SSHRC Connection Grants

painted mosaic hands reaching out

These one-year 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.

Connection Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the SSHRC Connection program.

Projects whose primary objective is to conduct research activities (e.g., literature reviews, field work, data collection, interviews) or to develop stand-alone volumes are not eligible for funding under this funding opportunity.

Value and Matching Fund Requirements

Connection Grants are valued at:

  • $7,000 to $25,000 over 1 year for events, or
  • $7,000 to $50,000 over 1 year for outreach activities

A minimum request of $7,000 is required.

SSHRC is willing to consider amounts higher than $50,000, although such applications must satisfactorily justify the need for the higher amount, as well as provide evidence the entire award can be managed within the one-year timeframe.

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.

Internal matching funds from Western Research are available as a two-year pilot program. Western ID required

Competitions

Please Note: For 2024, the August 1 deadline has been shifted to allow for technical updates to the SSHRC website. For this year only, the external competition deadline will be moved to June 20, 2024. The Western Research internal deadline for institutional review will be June 6, 2024. This change does not affect the May 1, 2024 deadline.

There are four Connection Grant competitions per year. Only one application may be submitted per calendar year as primary Applicant/Project Director.  Only one active Connection Grant may be held at a time as primary Applicant/Project Director.

Date What is Required
10 business days before SSHRC deadline by/before 2 p.m. ET Western Research ROLA Proposal + (draft) application deadline (mandatory)
  • ROLA proposal submitted for internal e-approvals
  • In the SSHRC web-based forms portal, 'submit' your application for administrative review. Western Research will return applications form the system for final editing, as required.
Nov. 1, Feb. 1, May 1, Aug. 1, by/before 2 p.m. ET SSHRC application deadline (mandatory)
  • Applications must be submitted in the SSHRC web-based forms by/before 2 p.m. ET to allow Western Research time to forward the application to SSHRC.


The application is accessible via SSHRC’s Web-based Forms.

When you ‘Submit’ an application in the Web-based Forms, it goes to Western’s Research Services. Following internal review, ROLA proposal approval, and communication with the Applicant, Research Services forwards the application to SSHRC before the sponsor deadline.

Co-Applicants and Collaborators must be ‘Invited’ to the application within the SSHRC Web-based forms. To provide enough time for these individuals to ‘Accept’ participation (and supply documents as applicable), please ensure that Invitations are sent well before the internal deadline.

Additional Resources

Contact

If you have additional questions, SSHRC welcomes you to contact them at connection@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca or 613-943-1007.

You may also contact Research Grant Management & Services with any questions you may have about processes involving the Connection Grants or any other grants-related issue.