SSHRC and DFG: Open Research Area 8th Call for Proposals

Sponsor

SSHRC is the coordinating agency for Open Research Area (ORA) 8. 

For More Information

ORA 8 Call for Proposals 2023 - Call Specification

ORA 8 Convergence Guidance for Applicants

ORA 8 Frequently Asked Questions

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Resource Document for Researchers

University of Guelph Research Data Management Strategy

Please visit the SSHRC ORA 8 website and the DFG website for additional information.

Description

The eighth round of Open Research Area (ORA) for the Social Sciences is based on an agreement among the Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR), France; the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Germany; the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) of UK Research and Innovation, United Kingdom; and SSHRC, Canada.

With the goals of funding high-quality research within their own countries and strengthening international cooperation by working with some of the best researchers internationally, ANR, the DFG, the ESRC and SSHRC are launching the eighth ORA call for proposals to fund the best joint research projects. The scheme will provide funding for integrated projects by researchers coming from at least three of the four subscribing countries.

Proposals may involve any of the disciplines, thematic areas or approaches eligible for SSHRC funding. However, disciplinary coverage varies according to which national agencies are involved. Applicants uncertain whether their proposal would be eligible should contact the relevant national agencies for clarification.

There is a possibility for cooperation partners in Japan (if applicable) to obtain special funding from a Japanese funding agency. The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) will provide an independent funding opportunity on an application basis to support cooperation partners in Japan involved in successful proposals.

National funding agencies will fund proposals according to their respective policies and regulations and the affiliations of the researchers. Canadian teams participating in successful ORA 8 international projects will be funded by SSHRC based on the funding request outlined in the SSHRC Finance Form available on the DFG website.

Eligibility

The ORA 8 call is open to proposals from eligible Applicants from three or four of the subscribing countries, that is, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK. Cooperation partners from Japan and self-funded participants do not count against the three-country minimum requirement.

Project applicants (i.e., main applicant, applicants and co-applicants) can only be involved in one proposal in the current round as a project applicant. It is the responsibility of applicants (including the main applicant) to ascertain that the project applicants are compliant with this rule. If any individual appears as project applicant in more than one application, all applications will be declared ineligible and rejected by the Call Secretariat. Project applicants in one proposal may still be involved in any number of proposals as either team members or cooperation partners.

Following European restrictive measures, no collaboration between project consortia and Russian and/or Belarussian institutions is allowed.

The roles of the various project participants in ORA 8 research projects are as follows:

• Applicant: there must be one applicant per country involved in the proposal. The applicant will fulfill the role of a principal investigator as defined by their respective funding agency and act as contact point with their agency for all national matters. Applicants must meet their national agency eligibility requirements.
• Main applicant: one applicant is nominated by the project team to be the main applicant for administrative reasons: As a main applicant, they are in charge of the online submission of the proposal and they act as the main contact point with the coordinating agency (SSHRC) for all matters related to the proposal as a whole.
• Co-applicant: any individual who makes a significant contribution to the intellectual direction of the research, who plays a significant role in the conduct of the research, and who may also have some responsibility for financial aspects of the research (for countries where funding can be distributed among several sub-teams, in conformity with national rules).
• Team members: all other participants who will make contributions to the research and will benefit from funding must be listed as team members.
• Cooperation partners: these are partners from Japan (if applicable) or other individuals (researchers as well as non-academic partners, depending on the rules of each agency), including those from countries other than Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK. For example, if a scientific board is set up for the project, members can be listed here.

Funding Availability

Canadian applicants can request up to $200,000 per year for a maximum of $600,000.

Indirect Costs

0%

Project Duration

2 to 3 years

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted through the SSHRC Convergence Portal.

A complete ORA 8 application consists of:

• SSHRC’s Convergence application form
• Proposal Template (must be downloaded, completed and uploaded to the Convergence application form)
• Narrative CV Template (must be downloaded, completed and included within Proposal Template)
• ESRC Finance form (must be downloaded, completed and uploaded to the Convergence application form if requesting funding from ESRC)
• SSHRC Finance form (must be downloaded, completed and uploaded to the Convergence application form if requesting funding from SSHRC)
• SSHRC Terms and Conditions for Applying (must be downloaded, completed and uploaded to the Convergence application form if requesting funding from SSHRC)
• Letters of support (if applicable; to be uploaded to the Convergence application form).

Detailed application instructions can be found in the ORA 8 Convergence Guidance for Applicants.