Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) is the federal agency that promotes and supports university-based research and training in the humanities and social sciences. Through its programs and policies, SSHRC enables the highest levels of research excellence in Canada, and facilitates knowledge-sharing and collaboration across research disciplines, universities and all sectors of society.

SSHRC supported research in the social sciences and humanities enhances our understanding of modern social, cultural, technological, environmental, economic and wellness issues. The work SSHRC supports encourages the deepest levels of inquiry. It spurs innovative researchers to learn from one another's disciplines, delve into multiparty collaborations and achieve common goals for the betterment of Canadian society. Research outcomes are shared with communities, businesses and governments, who use this new knowledge to innovate and improve people's lives.

SSHRC is one of the Tri-Council Agencies, along with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The Tri-Council Agencies are a major source of research funding for post-secondary institutions in Canada. All research that is funded by the Tri-Council Agencies must be in accordance with the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions. This agreement describes the basic requirements for obtaining and maintaining institutional eligibility to administer research funds.

Competition Deadlines

*Note: If a deadline falls on a weekend or a Canadian public holiday, the online application system will remain open until 8 p.m.(Eastern Time) on the next business day.

**Note: Your faculty may have additional internal submission deadline requirements. Please contact your research facilitator for more info.

Note: For a list of all upcoming deadlines please visit SSHRC's upcoming deadlines.

NEW: Launch of Canada-UK Artificial Intelligence Initiative

SSHRC is pleased to announce the launch of a new interdisciplinary and international funding opportunity between the three Canadian federal research funding agencies and four research councils from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The Canadian agencies include the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council; and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The four UKRI research councils involved are the Arts and Humanities Research Council; the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; and the Medical Research Council.

The Canadian agencies and UKRI are jointly supporting collaborations in Artificial Intelligence (AI) between stakeholders in Canada and the UK. The aim is to build competitive and resilient economies and maximize social and health benefits. Proposals will be required to demonstrate a significant degree of interdisciplinarity, with research that cuts across at least two of the following research domains:

• social sciences and humanities;
• health and biomedical sciences; and
• natural sciences and engineering.

Canadian applicants can request up to $173,333 per year for three years for a total of $520,000 per project.

ESRC is the coordinating agency. All relevant documents for this funding opportunity are available in English on ESRC's website and in French upon request. All proposals for this call will be submitted through the ESRC's Joint Electronic Submissions system (Je-S). In addition to the call-specific documents available on ESRC's website, researchers affiliated with eligible Canadian institutions are also invited to consult SSHRC's website for guidance and additional information regarding Tri-agency eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for participation.

The deadline for the submission of a brief Intention to Submit is August 19, 2019 (11:00 p.m. BST / 6:00 p.m. Eastern) and the deadline for the Full Application is September 12, 2019 (4:00 p.m. BST / 11:00 a.m. Eastern).

Launch of new Connection Grants - Research Data Management Capacity Building Initiative

To help the Canadian social sciences and humanities research community better understand data management and incorporate data management considerations into research practices, SSHRC's Research Data Management Capacity Building Initiative offers Connection Grants to support the research community's development, adoption and dissemination of research data management standards, practices, tools and skills appropriate to their field.

SSHRC will accept applications for the Research Data Management Capacity Building Initiative at the following Connection Grants deadlines:

• February 1st, 2019;
• May 1st, 2019;
• August 1st, 2019.

Research data management supports the effective and responsible conduct of research and increases the ability to store, find and reuse research data. A strong culture of data management will serve Canadian research excellence and support the development of social sciences and humanities insights. It will also benefit Canadian researchers working in international partnerships and collaborations as funders around the globe implement and strengthen data management requirements.

Research Data Management Capacity Building Initiative applications are subject to the Connection Grants evaluation criteria and scoring. In addition, as part of its assessment of the proposal's relevance to the objectives of the Connection program, under the Connection Grants Challenge criteria, the merit review committee will evaluate the degree to which applications respond to one or more of the following objectives:

• develop and/or adopt data management standards, practices, tools and skills within and across disciplines and institutions, with a focus on the social sciences and humanities;
• connect researchers or students with data management professionals and service providers (e.g., librarians, programmers, specialists in research ethics, etc.), and other stakeholders (e.g., research subjects and users) to increase knowledge of data management;
• share and develop knowledge and skills relating to data collection and storage, metadata, preservation, retention, sharing, credit and citation;
• share and develop knowledge and skills related to the responsible ownership, control, access and possession of data used or created in the context of Indigenous research (e.g., the application of OCAP® principles); and
• through other activities, enable the social sciences and humanities research community to strengthen its ability to fulfill the roles and responsibilities indicated in the Tri-Agency Statement of Principles on Digital Data Management, and the requirements proposed in the draft tri-agency research data management policy.

For more information about this initiative, or for advice on preparing your application, please contact:
Connection Grants
Tel.: 613-943-1007
Email: connection@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca