Sponsor

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Program

Partnership Grants - Stage 1 - 2024 Competition [1] 

Description

Partnership Grant proposals are expected to respond to the objectives of the Insight program [2] or the Connection program [3] or a combination thereof. Proposals exclusively for partnered research training initiatives are expected to respond, instead, to the objectives of the Talent program [4]. Please see the Insight, Connection and Talent program descriptions for more details. 

Partnership Grants provide support for new and existing formal partnerships over four to seven years to advance research, research training and/or knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities through mutual co-operation and sharing of intellectual leadership as well as through resources as evidenced by cash and/or in-kind contributions [5].

Partnership Grants are intended for large teams working in formal collaboration between post-secondary institutions and/or organizations of various types.

A formal partnership is a bilateral or multilateral formal collaboration agreement between an applicant and one or more partner organizations, of which at least one must be a Canadian post-secondary institution and at least one must be different from the institution or organization that will administer the grant funds. Partnerships may be between academic institutions or between one or more academic institutions and one or more non-academic partner organizations. These partner organizations agree and commit to work collaboratively to achieve shared goals for mutual benefit. Partner organizations must provide evidence attesting to the commitment that has been agreed upon. 

Eligibility

Applications must be submitted by an eligible Canadian institution. The project director prepares the application on behalf of his/her host institution (the applicant) and on behalf of the formal partnership.

There are three categories of individual participants for Partnership Grants:

1. project director
2. co-applicant
3. collaborator

Project Director: The project director must be affiliated with the host institution (the applicant). Postdoctoral researchers are eligible to be project directors for this grant. However, in order for SSHRC to release grant funds, project directors must formally establish an affiliation with an eligible institution within five months of the grant start date and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.

Co-applicants: Co-applicants may be individuals from any of the following:

• Canadian: Post-secondary institutions; not‑for‑profit organizations; philanthropic foundations; and municipal, territorial or provincial governments.
• International: Post-secondary institutions.

Postdoctoral researchers who are affiliated with a post-secondary institution are eligible to be co-applicants.

Collaborators: Any individual who will make a significant contribution to the project is eligible to be a collaborator. Collaborators do not need to be affiliated with an eligible Canadian post-secondary institution. Individuals from the private sector or federal government may only participate as collaborators.

Maximum Project Value

Partnership Grants undergo a two-stage adjudication process. Only applicants successful at the first stage will be invited to submit an application at the second stage.

Stage 1: Applicants successful at the first stage will be offered a grant worth up to $20,000 to help in the preparation of the second stage application—i.e., to further refine the question(s) to be addressed; to establish partnership arrangements, governance structure and/or approach/methodology; and to consolidate their collaborative activities.

Stage 2 (by invitation only): Partnership Grants are valued at a maximum of $500,000 per year over four to seven years, up to a total of $2.5 million.

Indirect Costs

There are no indirect costs on the funding provided by SSHRC; however, indirect costs may apply to the funding provided by partners if not specifically committed in the application.

Project Duration

Four to seven years

Special Notes

If you want to better understand the differences between a SSHRC Partnership Development Grant  [6]and a SSHRC Partnership Grant [7], please visit the FAQ section [8].

How to Apply

Stage 1

Applicants must complete the application form [11] by following the accompanying instructions. Applications must be submitted electronically by an authorized research grants officer from the Research Services Office. 

Applicants at the first stage are expected to include a proposed plan to secure, over and above the budget requested from SSHRC, a minimum of 35 per cent in additional resources from sources other than SSHRC during the life of the grant (four to seven years). As an example, if $1 million is requested from SSHRC, a minimum of $350,000 in additional cash and/or in-kind support must be secured from partner organizations, resulting in an actual total project budget of $1,350,000. SSHRC recognizes that the project can grow beyond that amount as additional partner organizations become involved over the life of the grant. For more information, please see the SSHRC Guidelines for Cash and In-Kind Contributions. [5]

Stage 2

Only those applicants who are successful at the first stage will be invited to submit an application at the second stage. 

For tools and resources to assist in the planning and implementation of your partnership, please see SSHRC’s Partnerships Tool-Kit [12].

Information For Co-applicants

If you need to meet a deadline set by the lead institution for this opportunity, please ensure that you provide the Research Services Office with at least five days in advance of the lead institution’s deadline to review the application or your proposed component of the project. Please be in touch with the Research Services Office (contact information below) ahead of the deadline if it looks like it will be difficult for you to submit all the required documentation on time (i.e. budget, proposal, OR-5 Form).