2025 SSHRC Insight Development Grant (IDG)

Eligibility

Subject matter

Most SSHRC funding is awarded through open competitions. Proposals can involve any disciplines, thematic areas, approaches or subject areas eligible for SSHRC funding. See the guidelines on subject matter eligibility for more information.

Projects whose primary objective is curriculum development, preparation of teaching materials, program evaluation, organization of a conference or workshop, digitization of a collection or creation of a database are not eligible for funding under this funding opportunity.

An application will be declared ineligible if it is determined that 30% or more of the requested budget has been allocated to non-eligible expenses.

Applicants

Applications can be submitted by an individual researcher or a team of researchers (consisting of one applicant and one or more co-applicants and/or collaborators).

Applicants (except postdoctoral fellows and PhD students) must be affiliated with a Canadian institution that holds institutional eligibility at the time of application and before funding can be released. Researchers who maintain an affiliation with a Canadian 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 achievement 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 are eligible to be applicants for this grant. However, for SSHRC to release grant funds, successful applicants must formally establish an affiliation with a Canadian postsecondary institution that meets the requirements for institutional eligibility within three months of the grant start date (i.e., by September 2025 for the current competition) and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.

Summary

Insight Development Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Insight research program.

Insight Development Grants support research in its initial stages. The grants enable the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and/or ideas. Funding is provided for short-term research development projects of up to two years that are proposed by individuals or teams.

Insight Development Grants foster research in its early stages but are not intended to support large-scale initiatives. Long-term support for research is offered through SSHRC’s Insight Grants.

Proposed projects can involve, but are not limited to, the following types of research activities:

• case studies
• pilot initiatives
• critical analyses of existing research

Projects can also involve national and international research collaboration, and the exploration of new ways of producing, structuring and mobilizing knowledge within and across disciplines and sectors.

Funding is available for two distinct categories of scholars:

• Emerging scholars who will develop new research questions and/or approaches. Such projects can build on and further the applicant’s (or team’s) graduate work and/or represent a continuation of their overall research trajectory.
• Established scholars who will explore new research questions and/or approaches that are distinct from the applicant’s previous/ongoing research. Research projects should be clearly delimited and in the early stages of the research process. Insight Development Grant funding is not intended to support ongoing research for established scholars.

SSHRC welcomes applications involving Indigenous research, as well as those involving research-creation.

Joint initiatives

SSHRC collaborates with organizations from across the not-for-profit, private and public sectors to support and promote training, research and connection activities in the social sciences and humanities. SSHRC’s joint initiatives are designed to reflect its strategic objectives and mandate, inform decision-makers, and, in certain cases, address specific needs of its partners.

Learn more about joint initiatives.

For a complete list of available joint initiatives, see SSHRC’s funding search tool.

Future Challenge Areas

SSHRC invites all applicants to review Imagining Canada’s Future’s 16 future global challenges and to consider addressing one or more of these areas in their research proposal. This is not an evaluation criterion for merit review and does not offer additional or dedicated research funds for this funding opportunity.

Submission Instructions

1. Complete your application in the SSHRC Research Portal.  When it is complete, verify and submit so that it advances to the Research Services Office. ***PLEASE NOTE: The SSHRC portal redirects the application to the University of Calgary Research Services Office; 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 January 29, 2025 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 Research Portal.
7. As an optional service, Research Services will perform a full detailed administrative review for any applications received by January 20,2025 at 4:00pm.  The application must be received by RSO on both RMS and the SSHRC portal to initiate review.
    
8. For peer or merit review of your proposal, please contact your faculty Research Facilitator or Associate Dean (Research)

Postdocs: must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it to rsogrants@ucalgary.ca. Also ensure that your application is submitted on the SSHRC portal.

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.

RESOURCES 

Support for projects involving Indigenous Research: 

Support with the development of your grant application is available 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. 

Support for Knowledge Mobilization, Research Impact Assessment, DORA:  

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, research impact, responsible research assessment (DORA),  writing a Most Significant Contributions statement for the CV and open science, is available through the Knowledge to Impact team. Applicants can reach out by email to the KI team at knowledge.impact@ucalgary.ca. For more information, please visit the KI team webpage. 

Support for Research Data Management: 

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.ca OR research.data@ucalgary.libanswers.com. 

Support for EDI in Research: 

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice. Contact edi.rso@ucalgary.ca for more information. 

Support for Research Security: 

The Research Security Division is available to ensure researchers adhere to research security guidelines and policies, including the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and the policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC). Visit the Research Security website to learn more or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.  

Reminder: The sooner the researcher engages with RSO units, the more help we can be! 

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application