Lang Faculty Contribute to U of G’s SSHRC Insight Development Grant Funding in the 2024 Competition
Collaboration and experimentation across disciplines underscore the University of Guelph’s research projects funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), as announced by the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of National Revenue, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry recently. Of the 9 U of G researchers who received Insight Development Grant (IDG) funding, 4 are from the Lang School. These Lang-led projects explore topics related to social finance, foreign exchange swaps, machine learning, and organizational behaviour contributing to the university's total of $555,872 in SSHRC Insight Development Grants. In addition, a fifth Lang researcher was a co-applicant with a former graduate student examining an information technology project.
“The success of Lang scholars in this round of Insight Development Grant funding emphasizes Lang’s growing expertise in topics that are impactful to Canadians, from community development to international finance, to innovative applications of artificial intelligence,” said Sean Lyons, Lang’s Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies. "It’s particularly impressive that three of these grants were awarded to early career researchers, which shows Lang is building a strong trajectory of research excellence that will resonate into the future."
Read more about Lang faculty’s SSHRC funding below:
Social Finance in Canada: Scaling community bonds to create social impact - $61,028
Dr. Audrey Jamal is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and the Assistant Dean (Strategic Partnerships and Societal Impact). Since joining Lang in 2021, Dr. Jamal has been actively engaged in community-focused research, aiming to build stronger, more resilient local economies. Her research project funded by the SSHRC focuses on the development and scaling of community bond (CB) market in Canada. Community bonds are a social finance tool that allows charities, nonprofits and co-operatives to raise capital to finance their mission. This research aims to identify best practices in the CB market, explore investor motivations and expectations, and provide policy recommendations to support the scaling of CBs across Canada. This project can lead to enhanced policy and professional practice, a clearer understanding of the community bond marketplace, new or strengthened collaborations and partnerships, and increased opportunities for community investment and social impact. This research holds value for Canadian communities, bond investors, financial institutions, government policy makers, social purpose organizations and scholars alike.
Accurate and Interpretable High-Frequency Option Liquidity Forecasts using Machine Learning with Innovative Variable Engineering - $63,000
Dr. Fred Liu, Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and Finance, specializes in designing and developing advanced econometric and machine learning techniques to understand and predict financial markets, manage risks, and analyze large-scale economic data. His SSHRC IDG project focuses on developing state-of-the-art machine learning models using a rich, innovative dataset to improve the accuracy and interpretability of high-frequency option liquidity forecasts. The research integrates high-frequency stock options data, stock data, and textual information from news and social media using natural language processing techniques. The project aims to set new benchmarks in high-frequency option liquidity prediction, offering valuable insights for regulators and risk managers to better manage liquidity risks and ensure the soundness of the financial system. More accurate and interpretable liquidity forecasts will enhance policy and economic outcomes, enabling market participants to make informed decisions and improving financial stability. Technological advancements will further equip industry practitioners with improved tools for managing liquidity risk.
The Risk and Return of Foreign Exchange Swaps - $39,596
Dr. Ilias Tsiakas is a Professor and Research Chair in Finance in the Department of Economics and Finance. Dr. Tsiakas’ project, inspired by his recent experience as an expert witness for the Canada Revenue Agency, aims to address the lack of academic literature on FX swaps, despite their extensive use in financial markets for speculation, hedging and increasingly for tax planning. The research will involve the creation of a large FX swap data set, the development of valuation models, and the implementation of new empirical tests for assessing deviations from Covered Interest Parity (CIP). Additionally, the project will explore novel trading strategies for interest rate speculation and tax planning. This project is expected to increase innovation and scientific knowledge, and contribute to enhanced professional practice, training and skill development, leading to improvements in our economic, social and intellectual well-being. The dissemination of findings from this project will enrich public discourse, guide investment practitioners, and enhance the student curriculum and teaching material.
The Anatomy of a Scandal: Analytizing the Organizational Behaviour and Oversight of National Sport Organizations in Canada - $72, 415
Dr. Daniel Wigfield, was a former Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Management at the time of the notice of award. He holds a Ph.D. in Sport Management and has an extensive background in organizational behavior, particularly within the context of sports organizations. Dr. Wigfield's research focuses on the Canadian amateur sport system, which has been plagued by numerous scandals and ethical lapses in recent years. As part of the SSHRC-funded project, Dr. Wigfield and the research team—including Drs. Ann Pegoraro, Kathleen Rodenburg, and Heather Kennedy, all from the Lang School—aim to identify and analyze ethical and governance issues within national sport organizations (NSOs). By examining the full range of ethical lapses and their organizational and individual precursors, his research seeks to classify NSOs based on their propensity for misconduct. Using the Swiss Cheese model of accident causation, the team will develop a robust understanding of the defence mechanisms and organizational behaviours that lead to misconduct. The findings from this study will inform interventions at both the system and organizational levels, aiming to restore trust and confidence in Canada's sport organizations.
IoT technologies in the horticulture sector and associated discourses - $57,228
Dr. Davar Rezania, Dept of Management, is a co-investigator with former UG/Lang graduate student, Dr. Melanie McCaig, Assistant Professor, St. Francis Xavier University on an interdisciplinary project that explores the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in horticulture farming. Their project aims to understand the discourse surrounding IoT adoption and the impact on labor practices within the horticulture sector. By analyzing these discourses, the research team seeks to uncover barriers to technology adoption and devise strategies to enhance efficiency and productivity in horticulture through IoT. This collaborative effort will have implications for labour, providing insights that could inform policy and practice in the agricultural sector. This project is expected to enable policymakers to understand the impact of Internet of Things (IoT) technology on labour in Canadian horticulture farming and link it to the broader socio-political-cultural environment of the agricultural sector. This holds value for government, professional, academic and institutional use.
For more information about the Government of Canada announcement, click here.
For the University of Guelph announcement, click here.