SSHRC Open Research Area (ORA) 8

Eligibility

The roles of the various project participants in ORA 8 research projects are as follows:

✓ Applicant: there must be one applicant per country involved in the proposal. The applicant will fulfil the role of a principal investigator as defined by their respective funding agency, and act as contact point with their agency for all national matters. Applicants must meet their national agency eligibility requirements.

✓ Main applicant: one applicant is nominated by the project team to be the main applicant for administrative reasons: as a main applicant, they are in charge of the online submission of the proposal and they act as the main contact point with the coordinating agency (SSHRC) for all matters related to the proposal as a whole.

✓ Co-applicant: any individual who makes a significant contribution to the intellectual direction of the research, who plays a significant role in the conduct of the research, and who may also have some responsibility for financial aspects of the research (for countries where funding can be distributed among several sub-teams, in conformity with national rules).

✓ Team members: all other participants who will make contributions to the research and will benefit from funding must be listed as team members.

✓ Cooperation partners: these are partners from Japan (if applicable) or other individuals (researchers as well as non-academic partners, depending on the rules of each agency), including those from countries other than Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK (see section 2.2 for details). For example, if a scientific board is set up for the project, members can be listed here.

All project participants must be listed in the Proposal Template attachment.

For the purpose of the ORA 8 call, the main applicant, the applicants, and the co-applicants are considered project applicants. All project applicants and their institutions must fulfil national eligibility rules for research proposals as set by the relevant funding agency (see section 9 for information specific to each participating funding agency).

The ORA 8 call is open to proposals from eligible Applicants from three or four of the subscribing countries, that is, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK. Cooperation partners from Japan and self- funded participants do not count against the three-country minimum requirement.

Summary

The eighth round of the Open Research Area (ORA) is based on an agreement between the Agence nationale de la Recherche (ANR; France), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; Germany), the Economic and Social Research Council of UK Research and Innovation (ESRC; the UK), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC; Canada).

In order to strengthen international co-operation in the field of social sciences, wishing to fund high quality scientific research within their own countries, and aware that some of the best research can be delivered by working with the best researchers internationally, ANR, DFG, ESRC, and SSHRC are launching an eighth ORA call for proposals in order to fund the best joint research projects in the social sciences. The scheme will provide funding for integrated projects by researchers coming from at least three of the four subscribing countries – in any combination of three or more countries.

Proposals may be submitted in any area of the social sciences. However, the disciplinary coverage varies according to the involvement of the national agencies. Applicants who are uncertain of whether their proposal would be eligible should contact the relevant national agencies for clarification.

There is a possibility for cooperation partners in Japan (if applicable) to obtain a special funding from a Japanese funding agency. The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) will provide an independent funding opportunity on application basis to support the cooperation partners in Japan involved in the successful proposals.

ORA 8 will use the same format as ORA 7: the call will follow a one-stage, one-application procedure consisting of a full proposal to be submitted on November 14, 2023 at the latest. Funding will be distributed among the national agencies according to the affiliation of the researchers, and according to the funding rules of each agency.

For full details, please see the call specification.

Webinar for potential applicants

There will be two webinars for potential applicants to this call on September 21, 2023 which we strongly encourage you to attend. The webinar will be open to participants from around the world and will provide information and guidance from the funders on the requirements of the call as well as an opportunity for questions and answers. To allow for different time zones we will be holding two identical webinars which will each last approximately one hour.

1st session

• Thursday, September 21, 2023, 7:00 Eastern Daylight Time / 13:00 Central European Time Webinar
• Externer LinkWebinar     - password: SSHRC2023

2nd session

• Thursday, September 21, 2023, 14:00 Eastern Daylight Time / 20:00 Central European Time Webinar
• Externer LinkWebinar     - password: SSHRC2023

Overhead

Not applicable

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

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:

**Please note that the submission to SSHRC for this competition is different than most competitions.

1. Complete your application in the SSHRC Convergence Portal system.  When it is complete, verify and download a copy of the application prior to hitting "submit" on the SSHRC Convergence portal.
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 November 9, 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 provide institutional approval by signing the required SSHRC Terms & Conditions form that needs to be uploaded along with the full application. The PI is then able to submit on the SSHRC Convergence Portal.
7. As an optional service, Research Services will perform a full detailed administrative review for any applications received by October 31, 2023 at 4:00pm.