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Knowledge Synthesis Grants Evidence Briefs

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Mobility and Public Transit

SSHRC, in collaboration with Infrastructure Canada, launched a Knowledge Synthesis Grants (KSG) competition in 2020 to mobilize research and help inform best practices related to mobility and public transit.

This collection of evidence briefs highlights some of the research findings from the KSG holders’ final synthesis reports, and their relevance to key policy areas around this future challenge area. The briefs also help grant holders engage with their non-academic partners, and effectively share information about their projects with policy-makers and the wider public. 

Skills and Work in the Digital Economy

SSHRC, in collaboration with the Future Skills Centre, launched a Knowledge Synthesis Grants (KSG) competition in 2020 to mobilize research and help inform best practices related to skills and work in the digital economy.

This collection of evidence briefs highlights some of the research findings from the KSG holders’ final synthesis reports, and their relevance to key policy areas related to this future challenge area. The briefs also help grant holders engage with their non-academic partners and effectively share information about their projects with policy-makers and the wider public.

Living within the Earth’s carrying capacity

SSHRC, in collaboration with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), launched a Knowledge Synthesis Grants (KSG) competition in 2019 to mobilize research and help inform best practices related to living within the Earth’s carrying capacity.

This collection of evidence briefs highlights some of the research findings from the KSG holders’ final synthesis reports, and their relevance to key policy areas related to this future challenge area. The briefs also help grant holders engage with their non-academic partners and effectively share information about their projects with policy-makers and the wider public.

Informing best practices in environmental and impact assessments

SSHRC and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) launched a Knowledge Synthesis Grants (KSG) competition in spring 2019 to stimulate social sciences and humanities research to help inform best practices for environmental and impact assessments. Following a competitive funding process, 13 KSG projects were funded in September 2019.

Background

The KSG competition had three main goals:

  • assess the state of research knowledge in the social sciences and humanities and its application to environmental and impact assessments;
  • identify research strengths and gaps to contribute to evidence-based policy making and best practices and identify future research agendas; and
  • engage cross-sectoral stakeholders and facilitate the sharing of research findings with multisectoral stakeholders in the academic, public, private and not-for-profit sectors, including Indigenous rights holders.

The findings and policy implications summarized in the evidence briefs will help define potential areas in which Canada could play a vital leadership role related to impact and environmental assessments, as well as assist in developing future research agendas.

The evidence briefs reflect KSG project holders’ commitment to ensuring that concise information about their KSG project is effectively communicated to policy makers and to the wider public. The final KSG reports, as well as further information on the projects, are available by connecting with the authors and their respective research teams directly. The contact information for the research teams, and, in some instances, links to the final reports, is provided in the individual evidence briefs.

The views expressed in these evidence briefs are those of the authors and not necessarily those of SSHRC, IAAC or the Government of Canada.

Understanding the future of Canada-UK trade relationships

SSHRC and the United Kingdom’s (UK) Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC—part of UK Research and Innovation) launched a dedicated Knowledge Synthesis Grants (KSG) competition in January 2018.

This collection of evidence briefs highlights some of the research findings from the KSG holders’ final synthesis reports and their relevance in key policy areas related to future Canada-UK trade relationships. The briefs also help grant holders engage with their non-academic partners and effectively share information about their projects with policy-makers and the wider public.



Background

The KSG competition on understanding the future of Canada-UK trade relationships had three main goals:

  • to assess the state of research knowledge on Canada-UK trade relationships and to gain a better understanding of post-Brexit bilateral trade relations;
  • to identify research strengths and gaps contributing to evidence-based policy making process; and
  • to foster international collaboration between Canadian and the UK research community.

This competition builds on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada and the UK concerning Science, Technology and Innovation, which was signed in September 2017. One of the MOU’s key objectives is to enable research cooperation and foster international partnerships between the two countries’ academia, government institutions and businesses. This will lead to positive impacts for society in Canada, the UK and around the world.

Learn more about the competition

Following a competitive funding process, ten KSG projects were funded in May 2018. Grant holders presented their key findings and outcomes at a multi-sector forum in December 2018 in London. World-leading researchers, leaders from government, business, and civil society sectors and think tank representatives attended the forum.

Final synthesis reports

The resulting ten final synthesis reports, which are available to read in the evidence briefs linked above, highlight the opportunities a new trade agreement poses for innovation and leadership roles for both countries. They also emphasize the importance and value of using the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) as a model. Three of the reports focused on the causes of Brexit and the demographic and socio-economic factors that influence support for international trade agreements. Many of the reports stress the value of including a wide range of stakeholders from government, policy institutions, business and civil society sectors in the negotiation process. The reports also discussed the role that subnational or sub-state actors could play, as well the role of geography and distance in trade considerations.


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