Imagining Canada’s Future Ideas Lab: Global Health and Wellness for the 21st Century

Eligibility

Stage 1: Hybrid workshop

The following are eligible to apply to participate in the ICF Ideas Lab workshop:

• researchers from the social sciences, humanities and other disciplines who are affiliated with an eligible Canadian institution (see the list of SSHRC eligible institutions);
• postdoctoral fellows at Canadian institutions (To be eligible for Stage 2, however, they must formally establish an affiliation with an eligible Canadian institution at the time of application, that is, November 2023, and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.);
• researchers who maintain an affiliation with a Canadian institution that holds institutional eligibility, but whose primary affiliation is with a non-Canadian postsecondary institution; and
• individuals affiliated with Indigenous not-for-profit organizations being assessed for or holding institutional eligibility to administer multiple grants over a five-year period.

Stage 2: Funding opportunity

During the workshop, each team will appoint a principal investigator who will provide overall leadership of the team and who will act as the applicant during the funding opportunity application process. Other team members will contribute to the funding opportunity application as co-applicants and/or collaborators. Additional co-applicants and collaborators from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors can be added to the team at this time.

The principal investigator / applicant for each team must be a researcher from a social sciences or humanities discipline. To be eligible for funding, the proposed project idea must have a strong social sciences or humanities focus (e.g., a project examining health or genomic interventions and their impact on society, economies or ecosystems would be deemed eligible).

Applicants

Applicants must be researchers from a social sciences or humanities discipline, and affiliated with a Canadian institution that holds institutional eligibility. 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 status.

Applicants who have received a SSHRC grant of any type but have failed to submit an end of grant 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 fellows at Canadian institutions are eligible to be applicants for Stage 2 if they have formally established an affiliation with an eligible institution at the time of application (November 2023) and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.

Summary

The Imagining Canada’s Future (ICF) Ideas Lab is a pilot funding opportunity designed to encourage innovative research partnerships and projects. Ideas Labs help to break down methodological barriers and empower participants to explore new approaches to research. Because Ideas Labs create new research collaborations that transcend institutional and disciplinary silos to encourage different ways of thinking, they are well suited to addressing complex and global challenges. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Genome Canada have joined SSHRC as funding partners to explore the future challenge of Global Health and Wellness for the 21st Century.

There are three components to the ICF Ideas Lab framework: Stage 1, the workshop; Stage 2, the application for the funding opportunity; and Stage 3, the project development phase.

SSHRC is welcoming applications from researchers to be part of Stage 1 of this Ideas Lab, the interactive workshop. Up to 35 researchers will participate in facilitated activities before organizing themselves into multidisciplinary teams to develop and pitch innovative project ideas. The workshop will take place over a three-week period, through in-person and virtual sessions, in August 2023. Participants will be required to take part in all sessions.

The final research proposals to be submitted at Stage 2 can include additional individuals to complement the research teams formed at the workshop.

Global Health and Wellness for the 21st Century is one of 16 global challenges identified through SSHRC’s ICF initiative. It is also a priority for PHAC and Genome Canada, which seek to gain social sciences and humanities insights in this priority thematic area. The insights can range from socio-economic factors to the role of genomics in health promotion. Outcomes of these Ideas Lab grants will help inform policy and decision-making across the academic, public, private and not-for-profit sectors to support a healthy, equitable and just Canadian society.

Stage 1 of the ICF Ideas Lab will bring together researchers from across Canada. By the end of the workshop, participants will have developed preliminary proposals for groundbreaking research. This research will have the potential to inform policies and practices addressing the needs of diverse sectors throughout Canada, which may also have wider global benefits. Proposals presented through pitches at the workshop will benefit from feedback provided by peer mentors based on evaluation criteria outlined in this call. All teams and project ideas formed and pitched during Stage 1 of the funding opportunity will be invited to Stage 2 to apply for funding to further develop projects in Stage 3 of the ICF Ideas Lab.

For more details about the call and the theme, please see the SSHRC posting here.

Webinar(s) for potential applicants

April 18, 2023 at 1 p.m. Eastern time - English Registration here

April 20, 2023 at 1 p.m.Eastern time - French lien d'inscription

Overhead

Overhead is not an allowable expense on this grant.

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

Application deadlines

Stage 2 Agency Deadline - inviation only

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Submission Instructions

1. Complete your application as instructed in the SSHRC Convergence portal system.  When it is complete, verify and submit so that it advances to the Research Services Office. ***PLEASE NOTE: The SSHRC Convergence portal redirects the application to the University of Calgary Research Services; pressing "submit" does not submit the application to SSHRC.
2. To initiate internal approvals, complete the pre-award/application record in RMS (https://research.ucalgary.ca/conduct-research/additional-resources/research-management-system-rms), and attach a download of your complete and final application from the SSHRC online portal.  Please do not attach drafts, Word documents, etc.  Also attach any other relevant documents, including letters confirming financial or in-kind support if applicable.
3. Once complete, click "Save and set status", then select "submitted for approvals", and then select "Save and progress" in order to obtain approvals from your department head and/or faculty Associate Dean (Research). 

   Important: when submitting in RMS, please ensure that you allow time for academic approvals prior to the Research Services review deadline of Friday, May 19, 2023 at 12:00pm.       

4. Once these approvals are obtained, RMS will automatically forward the application record to Research Services for institutional review and approval.
5. Research Services will review and provide feedback (by email and via RMS), as necessary. 
6.  Once the application has undergone review and is in its final state, Research Services will obtain Institutional Approval and submit for adjudication by SSHRC through the SSHRC Convergence portal system.
7. As an optional service, Research Services will perform a full detailed administrative review for any applications received by May 11, 2023 at 4:00pm.  The application must be received by RSO on both RMS and the SSHRC portal to initiate review.