2024 SSHRC Partnership Development Grant

Eligibility

*Updates to this funding opportunity may be made following SSHRC’s launch of the November 2024 PDG competition, expected in mid-summer 2024. No significant changes are expected.

Applications must be submitted by the applicant (project director) on behalf of the partner organizations of the formal partnership.

Applicants must be affiliated with an eligible Canadian institution at the time of application.

• 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 within the Partnership Development Grants funding opportunity.

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

• Canadian: eligible postsecondary institutions; not-for-profit organizations; philanthropic foundations; think tanks; and municipal, territorial or provincial governments.
• International: postsecondary institutions.

Collaborators: Any individual who may make a significant contribution to the project. Individuals from the private sector or federal government may only participate as collaborators.

Partner organizations may be Canadian or international institutions or organizations (public, private, not-for-profit) of any type. Please see the definition of formal partnership.

An individual may not be an applicant on more than one application in the competition and may not also be the named project director in a Partnership Grants—Formal Application in the same calendar year.

Summary

Partnership Development Grants provide support over one to three years to teams/partnerships, led by a project director, to:

• Develop research and related activities in the social sciences and humanities, including knowledge mobilization and the meaningful involvement of students and emerging scholars, by fostering new partnerships for existing and/or potential partners; or
• Design and test new partnership approaches for research and/or related activities that may result in best practices or models that either can be adapted by others or have the potential to be scaled up to a regional, national or international level.
  • Use iNOI template provided in the “Resources” section

Funding is intended for teams working in formal partnership between academic institutions, or between one or more academic institutions and one or more non-academic partner organizations. Partnership Development Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Research Partnerships program.

SUBMISSION PROCESS

Institutional and agency milestones are listed below, additional instructions follow.

Timeline

• Activity: Submit internal Notice of Intent to Research Services via email to ipd@ucalgary.ca 

         Deadline: By 9:00 am June 26, 2024

• Activity: Kickoff meeting involving PI, Research Services, Faculty

         Date: July 2024

• Activity: Submit draft application to Research Services for SUPPORT and Faculty review

         Deadline: By 9:00 am September 9, 2024

• Activity: Review of draft application by SUPPORT

         Date: September 16–20 (TBD)

• Activity: SUPPORT review feedback distributed to PIs

         Date: By September 27

• Activity: Submit draft Letter of Engagement to Research Services 

         Deadline: By 9:00 am October 17, 2024

• Activity: Submit final Letter of Engagement to Research Services

         Deadline: By 9:00 am October 31, 2024

• Activity: Submit final application to Research Services in the SSHRC portal; all approvals in RMS

         Deadline: By 9:00 am November 7, 2024

Applications, plus approval in the Research Management System (RMS) will be required by RSO by 9am, November 7, 2024. Please use the “SSHRC Partnership Development Grant” funding opportunity and be sure to select "Submitted for approvals" (Under Save & Progress) in RMS in good time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the Research Services deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines. A step sheet for creating an application record in RMS is available in the Resources section below.

RESOURCES

For projects involving Indigenous Research, support with the development of your grant application is available internally through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST). Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

The Knowledge Engagement team in Research Services can consult on community partnerships, partnership principles, and knowledge mobilization plans. Applicants can reach out by email to Knowledge Engagement at Knowledge.Engagement@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about KE, please visit the KE webpage. 

SSHRC PDG iNOI template

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application

Overhead

Not applicable

Application deadlines

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.

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.

To better support PDG applications:

1. Research Services will assign a dedicated contact person to support the researcher through the application development process. Research Services will share tips and guidelines gathered from past applicant experience, assist in fulfilling administrative requirements, and be available to respond to questions about the program.
2. There will be a mandatory review by an internal multi-disciplinary panel of researchers (SUPPORT) in September to provide strategic advice and guidance to applicants. The SUPPORT review is in addition to any faculty reviews and approvals.

Partners are required to accept invitations via SSHRC’s online system.

For UCalgary researchers participating on applications elsewhere: If you have been asked by the submitting institutions to confirm we are aware of your involvement, please notify Research Services via email to ipd@ucalgary.ca.  Completion of the Pre-Award record in RMS (follow the instructions under Submission Process below) is required. Once all approvals are obtained in RMS, our Director will email the RSO of the lead institution to confirm. 

RMS Training

As the full application will run through RMS, we encourage applicants to view the step sheets available at the RMS Training page. 

For training or technical support, you can contact RMS at: rms@ucalgary.ca and 403.210.9309.