1. Insight Development Grant
SSHRC
Insight Development Grant
2019 Competition

2. Workshop Agenda 1:00 – 1:30 PM Proposal Planning and Development
Suzanne Jaeger, PhD, Funded Research Officer, A&S
1:30 – 2:00 PM Eligibility and Submission Processes
Mark Bold, Research Funding Officer, RSO
2:00 – 2:40 PM SSHRC Adjudication Process
Guest Speaker: Professor Andre Sorensen, Human
Geography, UTSC and 2018 SSHRC IDG adjudication committee
2:40 – 3:00 PM Q & A

3. Deadlines 9:00 AM Mon. Jan. 28, 2019 – MRA (My Research
Application) draft submitted and approved
9:00 AM Fri. Feb 1, 2019 – completed SSHRC
Application (including CCV) submitted via
SSHRC online portal
Feb 2, 2019 – SSHRC agency deadline (Feb 4 because Feb
2nd falls on a Saturday)
Results announced: June 2019

4. Competition Overview
Value of the IDG grant: Between $7,000 and $75,000
Duration: 1 to 2 years
Requires the Canadian Common CV (CCV) rather than the regular SSHCR CV used in other SSHRC programs.
Special provision for Emerging Scholars: Separate budgetary envelope for Emerging Scholars (minimum 50% of overall envelope) = Higher success rates for Emerging Scholars in comparison with Established Scholars

5. Emerging Scholars - definition
Someone who has not yet had the opportunity to establish an extensive record of research achievement, but is in the process of building one.
Has not yet applied successfully, as principal investigator or project director, for a grant offered through SSHRC, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Emerging scholars may, however, have previously held or currently hold knowledge mobilization grants and/or SSHRC Partnership Engage Grants.
In addition, they must meet at least one of the following criteria:
have completed their highest degree no more than six years before the competition deadline (SSHRC considers only the date of completion of the first doctorate); or
have held a tenured or tenure-track postsecondary appointment for less than six years; or
have held a postsecondary appointment, but never a tenure-track position (in the case of institutions that offer tenure-track positions); or
have had their careers significantly interrupted or delayed for health or family reasons within the past six years.

6. Emerging Scholars
The IDG supports high-quality research projects by emerging scholars to develop new research questions and/or approaches.
Projects from Emerging Scholars may build on and further the applicant’s (or team’s) graduate work and/or represent a continuation of their overall research trajectory.

7. Established Scholars
Someone who has established—or who, since the completion of their highest degree, has had the opportunity to establish—a record of research achievement.
Funding support to explore new research questions and/or approaches that are distinct from the applicant’s previous/ongoing research. Research projects should be clearly delimited and in the early stages of the research process. Insight Development Grant funding is not intended to support ongoing research for established scholars.

8. Insight Program Description
Insight Development Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Insight program.
The goal of the Insight program is to build knowledge and understanding about people, societies and the world by supporting research excellence in all subject areas eligible for funding from SSHRC.
Insight Objectives include:
Building knowledge and understanding from disciplinary, interdisciplinary and/or cross-sector perspectives through support for the best researchers;
Supporting new approaches to research on complex and important topics, including those that transcend the capacity of any one scholar, institution or discipline;
Providing a high-quality research training experience for students;
Funding research expertise that relates to societal challenges and opportunities; and
Mobilizing research knowledge, to and from academic and non-academic audiences, with the potential to lead to intellectual, cultural, social and economic influence, benefit and impact.

9. IDG Program Description
Supports research in its initial stages.
Enables the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and/or ideas.
Funding is provided for short-term research development projects, of up to two years, proposed by individuals or teams.
Larger-scale and longer term research support is offered through SSHRC’s Insight Grant program (Oct. 15 deadline).

10. Insight Development Grants
Proposed projects may involve, but are not limited to, the following types of research activities:
case studies;
pilot initiatives; and
critical analyses of existing research
Projects may also involve national and international research collaboration, and the exploration of new ways of producing, structuring and mobilizing knowledge within and across disciplines and sectors.
SSHRC welcomes applications involving Indigenous research, as well as those involving research-creation.

11. Adjudication Process
Applications are adjudicated, and available funds awarded, through a merit review process. SSHRC bases funding decisions on the recommendations of the adjudication committee and on the funds available. Committee discussions are guided by the principle of minimum essential funding.
Insight Development Grant applications are evaluated through a single-stage committee review process that does not involve external assessments.
The adjudication committees include national and international scholars from the research community and may include experts from other sectors as needed.

12. Committee Structure
In the application form, applicants will be asked to select the committee they consider most appropriate for the review of their proposal.
The previous years’ review committee members are available on the SSHRC Merit Review webpage

13. Committee Selection
01 – Philosophy, medieval studies, classics, religious studies
02 – History
03 – Fine Arts, Research Creation
04 – Literature
07 – Economics
08 – Sociology, Demography and related fields
09 – Geography, urban planning and related fields
10 – Psychology
11 – Political Science and Public Administration
12 – Education and Social Work
13 – Anthropology, Archeology, Linguistics and Translation
14 – Business, Management and related fields
16 – Communications, Media Studies, Library and Media Studies and related fields
17 – Law and Criminology
21 – Indigenous Research
22 – Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Humanities
23 – Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
Speak to the challenges of submitting to the Multidisciplinary committees.
From here go to SSHRC website to show how to find last year’s committee composition.

14. Committee Structure
There are four types of committees: discipline-based; groups of disciplines; multi/interdisciplinary (one humanities-focused and one social sciences-focused); and thematic (e.g. Indigenous Research).
SSHRC creates more discipline-based committees when required by a high volume of received applications, e.g. committee 10 A and 10B (Psychology). Otherwise, committees are based on groups of disciplines, e.g. committee 01 (philosophy, medieval studies, classics, religious studies). In addition, SSHRC will also establish thematic and multi/interdisciplinary committees if warranted by the volume of applications.
Note: SSHRC will make efforts to accommodate applicant preferences. However, SSHRC reserves the right to determine an application’s review process and committee assignment.

15. Multi-disciplinary Committee Success Rates

16. Proposal Development
Finding the Instructions for how to complete each section of the application:
Drop Down and Text Boxes (Identification; Revisions since previous application; Roles and Responsibilities; Knowledge Mobilization Plan; Funds Requested from SSHRC; Reviewer Exclusion; Activity Details; Summary of Proposal; Roles and Training of Students; Expected Outcomes; Funds from Other Sources)
Attachments (Detailed Description; Timelines; References)
CCV
Invitations to Co-applicants and Collaborators

17. Proposal Development - tips
Give yourself lots of time
Frame the project within the SSHRC IDG program objectives
Get as much feedback as you can and reorganize and shape the proposal carefully, highlighting key points
Aim for clarity in how the entire project is conceived both in terms of the big picture and in the details
A word of caution when using past successful applications as a template
Considerations when using past successful applications as a template:
Activities and project organization may fit one topic but not another. The development of the research activities needs to fit with the required methods to achieve the specific research goals.
Eloquence often goes a long way and budget are “forgiven” in well-written proposals.
Clarity in the project description is more important than replicating a proposal structure as a formula.

18. Proposal Development - Mapping Strategy
Start by thinking about the research rather than writing text.
It is more difficult to revise research plans once they are written as text than it is to change a proposal ‘map’.
Two key tasks:
i) Finding the Project Framework;
ii) Developing the Budget

19. Finding the Framework Key Questions to create the proposal map:
What is your main research objective?
Why is it important to do this research?
How will the research objective be achieved?
Who will be involved in the activities planned to help accomplish the research objectives?
What are the anticipated outcomes of the research? What will be the results of the research activities?
What will be the anticipated impact or significance of these outcomes/results?

20. Proposal Map What + Why How + Who Outcome + Impact
Explain the differences between: i) research objectives and outcomes; ii) research outcomes and impact or significance; iii) research outcomes and knowledge mobilization

21. Budget Considerations
Review Committees have been mandated to fund only the “minimum essential for completing the proposed activities”.
This means that every item in your budget request for SSHRC funds must be justified carefully in relation to the proposed research objectives and methodology including the concrete activities described to achieve the objectives.
There should be continuity between the Project Description, Student Training, Knowledge Mobilization, Outcomes, Budget and Budget Justification. No surprises in the Budget!
More in Mark Bold’s presentation about the budget

22. Important SSHRC Guidelines
Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide
Guidelines for Effective Research Training
Indigenous Research Statement of Principles
Guidelines for the Merit Review of Indigenous Research
Guidelines for Effective Knowledge Mobilization.
For information on preparing research-creation applications see SSHRC’s Resource Centre.
For descriptions of SSHRC terms, see Definitions of Terms.
Be sure to review carefully the Program Description page for the SSHRC IDG as well as the Instructions available once you have logged into the Research Net portal. Important information is provided on these web pages.

23. One more SSHRC resource:
Awards Search Engine

24. Final Comments: An Excellent Project Plan is:
Do‐able
Plan makes sense to the reviewer
Design is comprehensive
Results clearly obtainable / interpretable
Proposal conveys little doubt of success
Clear evidence of applicant skills and previous success
No assumptions are skipped over

25. Excellent Proposal Writing is:
Easy to Read
Uses the Concept of one:
one main goal for the proposal
one main point per paragraph
one thought per sentence
Focused on the key points
Uses direct, uncomplicated language
Uses summary statements

26. A Persuasive Proposal is …
Clearly relevant and important:
Goals are directly aligned with the funder’s priorities
An important knowledge gap is identified
The rationale is presented clearly and succinctly
The research objectives and outcomes are linked
The anticipated impact of the research results is stated explicitly and in a compelling way.
A grant proposal is not an article on the research topic. The writing is a little more journalistic as well as being academic: shorter sentences, fewer subordinate clauses, one point per sentence.
Project objectives should be assertive statements rather than questions.
Discuss the challenges of impact beyond academia for some disciplines in the Humanities, e.g. philosophy, classics, English.
Also the challenges of community engagement, which falls under Knowledge Mobilization .

27. Help Lines:
I am available to answer questions and to provide proposal development support and editorial feedback on drafts between now and the end of January:
SSHRC program officers are available to answer questions when answers are not on their website:
Tel.:
Mark Bold is also available to answer SSHRC IDG questions: or