February 2025 SSHRC Connection Grant

Eligibility

Applications can be submitted by institutions or by individual applicants and teams (consisting of one applicant or project director and one or more co-applicants and/or collaborators).

Institutional Connection Grant applications must be submitted by a Canadian institution that holds institutional eligibility to conduct an event, an outreach activity or a combination of the two that allows the institution to achieve strategic objectives relevant to its mission and mandate. The project director must be affiliated with the host institution (the applicant), prepare the application on behalf of the host institution and be responsible for the overall leadership of the project. The term “institution” from this point on in this description refers to both postsecondary institutions and not‑for‑profit organizations.

Individual Connection Grant applicants (except postdoctoral researchers) must be affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution that holds institutional eligibility at the time of application. Applicants conduct an event, outreach activity or a combination of the two that primarily falls in their areas of expertise and will allow them to make a significant contribution to their field of research. In the case of a team approach, all team members must meet the eligibility criteria specific to their role.

Postdoctoral researchers are eligible to be applicants or project directors if they have formally established an affiliation with an eligible institution within three months of the grant start date, and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period. Postdoctoral researchers should consult the Research Grants Office of the eligible institution(s) at which they will be seeking affiliation early in the process to confirm that administration of the grant is possible.

Ineligible activities

Although applicants can apply for Connection Grants to support eligible events and outreach activities organized by academic associations, the following association activities are not eligible for funding:

• annual general meetings or any other activity directly related to an association’s business meetings;
• book launches or similar report dissemination;
• receptions for association members; and
• any activities normally paid for by the association’s operating fees.

Summary

Connection Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Research Partnerships program.

These grants support events and outreach activities geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives. These events and activities represent opportunities to exchange knowledge and to engage with participants on research issues of value to them. Events and outreach activities funded by a Connection Grant can often serve as a first step toward more comprehensive and longer-term projects.

Connection Grants support workshops, colloquiums, conferences, forums, summer institutes, or other events or outreach activities that facilitate:

• disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary exchanges in the social sciences and humanities;
• scholarly exchanges between those working in the social sciences and humanities and those working in other research fields;
• intersectoral exchanges between academic researchers in the social sciences and humanities and researchers and practitioners from the public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors; and/or
• international research collaboration and scholarly exchanges with researchers, students and non-academic partners from other countries.

Matching funds

SSHRC will not fund the full cost of any Connection Grant project. Additional support in the form of eligible cash and/or in-kind contributions (excluding registration fees) equivalent to a minimum of 50% of the amount requested from SSHRC must come from sponsoring organizations. For example, an applicant asking SSHRC for $10,000 in funding will have to demonstrate additional support equal to at least $5,000. SSHRC will consider only eligible funds stemming from sponsoring organizations in its calculations of matching funds; individual contributions will not be considered in the calculation of matching funds.

Submission Process

1. Complete your application in the SSHRC online system.  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; 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 Wednesday 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 online system.
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.

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

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