score for each of the three criteria above, based on the following scoring table. The appropriate weighting is then applied to arrive at a final score. Applications must receive a score of 3.0 or higher for each of the three criteria to be recommended for funding.

Communication of results

SSHRC makes competition results available to applicants (via the SSHRC Extranet for Applicants) and institutions/organizations (via the Grants and Scholarships Administration Portal), as applicable.

Regulations, policies and related information

SSHRC reserves the right to determine the eligibility of applications, based on the information included. SSHRC also reserves the right to interpret the regulations and policies governing its funding opportunities.

All applicants and grant holders must comply with the policies, regulations and guidelines governing grant applications and with the regulations set out in the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration.

Grant holders must also comply with the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications. See the Open Access overview for more information. SSHRC also encourages researchers to manage data arising from their research in accordance with community standards and best practices (including the FAIR principles of findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable).

SSHRC’s Research Data Archiving Policy has been retired. In March 2021, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and SSHRC launched the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy. As of April 1, 2021, this new policy replaces SSHRC’s Research Data Archiving Policy for all active grants.

Specific rules for the use of grant funds

• Grant funds cannot be used to provide salaries or stipends to applicants, co-applicants or collaborators, regardless of an individual’s eligibility to apply for grants.
• Grant funds cannot be used to provide salaries or stipends to Canadian faculty members or to other individuals whose status would make them eligible to hold a grant from the agency.
• Grant funds cannot be used to pay for research activities.
• Grant funds cannot be used to pay for conference registration fees.
• An organization cannot be both a contractor and a sponsoring organization in the same project.
• Grant funds can be used (up to $50,000) to develop connection-related tools for the purpose of knowledge mobilization activities.

Guidelines and related support material

All applicants for SSHRC funding should consult the following guidelines while preparing their applications:

• SSHRC’s Definitions of Terms for terms used in the grant application process;
• the Guidelines for Effective Research Training, which can also be useful to reviewers and postsecondary institutions;
• SSHRC’s Indigenous Research Statement of Principles and its Guidelines for the Merit Review of Indigenous Research for applications involving Indigenous research;
• SSHRC’s definition of knowledge mobilization and its Guidelines for Effective Knowledge Mobilization for guidance on connecting with research users to create impact; and
• SSHRC’s Guidelines for Support of Tools for Research and Related Activities for applicants requiring funding for research-related activities.

Contact information

For more information, contact:

Email: connection@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
Toll-free: 1-855-275-2861

Date modified:

2023-07-28