This funding opportunity is no longer offered. For information on currently offered SSHRC funding opportunities, see Funding

September 2009 Competition

Context
Objectives
Description
Value and Duration
Eligibility
Evaluation and Adjudication
Administrative Regulations
More Information

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Context

The Canadian Election Study (CES) is a world-class study of Canadian elections and related attitudes of key importance to the study and understanding of democratic processes and elections. In terms of global research stature, it is comparable to other national efforts such as the American National Election Studies and the British Election Study, among others.

Active since 1965, the CES has created a unique series of comparable surveys and studies of Canadian elections and related attitudes and perceptions. As such, it represents a crucial and collective piece of research data infrastructure used by researchers, students, and those studying elections in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, as well as by media and the general public. The CES generates leading research on Canadian and international comparative studies of democratic processes and elections past and present.

Therefore, SSHRC and Elections Canada are launching a one-time special call for proposals seeking to survey and study the 41st and 42nd Canadian federal elections, in order to ensure the continuity, open access and quality of this resource for all interested researchers in Canada and elsewhere. The successful research team will be expected to also seek institutional in-kind and cash support for the proposed activities.

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Objectives

Specific objectives of the call for proposals are to support and ensure:

• the design of, and data collection for, CES surveys of representative samples of Canadians in order to gather data on opinions and preferences related to the 41st and 42nd federal elections;
• preparation of the survey data from each election survey for electronic, open access release as soon as feasible after the end of data collection;
• the comparability of the collected survey data with previous CES surveys, and efficient, open access to all CES materials for all interested researchers, students and others; and
• initiation and development of actions to ensure the long-term sustainability of the CES, including plans to create and sustain a governance and management model for data-gathering, with open-access storage for past and present CES data, analyses, related materials and, potentially, other databases.

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Description

The CES Data Set grant will support the establishment of a research team mandated to carry out the data collection for the next two Canadian federal elections (the 41st and 42nd). Applications are being sought to design and undertake a survey for the next two federal elections that will ensure the continuity of the CES while encouraging innovative methodologies and/or state of the art approaches to data collection, preservation and access. The successful team will consult Elections Canada to ensure that survey questions relevant to Election Canada's interests and mandate are included in the study.

The successful team will also be expected to commit to developing plans for the long-term sustainability of the CES and to seeking additional funding, including for costs related to infrastructure eligible through the Canada Foundation for Innovation, before the 42nd general election.

A "start-up" meeting between the research team, the institutions involved, SSHRC and Elections Canada representatives will be scheduled soon after the award start date to determine in detail the mid-term expectations.

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Value and Duration

The maximum value for the CES Data Set grant is $450,000 for the first election study and $400,000 for the second. These values are for two studies within a five-year period. It is expected that additional cash and in-kind support will be secured within the period of the award from partner organizations and/or institutions with affiliated research team members.

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Eligibility

Applicants

Applications must be submitted by a Canadian postsecondary institution as an institutional lead, with the eventual involvement of other Canadian institutions with affiliated research team members.

Institutions that propose to administer any grant awarded under this program must meet the requirements for managing SSHRC funds and must hold or obtain institutional eligibility.

Institutional Eligibility

An organization that wishes to administer SSHRC grant funding must apply for, and be granted, institutional eligibility with SSHRC. Once institutional eligibility is granted, the organization is invited to become a signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Roles and Responsibilities in the Management of Federal Grants and Awards, which entails a commitment by the organization to adhere to the high legal, ethical and financial standards set out in the MOU's schedules, and ensures that the organization has the necessary structures and processes in place to achieve this objective. Please note that SSHRC will not release grant funding to an institution or an organization before it becomes a signatory of the MOU.

For questions related to institutional eligibility, or to receive an institutional eligibility application package, please contact Erin Skrapek, of SSHRC's Corporate Secretariat, at erin.skrapek@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca.

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Evaluation and Adjudication

The adjudication committee will assess CES Data Set applications according to the following criteria:

Quality and impact:

• the extent to which the proposal aligns with the overall objectives of the CES Data Set call for proposals; and
• the comparability with previous CES studies and other international studies.

Planning framework:

• the feasibility and clarity of the proposed plan of action for leading the CES studies of the 41st and 42nd federal elections; and
• the long-term governance model, including plans to engage a broad base of scholars and institutions in developing a pan-Canadian CES governance model.

Qualifications and leadership:

• strength of the team's scholarly qualifications for carrying out the proposed activities, including familiarity with the CES;
• demonstrable leadership and organizational experience; and
• capacity to carry out the proposed activities and initiate plans for the development of the long-term governance model.

Support and partnerships:

• the appropriateness of the proposed budget expenditures;
• the quality and appropriateness of demonstrated commitments of complementary financial or in-kind support from postsecondary institutions and other sources (excluding SSHRC and Elections Canada); and
• the quality and relevance of the approach to secure short-term and long-term support.

Data dissemination and knowledge mobilization:

• plans for rendering accessible and circulating the survey results in order to contribute to the sharing of knowledge with academic and non-academic partners from across the public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors, including internationally.

Research teams will be expected to outline in their application how they plan to develop an inclusive, pan-Canadian governance model that would ensure the long-term sustainability of the CES. At the mid-term review, research teams will report on the progress made and outline planned actions. (Note: In the event that there is limited time between both studies, the mid-term review will take this into account.)

Anticipated and confirmed commitments of direct and indirect funding from institutional and other funding partners also need to be outlined in the application. Applicants should include letters of support with their application

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Administrative Regulations

All applicants and grant holders must comply with the regulations set out in the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.

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More Information

For more information about this program, or for advice on how to prepare your application, please contact:

Jacques Critchley
Senior Program Officer
Strategic Programs and Joint Initiatives Division
SSHRC
350 Albert St.
P.O. Box 1610
Ottawa, ON K1P 6G4
Tel.: 613-992-5145
Email: jacques.critchley@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca

or

Mika Oehling
Program Officer
Strategic Programs and Joint Initiatives Division
SSHRC
350 Albert St.
P.O. Box 1610
Ottawa, ON K1P 6G4
Tel.: 613-992-4227
Email: mika.oehling@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca