SSHRC Partnership Development Grants provide support over one to three years to teams/partnerships, led by a project director, to: 1) develop research and/or related activities in the social sciences and humanities—these can include knowledge mobilization and the meaningful involvement of students and emerging scholars, by fostering new partnerships with existing and/or potential partners; or 2) design and test new partnership approaches for research and/or related activities that can result in best practices or models—these can either be adapted by others or have the potential to be scaled up to a regional, national or international level. See Eligibility Criteria for more detail.

Value: $75,000 to $200,000
Duration: 1–3 years

Partnership funding is intended for formal partnerships between postsecondary institutions and/or organizations of various types. See the definitions for formal partnership and partner organization. Within the Partnership Development Grants funding opportunity, there are two distinct categories of partnerships that may request support:

• Existing partnerships: Support to foster new research and/or research-related partnership activities that are distinct from the partnership’s previous/ongoing partnership activities.
• New partnerships: Support to foster new research and/or research-related partnership activities that are undertaken by partnerships in their initial stages.

Formal partnership approaches can include one or more of the following:

• Disciplinary and interdisciplinary research partnerships: Interinstitutional research initiatives designed to make a significant contribution to advancing knowledge and understanding in the social sciences and/or humanities.
• Cross-sector co-creation of knowledge and understanding: Partnerships to foster innovative research, training and the co-creation of new knowledge on critical issues of intellectual, social, economic and cultural significance.
• Networks for research and/or related activities: Networks designed to advance the innovative co-creation of knowledge, as well as training and mobilization of research, on critical issues of intellectual, social, economic and cultural significance.
• Partnered knowledge mobilization: Partnerships designed to synthesize, apply and mobilize new and existing social sciences and humanities research knowledge in accessible ways to build institutional capacity and to increase the national and international impact and stature of Canadian research.

SSHRC welcomes applications involving Indigenous research, as well as those involving research-creation. Please see the SSHRC program page for more details.
 

Dates & Deadlines

Supports

For Western applicants, the IRPO can provide services and supports to strengthen your proposal as it is developed, including editorial review and written feedback. The IRPO will work closely with you and identify the support you require, and a suitable timeline in order to provide those services. Program contact: Shruthi Polla Ravi, Institutional Research Programs Officer.

In SSHRC’s suite of Research Partnerships programs involving formal partnerships (Engage, Development, Partnership), knowledge mobilization is embedded across most evaluation criteria and application components. It is foundational to successful applications. Effective mobilization strategies: 1) signal meaningful partnership collaboration and commitment, 2) are reflected in equitable governance models and shared leadership with partners, and 3) highlight outcomes/impacts within and beyond academia. Reviewers expect to see how knowledge will flow between academic and non-academic partners, and how it will inform practice, policy, and public discourse. Strong applications demonstrate that the partnership is intentional and required in shaping not only outcomes, but how the work is done.

Western Research provides support and consultation for the integration of EDID, Indigenous Research and Knowledge Mobilization and Impact within your application; please fill out this form with your information and we will assist with your request – or contact Mariam Hayward directly.

Resources

• Program Homepage (includes Evaluation and Merit Review Process and Criteria)
• 2025 Webinar Slides (English)
• Partnerships Resources and Tool-Kit (SSHRC)
• Frequently Asked Questions about Partnership Development Grants and Partnership Grants
• Guidelines for Cash and In-Kind Contributions (SSHRC)
• Indigenous Research (SSHRC)
• Indigenous Research Statement of Principles
• Guidelines for Effective Research Training (SSHRC)
• Guidelines for Effective Knowledge Mobilization (SSHRC)
• Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy
• Guidelines for the Support of Tools for Research & Related Activities
• Guide to preparing a data management plan

Contact

For more information, please contact Shruthi Polla Ravi, Institutional Research Programs Officer.