Partnership Development Grants

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. 

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.

Value and Duration

  • One to three years
  • Total of $75,000 to $200,000 over the funding period
  • Applicants are required to secure cash/in-kind contributions towards their proposal but no minimum value is required.

Eligibility

Applications submitted to SSHRC that would be more appropriately evaluated by NSERC or CIHR will not be accepted. In such cases, applicants may be required to submit a new application to the appropriate agency. Applicants working in research areas where boundaries overlap are advised to state clearly in all applications for funding why they believe their proposals are primarily appropriate for support by the agency to which they are submitting their application. Partners, as outlined in the proposal must provide evidence that they have entered into a formal partnership.

Application Checklist & Important Dates

  • Complete and submit a ROLA Proposal
  • Western (as partner) Letter of Support
  • Partner Letters of Engagement
  • Evidence of Formal Partnership document(s) (various formats as appropriate to the partnership)
  • Proposal development and review
  • Forward application to Western Research via SSHRC online system
  • Western Research Institutional Research Programs Officer (IRPO) submits application to SSHRC

Important Dates

Program information and dates
DEADLINE ACTIVITY
September 8 
  • Notify Western Research (WR) Institutional Research Programs Officer (IRPO) and your Faculty Research Office of your intent to apply to the program.
September 10-20
  • Meet with WR IRPO and your Faculty Research Office to discuss your proposed partnership, application requirements and Dept/Faculty/University contributions (cash and/or in-kind).
  • Discuss partner involvement, contributions and application process with partners.
  • Discuss and begin drafting any MOUs or Evidence of Formal Partnership documents.
October 6
  • Submit Western (as partner) Letter of Engagement to IRPO for institutional signature.
  • Confirm all Western contributions on/before this date.
  • Applicable to both Western-led and inter institutional proposals.
October 20
  • Submit proposal draft (including budget) to IRPO for content review and feedback.
  • Confirm all partner contributions .
  • Ensure that all co-applicant, collaborator, and partner invites are completed in the SSHRC portal.
  • Finalize partner MOUs or Evidence of Formal Partnership documents - applicable to both Western-led and inter institutional proposals
November 10
  • Complete and submit a ROLA proposal.
  • Deadline to submit a completed application with all supporting documents in the online SSHRC portal for Western Research administrative review.
November 17*
  • Submit final application with all components completed in the SSHRC portal. After one final compliance check, the application will be forwarded to SSHRC by Western Research.
  • *Note SSHRC's next business day rule if deadline falls on weekends or holidays.

Support & Assistance

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.

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

Contact

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