Competition

* Unless explicitly noted, all times indicated for deadlines are for the appropriate NL timezone (NST or NDT)

***BY INVITATION ONLY

Note that SSHRC plans to publish the 2025 PG-Stage 2 instructions at the end of July, 2025. Check the SSHRC website for the latest information.

Partnership Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Insight and/or the Connection program. Proposals exclusively for partnered research training initiatives (see below) are expected to respond, instead, to the objectives of the Talent program.

These grants provide support for new and existing formal partnerships over four to seven years to advance research, research training and/or knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities through mutual co-operation and sharing of intellectual leadership, as well as through resources as evidenced by cash and/or in-kind contributions.

Partnership Grants are intended for large teams working in formal collaboration between postsecondary institutions and/or organizations of various types.

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

The intellectual leadership and governance for a new or existing formal partnership may come from within the research community and/or from partner organizations from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. However, only an eligible institution may administer the grant funding (see Eligibility).

SSHRC invites applicants 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 initiatives in all of the disciplines and themes eligible for funding at SSHRC.

For tools and resources to assist in the planning and implementation of your partnership, please see SSHRC’s Partnerships Tool-Kit.

There are two 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.

Following is a list of possible formal partnership approaches. Applicants are in no way limited to these approaches, and are welcome to combine some of the features described.

• Disciplinary and interdisciplinary research partnerships: Interinstitutional research initiatives designed to make a significant contribution to advancing knowledge and understanding in the humanities and/or social sciences. While SSHRC welcomes proposals for interdisciplinary research partnerships involving natural sciences, engineering and/or health partner organizations, proposed partnerships of this nature must follow SSHRC’s policy regarding the eligibility of subject matter.

• Cross-sector co-creation of knowledge and understanding: Partnerships that use ongoing collaboration and mutual learning 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 research knowledge in accessible ways to build institutional capacity and to increase the national and international impact and stature of Canadian research.

• Partnered chairs: Partnerships to nominate research chairs designed to advance research and/or related activities in a specific area in the social sciences and/or humanities. Chair partner organizations pool financial resources and suggest an amount of funds required from SSHRC. Proposals must demonstrate that a formal agreement exists between the partner organizations to maintain the chair position for a minimum of four years. Proposals must include the name of the suggested chairholder.

  For more information, please see SSHRC’s Guidelines for Partnered Chairs.

• Partnered research centres: Partnerships to create or support a research centre designed to advance research and/or related activities in a specific area in the social sciences and/or humanities. Partner organizations pool financial resources and suggest an amount of funds required from SSHRC. Proposals must demonstrate that a formal agreement exists between the partner organizations to maintain the centre for a minimum period of four years.

• Partnered research training initiatives: Partnerships designed to support the creation of innovative approaches that enrich research training experiences for students and postdoctoral researchers while facilitating their transition to academic or non-academic workplace settings.

  For more information, please see SSHRC’s Guidelines for Partnered Research Training Initiatives. Note that these guidelines apply only to proposals that focus primarily on research training, and therefore must respond to the objectives of the Talent program.

SSHRC welcomes applications involving Indigenous research, as well as those involving research-creation.

Faculty of HSS Requests for Advanced Draft Feedback (optional): For this competition, Memorial applicants may request detailed feedback on full draft applications or on application components. Normally, HSS Research Support Services would require draft applications to be submitted a minimum of 45 business days ahead of the internal HSS deadline (see below for all deadlines). Please note that Advanced Draft Feedback deadlines may vary depending on the workflow of the HSS Research Support Services office. If you wish to request this service, please contact Heather C. O’Brien (HSSResearchAdmin@mun.ca or 864-8603) or Matthew Milner (HSSResearchGrants@mun.ca or 864-8050) as soon as possible.

Faculty of HSS Submission Procedures (mandatory): In addition to the external funding agency’s submission procedures, this opportunity must also be submitted for Departmental, HSS Faculty, and Research Grants and Contracts Services (RGCS) institutional reviews and approvals via Memorial's Researcher Portal (RP). In order to facilitate the HSS Faculty’s administrative review, please ensure "Heather C. O'Brien (Grants Facilitator)" and “Matthew Milner (Grants Facilitator)” are added as "Team Members" on your RP file. 

In accordance with University-wide approval protocols, all tabs of the RP file must be completed, the completed application must be uploaded to the “Attachments” tab, all supporting documentation including support for cash and in-kind commitments and/or letters of support must also be uploaded, and “Submit” must be pressed prior to the HSS internal deadline listed below. HSS cannot guarantee completion of an administrative review for application files that are incomplete and/or are submitted after the HSS deadline. For more detailed submission instructions and information, please consult the HSS Research Support Services website.

If you plan to apply to this competition or other research funding opportunities (as either PI or CI), e-mail an HSS Grants Facilitator, Heather C. O’Brien (HSSResearchAdmin@mun.ca or 864-8603) or Matthew Milner (HSSResearchGrants@mun.ca or 864-8050), to notify the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of your intent to apply. E-mailing the intent to apply as early as possible will help to facilitate an efficient review. A Grants Facilitator can answer any questions you may have about internal or external submission procedures and may also be able to help with proposal development.