Sponsor

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

Program

Partnership Development Grants (PDG)

For More Information

For additional information, please visit the Partnership Development Grants website [1] for guidelines and related support material:

• For guidance on connecting with research users to create impact, see SSHRC’s definition of knowledge mobilization [2] and Guidelines for Effective Knowledge Mobilization [3].
• Applicants should consult the Guidelines for Effective Research Training [4]. These guidelines may also be useful to reviewers, postsecondary institutions and partner organizations.
• SSHRC, in alignment with its Indigenous Research Statement of Principles [5], welcomes applications involving Indigenous research [6]. It also provides Guidelines for the Merit Review of Indigenous Research [7] for grant applications.
• For descriptions of SSHRC terms, see Definitions of Terms [8].
• For FAQS on PDG and Partnership Grants [9]

Description

Partnership Development Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Insight [10] and/or the Connection [11] programs.

These grants provide support over one to three years to teams/partnerships, led by a project director, to:

• 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 [12], by fostering new partnerships with existing and/or potential partners; or
• 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. For more information, see the definitions for formal partnership [13] and partner organization [14].

The quality of training, mentoring and employability plans for students and emerging scholars will be evaluated as an important part of the proposed initiative. SSHRC’s Guidelines for Effective Research Training [15] explain how students and emerging scholars can meaningfully participate in proposed initiatives.

The intellectual leadership and governance for the creation of a formal partnership can come from the research community and/or from partner organizations from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. However, only an institution that meets the institutional eligibility requirements  [16]can administer the grant funding, once awarded. For more information, see Eligibility. [17]

SSHRC invites applicants [18] and their partner organizations who wish to propose formal disciplinary, interdisciplinary, interinstitutional, international and/or cross-sector partnership arrangements to apply for support through this funding opportunity. Funds are available to support a variety of formal partnership development initiatives in all of the disciplines and themes eligible for funding at SSHRC [19].

For tools and resources to assist with the planning and implementation of your partnership, see SSHRC’s Partnerships Tool-Kit [20].

Eligibility

Applicants: Applicants must be affiliated with an eligible Canadian institution [21] at the time of application and have a full-time, independent, academic appointment.

Co-applicants [22]: May be individuals from any of the following:

• Canadian: Postsecondary institutions; not-for-profit organizations; philanthropic foundations; think tanks; and municipal, territorial or provincial governments.
• International: Postsecondary institutions.

Partner organizations: May be Canadian or international institutions or organizations (public, private, not-for-profit) of any type. Please see the definition of formal partnership [23].

Maximum Project Value

$75,000 to $200,000

Indirect Costs

There are no indirect costs on the funding provided by SSHRC, however, indirect costs may apply to the funding provided by partners.

Project Duration

One to three years

Special Notes

Quality and commitment of formal partnerships
Applicants will be expected to include relevant documentation to allow for an informed evaluation of the quality and level of commitment of the proposed formal partnerships. 

Institutional and partner organization contributions
Applicants are expected to include a plan to seek and secure cash and/or in-kind support for their initiative during the life of the grant (one to three years). While there is no minimum contribution requirement, institutions and their partner organizations are expected to demonstrate that a formal partnership currently exists, or is in the process of being developed, by supporting the activities of the formal partnership through cash and/or in-kind contributions. For more information, please see the SSHRC Guidelines for Cash and In-Kind Contributions [24].

Please note that research activities carried out in the context of COVID-19 need to adhere to the University of Guelph COVID-19 research principles, policies, guidelines and processes as they may be updated from time to time and communicated on the Office of Research web-page [25].
 

How to Apply

Applicants and partner organizations must complete the application form (available under Apply on the Research Portal) and follow the accompanying instructions.

Applications must be submitted electronically by the Office of Research Services on behalf of the applicant for the University.