Published: 29 Aug 2024 161 views
Insight Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Insight Research program. Insight Grants support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities. Funding is available to both emerging scholars and established scholars for research initiatives of two to five years.Stable support for long-term research initiatives is central to advancing knowledge. It enables scholars to address complex issues about individuals and societies, and to further our collective understanding. Insight Grants support research proposed by scholars and judged worthy of funding by their peers and/or other experts. Insight Grant research initiatives can be undertaken by an individual researcher or a team of researchers working in collaboration.
Applicants choose from one of two streams, depending on the amount of funding required. Both streams will be adjudicated by the same committees, and will receive the same rigorous level of merit review. The deadlines and application process are identical for both; however, the targeted success rate for Stream A is higher than for Stream B.
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Insight Grants are valued at up to $400,000 over two to five years. A minimum request of $7,000 is required in at least one of the years. A maximum of $100,000 is available in a single year.
Applicants can choose from one of two streams when applying for an Insight Grant, depending on the amount of funding required:
Subject matter
Most SSHRC funding is awarded through open competitions. Proposals can involve any disciplines, thematic areas, approaches or subject areas eligible for SSHRC funding. See subject matter eligibility for more information.
Projects whose primary objective is curriculum development, program evaluation, preparation of teaching materials, organization of a conference or workshop, digitization of a collection, or creation of a database are not eligible for funding under this funding opportunity.
An application will be declared ineligible if it is determined 30% or more of the requested budget has been allocated to ineligible expenses.
Applicants
Applications can be submitted by an individual researcher or a team of researchers (consisting of one applicant and one or more co-applicants and/or collaborators).
Applicants (except postdoctoral fellows and PhD students) must be affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution that holds institutional eligibility at the time of application and before funding can be released. Researchers who maintain an affiliation with a Canadian postsecondary institution, but whose primary affiliation is with a non-Canadian postsecondary institution, are not eligible for applicant status.
Applicants who have received a SSHRC grant of any type but have failed to submit an achievement report by the deadline specified in their Notice of Award are not eligible to apply for another SSHRC grant until they have submitted the report.
Postdoctoral fellows are eligible to be applicants for this grant. However, for SSHRC to release grant funds, successful applicants must formally establish an affiliation with a Canadian postsecondary institution that meets the requirements for institutional eligibility within five months of the grant start date (i.e., by September 2025 for the current competition), and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.
Students enrolled in a program of study are not eligible to apply. However, a PhD candidate is eligible to apply if they:
Eligible PhD students and postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to make inquiries with the Research Grants Office of the eligible institution(s) at which they will be seeking affiliation early in the process.
Federal scientists who are affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution must demonstrate that their proposed research or research-related activity is not related to either the mandate of their employer or the normal duties for which they receive payment from that employer.
If the proposal falls within the mandate of the federal government and the research or research-related activity is performed in government facilities, funding can only be allocated for student salaries, stipends and travel costs.
Institutions
Grant funds can only be administered by an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution. Institutions proposing to administer a grant awarded under this funding opportunity must hold or obtain institutional eligibility.
Institutions must contact [email protected] to begin the institutional eligibility application process, or if they have questions about institutional eligibility.
Co-applicants
Individuals listed as co-applicants must meet the same eligibility criteria as those described under the Applicants section.
Collaborators
Any individual who makes a significant contribution to the project is eligible to be a collaborator. Collaborators do not need to be affiliated with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution.
Individuals can apply, as an applicant, for only one Insight Grant at a time.
Normally, researchers cannot apply as an applicant for an Insight Grant and an Insight Development Grant within the same calendar year. However, in 2017, SSHRC approved an exception to this multiple applications regulation that has been extended for the foreseeable future: researchers who applied unsuccessfully for an Insight Development Grant in February of a given year can apply for an Insight Grant in October of that same year. Therefore, researchers who applied for an Insight Development Grant in February 2024 and were not successful can apply for an Insight Grant in October 2024.
A researcher who applies for an Insight Grant in October 2024 can apply for an Insight Development Grant in February 2025, provided that the objectives of the research are significantly different.
See SSHRC’s regulations on multiple applications and holding multiple awards for more information.
Applicants must complete the application form in accordance with accompanying instructions. Applications must be submitted electronically by an authorized research grants officer, or equivalent, from the applicant’s institution.
Eligible PhD students and postdoctoral fellows can submit their applications directly to SSHRC.
Applicants needing help while preparing their application should communicate with SSHRC well in advance of the application deadline.
