Application

The application process for this program has moved to an online form, and can be found here. The process will allow you to upload files. Before you begin the submission, please prepare your Research Proposal and Budget Justification documents in advance. Guidelines for each of these documents can be found below.

• Research Proposal
• Budget Justification

Deadlines (Biannual)

February 1st and October 15th, each year

Objectives

Acadia University established a research fund to support faculty research, and contributes $150,000 for each year of the 16th Collective Agreement towards two open competitions (Fall and Winter). The funds (awards up to $5000) are administered through the Office of Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies. This Research Fund is available only to current members of the bargaining unit and to Faculty appointees to the Board of Governors.

Funding Priorities (2024-2025)
The following areas are the priorities for 2024-2025, as determined by the URF Adjudication Committee, and are equal in priority ranking.

 Direct costs of research

• Student engagement in faculty member research (e.g. hiring a student research assistant)
• Community engagement in faculty member research (e.g. data collection in a community organization)
• Research user engagement (e.g. meetings with end users to help identify needs and potential research impacts)
• Travel for purposes of research “data collection” (recognizing disciplinary variation)
• Purchase of necessary equipment, materials, consumables and/or services for conducting and incentivizing research (evidence of purchase price or quotations needed)

Knowledge dissemination and mobilization within and beyond academia

• Research presentation by the faculty applicant at professional conferences/meetings (evidence of acceptance for a conference presentation is required)
• Knowledge mobilization targeted at appropriate research users outside of academia
• The creation of research outputs in non-traditional media, such as videos and podcasts, translation of research into other languages, and community-based meetings (like a Mawio’mi, for example)
• Virtual conference attendance and reasonable related expenses are supported
• Publication costs as they relate to research accepted for publication in legitimate publication venues (i.e., not predatory journals - https://predatoryreports.org/the-predatory-journals).

Non-eligible expenses

• Conference attendance without presentation
• Expenses that are largely educational in nature (e.g., course tuition, professional development workshops, purchase or maintenance of teaching equipment / technology)
• Student attendance at conferences

Key Points:

• Under the terms of the 16th Collective Agreement, applicants can elect to apply for one- or two-year awards, for a maximum amount of $5,000. [NOTE: Unless you are certain that your project will require a full two years, it may be best to apply for a one-year award. If it becomes apparent that you will require extra time, you can automatically extend your one-year award for an extra year, as per Article 25.55(d). This avoids the situation of receiving a two-year award, finishing early, and then not being able to apply again until the 2-year term has ended.]
• Applicants eligible to apply for external funding cannot receive funding from this source for more than three consecutive years, unless a research funding application has been submitted to an external granting organization within that three-year period.
• Requests for 25.55 funding must be accompanied by a one-page report on the activities and outcomes of previous 25.55 funding, if applicable, unless a report has already been submitted to Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies.
• The evaluation criteria utilized by the Adjudication Committee can be found here. Please ensure that all relevant sections of the form are completed, and that it is submitted by the due date.
• It is important that you justify (not just describe) the budget clearly. Remember, if you are requesting travel funds to present a paper, please include a letter of acceptance and an abstract of the paper being presented.
• PLEASE NOTE: Article 25.55(g) states, "Applications must also include an updated curriculum vitae of the applicant." Please upload your current CV within the online application form.
• The deadlines for submission each year are October 15 and February 1 (adjusted to the following Monday if dates fall on the weekend). Decisions will be announced by November 15 and February 28 respectively.
• If you have any questions, please contact the Research Office at researchoffice@acadiau.ca

TIP: Please remember that there may be no one on the Adjudication Committee who shares your expertise or even your disciplinary background. Write for clarity and understanding throughout your application.

Hiring Student Researchers

Please visit our Hiring Students page for pay rates and more information.

2024

Please note that there will not be an internal SIG competition for the summer of 2024. Details on the 2023 funding remain below to outline the process and typical timelines. For questions about this program, please contact Dr. Peter Ludlow, Director of Research Grants & Programs.

SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG)

Through the SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada provides annual block grants to universities to help fund small-scale research and research-related activities by their faculty and students in the social sciences and humanities. SIG funds are intended to help Canadian postsecondary institutions strengthen research excellence in the social sciences and humanities.

For 2023-24, applications must be made using the internal 2023 SIG Application. Applications in the form of one electronic copy must be submitted to the Office Research, Innovation & Graduate Studies (researchoffice@acadiau.ca) by 27 June 2023. 

When completing an application, please read the application instructions carefully. Individuals may apply for a maximum of $3,000.

SIG funds will be offered as two grant types:

SSHRC Explore Grants, which:

• support social sciences and humanities researchers with modest research funding requirements at any stage of career;
• allow for small-scale innovation and experimentation by providing funding to develop a research project or conduct pilot work; and
• enable researchers to hire students at any level to participate in their research projects thereby contributing to their professional development.

SSHRC Exchange Grants, which:

• support the organization of 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; and
• allow researchers to 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.
• SSHRC expects that all SIG-funded research training will incorporate appropriate dimensions of the Guidelines for Effective Research Training.

SIG Applicant Eligibility

• Recipients must be affiliated with a SSHRC eligible Canadian postsecondary institution and must maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period. Researchers who maintain an affiliation with a Canadian postsecondary institution, but whose primary affiliation is with a non-Canadian institution, are not eligible to hold these grants.
• Students are not eligible to hold SIG-funded grants; however, SSHRC encourages researchers to employ students in SIG-funded research.

Guidelines for SIG Applicants

Competitions for SIG grants occur once per year in the spring/summer. At least one month prior to the adjudication process, a call for applications is announced to the SSH departments and schools on campus. The form requires applicants to (1) provide a succinct description of their intended research/activities, to a maximum of two pages, (2) a detailed budget, and (3) a justification of each budget item.

Funds received in this competition must be spent in the fiscal year in which they were awarded; i.e. your account must show a zero balance by March 30, 2024 (accounts are closed at the end of March and any outstanding balances will revert to the general SIG account). SSHRC requires this office to submit a report on the research funded; therefore, a report on your research must be submitted to Research and Graduate Studies by the end of April 2024.

For up-to-date information on pay rates for students (April 2024), please visit our Hiring Students page.

SIG Reporting Guidelines

SIG Grant holders must provide a written report (max 1 page), describing the completed research/activities to the Research Office (researchoffice@acadiau.ca) by the end of April 2024 (Note - all funds need to be spent by the end of March 2024).

Reports should highlight how the objectives of the research project/activities were met, and any particular successes or challenges that resulted. Please indicate if SIG funds have led to the development of any other funding applications.

Please also be sure to address the following two questions:

1. If applicable, how many students, post doctoral researchers, and/or other non-students were supported using your SIG funds? For students, please indicate if they were undergraduate, Master's or Doctoral students.

2. How many "knowledge products"* resulted from your SIG funds? *knowledge products are defined by SSHRC as "traditional academic outputs such as peer-reviewed articles, books, conference presentations, etc., as well as other knowledge mobilization activities."

*For Further Information on the SIG opportunity, contact Dr. Peter Ludlow, Director of Research Grants & Programs.