Overview
In 2025 Royal Roads University received funding through SSHRC’s Institutional Grants (SIG) competition. SSHRC provides these grants to help eligible Canadian postsecondary institutions fund, through their own merit review processes, small-scale research, and research-related activities. SIG funds are intended to help Canadian postsecondary institutions strengthen research excellence in the social sciences and humanities. The funds are complementary to, and in line with, SSHRC’s three main pillars of activities (Talent, Insight and Connections).
RRU will run one SIG competition every year, for three fiscal years: 2025-26, 2026-27, and 2027-28. The funds will support both SSHRC Explore Grants and SSHRC Exchange Grants (details below), focused on the RRU priority/theme areas.
Only SSHRC eligible faculty (i.e., core faculty working in social science and humanities disciplines) will be able to apply.
Applicants may normally only hold one SSHRC Institutional Grant between August 1, 2025 and March 31, 2028. In the third year of the program (2027-28), if funds are available, faculty who have already held a SSHRC Institutional Grant between August 1, 2025 and March 31, 2027 would be eligible to apply for new projects.
All applications will undergo a competitive, peer-reviewed process adjudicated by the Research Advisory Committee. The following research activities are eligible for funding:
- pursuing small-scale innovation and experimentation for a research project or pilot study (Explore)
- hiring students to participate in research projects thereby contributing to the students’ professional development (Explore)
- engaging in small-scale knowledge mobilization activities, such as workshops and seminars, in order to encourage collaboration and the dissemination of research results both within and beyond the academic community (Exchange)
- allowing researchers to attend or present their research at scholarly conferences and other dissemination venues that align with SSHRC’s mandate in order to advance their careers and encourage the exchange of ideas and research results at the national and international level (Exchange)
All SIG-funded research training will incorporate appropriate dimensions of the Guidelines for Effective Research Training.
Priority will be given to emerging scholars (under SSHRC definition), as well as to scholars who identify as Indigenous peoples. Priority will also be given to projects in the Explore stream, and to projects that demonstrate interconnections across multiple priority areas. For projects that are in the Exchange stream or that contain elements of Exchange, priority will be give to projects with open artifacts as part of the dissemination of the knowledge.
Award terms
- The value of each award will not exceed $5,000. The total amount of awards granted may not exceed monies available.
- All applications will undergo a competitive, peer-reviewed process adjudicated by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC).
- Grant terms are up to one year, and all funds must be spent by March 31 of the awarded fiscal year.
- Once awarded, any changes to the proposed activity in terms of subject matter and budget expense categories must be emailed to the Office of Research Services on a change request form. Significant changes will be reviewed by the Dean, Graduate Studies and Research, and may require approval of the Research Advisory Committee as a whole.
- Should award recipients not be able to complete the research within one year, they may request a one-year extension with justification and with a revised timeline, (2025/26 & 2026/27 fiscal years only) forms found here. Any unused funds will be returned.
- Award recipients must submit a final written report (using the final report form) by March 31 of the fiscal year for which funds were received.
Selection criteria
The selection criteria include the following:
- purpose and significance of the research;
- strength of the proposal in terms of the research question and sub questions, objectives, methodology and methods;
- expected benefits of the research (to the University, to society, to knowledge creation);
- relevance of the activity to the researcher’s research plan;
- feasibility of the activities within the proposed budget and timeline;
- alignment with SSHRC’s mandate;
- status of the faculty member in terms of emerging versus established with preference to emerging scholars and scholars who identify as Indigenous peoples;
- potential for the project to leverage other funding or partnerships; and
- a demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, and/or reconciliation.
Applicants are expected to address all selection criteria as part of the application. For example, applications for conference presentations should provide sufficient information to assess the quality, relevance, alignment and potential impact of the research to be presented.
How to apply
Applications must be submitted by June 20th at 11:59pm in electronic form to the Research Advisory Committee via RRUInternalAwards@RoyalRoads.ca. If June 20th falls on a weekend or STAT holiday, applications will be due the following business day at 11:59pm.
Incomplete applications, late applications or applications not submitted as instructed will not be considered.