Internal Funding

The Office of the vice-President (Research & Innovation) recognizes that SSHRC grant applications are intensive, time-consuming endeavours with a high probability of re-submission before success. The Grant Assist Program offers small grants to strengthen faculty success in specific SSHRC competitions through two program opportunities: the PI's Bridge-Funding, and a Preparation grant for the Partnership grant Stage 1 application.

Primary Investigator's Bridge-Funding:

The Grant Assist Program awards a one-time (per competition) grant of $5000 to Principal Investigators whose application was unsuccessful but ranked highly (second and third sextiles) in the SSHRC Insight, Insight Development and/or Partnership Development grant competitions. The funds are intended to support research activities that will strengthen a re-submitted application to a SSHRC grant in the subsequent year. Notices of award are sent automatically to those who qualify.

Partnership Grant Stage 1 Preparation Grant:

In June of each year, the Grant Assist Program will award up to five grants of $10,000 each to support preparation (planning, writing, confirmation of matching funding and formal partnerships, through to submission) of Stage One of the Partnership grant application for projects in which the University of Alberta is the applicant. Applications are usually invited in May. The Partnership competition is highly competitive. Teams are advised to read the SSHRC Partnership competition information closely, and to speak with their departmental Chairs and Associate Deans of Research (or equivalent) well in advance of the Preparation grant competition.

Announcements for the Preparation grant will be circulated via the <sshrcUofA> listserv and other GAP SSH social media.

Note: Eligibility to apply for support funding does not guarantee that funding will be awarded. The Partnership Development Grant (PDG) is not included in the Preparation Grant competition.

Other sources of internal, leveraging and external funding exist

The Office of the Vice-President (Research & Innovation) administers four internal Killam Research Fund competitions to support research, scholarship, and creative activities intended to advance the fine arts, humanities, and social sciences. The Office of the VP (Research) maintains a searchable Awards Database of prestigious external competitions and awards. If you are applying to the SSHRC Partnership Grant (stage 1 or 2), you should speak with your Faculty's Associate Dean of Research and then your Associate Vice-President Research about leveraging support for your application.

The Office of the Provost administers the Support for the Advancement of Scholarship (SAS) and a number of other funds and awards, in addition to the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund. The latter has, since 2006, funded highly innovative projects to improve teaching and learning effectiveness.

The Kule Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS) is a major endowed research institute based at the University of Alberta. KIAS supports collaborative and interdisciplinary research in the social sciences, humanities and fine arts, focusing on research with the potential for national or international recognition. KIAS offer several grants intended to support the study of major issues with global interest and impact and to ladder success at SSHRC.

Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) was created in 2006 to improve teaching and learning effectiveness

The Research Services Office lists research funding opportunities, some of which are compatible with humanities and social sciences research.