Advice for Writing a Successful SSHRC Application

Depending on the SSHRC adjudication committee, there may only be one expert inyour field. (For Partnership and Partnership Development Grants, remember that not all committee members are academics.)

• Someone outside of your field must be able to understand your proposal. Your faculty Research Facilitator is an excellent barometer of whether you have reached this goal.
• Guide your reader: use headings that correspond to those identified in the instructions to organize your information so that it is easy to follow.
• Make sure you use transitions between paragraphs.
• Avoid using acronyms and abbreviations. If you use them remember to write them out in long form the first time.
• Leave blank spaces and/or add tables/illustrations to lighten the text.
• Have colleagues and your faculty Research Facilitator proofread your application before submitting.

• There is no need to change your title.
• Responding to criticisms from external assessors or the selection committee:
  1. Although you need to seriously consider the comments your receive, you do not need to respond to them.
  2. If you choose to respond to the criticism, do so tactfully as there may be returning committee members!
  3. It is also recommended you focus on responding to the committee comments rather than those of the external assessors. The latter only read your proposal, and, therefore, do not benefit from the comparative perspective which would enable them to have a better understanding of the quality of the proposals submitted to the competition. (Please remember that committee membership changes from one year to the next, thus, not all members have the same points of reference in relation to your application/file.) 

The composition of the team is considered under the "Feasibility" and "Capacity" criteria of all SSHRC grants. In order to maximize the score for these criteria, build your team in relation to the experience, expertise and resources required for the project to be successfully completed. Explain this team building rationale to the reader.

• There is no set number of co-applicants and collaborators.
• Make sure the team members' expertise and responsibilities are clearly delineated and articulated. The overall picture should be one of complementary expertise and capacity. Indicate how the respective contributions are weighted amongst team members.
• Indicate previous experience of fruitful collaborations amongst the team members and give examples of successfully completed projects (subject, major outputs and impact) that are relevant to the proposed research project. 
• A team submission does not necessarily guarantee a better score than one submitted by an individual researcher. 
• Do not put forward a new scholar as principal investigator simply on the basis that they might gain from the different weighting used for new scholars.

Advice

• Identify and explain the problem/challenge you are trying to solve. Approach this from two angles: current research issues and the social/political/economic/legal/etc problems. By connecting the two you suggest that specific research (methodology/approach/etc) can provide a solution to a social/political/economic/education or other problem that exists.
• Underscore the importance of finding a solution to the challenge/problem by connecting it to:
  1. current situations and debates.
  2. a known authority who is calling for research on this topic (e.g. a person/organization/group or report/commission/investigation at the local, provincial, federal or international level).
• Anticipate the problems and challenges of the proposed research and explain how you will manage them.
• Explain how your proposed research is different from previous studies you undertook on the same topic.
• Explain the research project's contribution and impact in your field of study and for the intended public and/or the country. Be realistic in doing so. 

 Examples of known authorities

• President/Prime Minister
• International Organization
• Federal ministers
• Provincial premiers
• Royal Commission
• Expert

 Research Impact

• Be realistic about the impact of your research!
• Define the geographical scope of your impact: local, regional, national, international.
• Indicate the impact by targeted sector/group :
• Academic: researchers, students, etc
• Non-academic: policy makers, professionals (lawyers, educators, doctors), private sector (business leaders), community associations, general public, etc.
• Explain how your research methods, approach, and results will contribute to the existing research questions/debates in your field and more generally.
• Explain how your results will be used by groups you are targeting and how it benefits them.

Examples of contributions and impacts of the research in your field

• Introduction of a new theme
  Impact: Increase in the scope of the field

• Addition of new data
  Impact: Better in-depth understanding of the context or analysis

• New methodological or analytical approach
  Impact: New interpretation or comprehension of the data

 Examples of contributions and impacts outside of your field

• Develop site guidelines to protect the environment
  Impact: Improve environmental protection.

• Develop or improve teaching methods in a certain field
  Impact: Improve student learning.

• Develop or improve legal codes to protect human rights
  Impact: Improve human rights protection.

SSHRC considers that "knowledge mobilization" (KM) is an umbrella term encompassing a wide range of activities relating to the production and use of research results encompass many types of activities, including knowledge synthesis; dissemination; transfer; exchange; and co-creation by researchers and knowledge users. For example, KM activities can include integrated knowledge translation activities in which participants and partners are involved in developing the research project. These types of activities can be described in the methodology section.

Advice

• Identify your target audience(s)/user group(s) and indicate whether they have been or will be involved in the development of the KM plan.
• Provide information about how you plan to reach the target group(s) (e.g. workshops, reports, website). Don't forget to explain how they will benefit from these activities.
• Explain the breadth and scope of the knowledge mobilization activities.
• If you propose to build a web page, make sure you indicate who will host and moderate it; how you will attract users and how it will be maintained.
• Discuss the method of evaluating success and impacts of the activities in the short (e.g. # of publications, presentations, attendees, etc.), medium (e.g. # of students trained, policy development, etc.) and long-term (e.g. paradigm shift, new service/policy, improved quality of life/safety/security, etc.)

• Knowledge mobilisation activities should increase every year as the research activities decrease.

Examples of target audiences

• Academics: researchers, students, etc
• Non-academic: policy makers, professionals (lawyers, educators, doctors), private sector (business leaders), community associations, general public, etc.
• Remember to indicate where they are located.

 Examples of the purpose of knowledge mobilization initiatives

1. Within academia:
   • informs, advances and/or improves research agendas, knowledge, theory, and/or methods.
2. Beyond academia:
   • informs: public debates, policies, processes, decisions and/or practices used in business, government, the media, practitioner communities and civil society;
   • enhances/improves services; and/or
   • raises awareness or interest.

Examples of knowledge mobilization methods:

• Documents: books, refereed journal articles, pamphlets, policy papers, reports, knowledge syntheses
• Meetings/Events: workshops, conferences, symposia, round tables, forums
• On-line: social media, websites, videos (You Tube or other)
• Media coverage: articles/commentaries/opinions/interviews (newspaper, television, radio, on-line)
• Artistic Representations/Performances: films, plays, exhibits, festivals
• Tools: toolkits, manuals, databases,  
• Teaching/Training: train the trainer workshops/modules/guidelines, curriculum, professional development modules, courses

Advice

• Describe the role and responsibility of postdoctoral fellows and students by level of study (undergraduate, master, doctoral). Don't forget to indicate who will supervise them.
• Underscore the knowledge and skills students (distinguish by level of study) and emerging scholars will acquire. P.S. Do not limit your explanation to the academic context, but extend it to the job market.
• Develop student skills by integrating them into various research activities in a meaningful way (e.g. data collection and database design, presentations at conferences or to community groups, publications, survey development etc.)
• Describe the research training activities and the mentorship approach.

Examples of Student Training Activities 

• Read primary sources and highlight issues relevant to the goals/focus/subject of the research program;
• Conduct or retrieve interviews with authors, inventors, specialists, etc.;
• Collaborate on data analysis;
• Participate in the dissemination of results: co-writing articles or participating in conferences;
• Attend seminars and conferences on the research subject;
• Participate in training workshops or symposiums;
• Update databases and upload documents online;
• Perform digital transcriptions and uniformity checks ;
• Conduct research at archival centres;

Examples of Benefits for Students

• Detailed knowledge in the specific research domain;
• A head start on research for thesis writing;
• Introduction to a professional network (professors, researchers, specialists, etc.);
• Familiarity with research methods, work methodology and data analysis;
• Opportunity to present their own research (colloquia, symposiums, etc.) 

Resources

• SSHRC Guidelines for Effective Research Training

Advice

The budget and its justification are considered under the "Feasibility" criterion of all SSHRC grants. If a committee judges that the budget should be cut by 50% or more, the proposal will not be funded.

• Ensure that the budget relates closely to the methodology described in your proposal.
• Explain how amounts are calculated.
• Follow institutional guidelines where applicable. 
• Ask for the amount you really need- no more, no less! Items you include in your budget should align with your research program. For example, do not include a high-end computer when only basic functions are required.
• Justify each line item in your budget. For example: University of Ottawa research assistant salaries are consistent with the CUPE 2626 Collective Agreement.
• Do not include conference travel in the first year of the project unless prelimanary research has already yielded findings to present.
• Identify how many undergraduate, masters and doctoral students will be working on the project, their roles and responsibilities, the number of hours they will work, the cost per student and a short description of the work to be completed.
• If a postdoctoral fellow is requested in the budget, explain their role and responsibilities. Ensure that the explanation clearly outlines why an M.A. or PhD student cannot perform these tasks.
• If you include a coordinator, justify their role and explain how the project cannot be done without them.
• List all contributions (cash and in-kind), including seed funding you have received from the University for this research.
• If your project does not lend itself to cash and in-kind contributions indicate it to the reader.

 Contractual Staff Paid from Grants and External Contracts

• Generic Job Descriptions*: The generic job descriptions are an important tool in supporting salary equity as well as in fostering employee retention in the management of human resources in the research field.

• HR Budgeting Tool for Generic Job Descriptions*: This table provides a 5 year projection of contractual employees (Policy 47) taking into account the length of the contract, the benefits, and yearly salary increases.
• HR Budgeting Tool Instructions*

* Find these tools on the Human Resources in Research web page.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Postdoctoral appointments: The minimum level of funding for a postdoctoral stipend or fellowship is $34,000 per year. Consult the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies site for more information.

Graduate Students

Research Assistantships 

• Work related to professor's research project
• Benefits
• Payroll deductions(income tax and union dues)
• Employer-employee relation
• Maximum of 10 hours a week for full-time students
• Can be offered to both part-time and full-time students
• Follow this link (CUPE2626) to view a summary table of student remuneration as per the Collective Agreement between the University of Ottawa and CUPE 2626 and estimated future rates.

Soft Funded Research Bursary(SFRB) or Stipends

• Work related to student's thesis (or program requirements)
• No benefits or holidays
• No payroll deductions for income taxes
• No employer-employee relation
• Maximum of 5 hours a week (work requested from the professor)
• For full-time, graduate students only

• The amount per student is not limited to a specific amount, but must be reasonable and in line with amounts offered to research assistants . If well justified, you may choose to offer more. (Example: A student is highly involved in all aspects of the project and will be publishing, etc.)
• The stipends recommended for research bursaries are the following:
  • Masters: $12,000 (recommended annual amount)
  • Doctorate: $15,000 (recommended annual amount)

Conference and Research Travel Costs 

• Provide the name and a brief description of the conference(s) that you and/or your students will attend.
• Refer to University Policy 21 "Travel Expenses" which provides a set of principles for eligible travel and travel expense reimbursements.
• Airfare: Use the following phrases to justify your costs  "most practical, economical and direct route possible", "lowest fare", or "economy fare"
• Accommodations-- Use the following phrases to justify your costs: "government personnel prices" or "CAUBO prices".

Professional and Technical Services

Consulting fees for professional and technical services are allowable expenditures only if it is demonstrated in the Budget Justification that expert advice is needed. If a grant is awarded and you have planned to contract consultants for amounts in excess of $25,000, two independent cost quotations will be required. Types of services: translation, transcription, web development, specialized interviewers. Your justification must highlight why they are necessary for the project.

Non-disposable Equipment - Computer Hardware

Purchase or rental of computers and associated hardware is allowable only if these are not accessible through the university or employer.

Non-disposable Equipment - Other 

Purchase or rental of equipment (e.g., audio or video equipment) is allowable only if it is not accessible through the institution or employer. 

Supplies

You may include other supply items (e.g., software, stationery, postage, telephone calls) only if they relate directly to the research. Software must be specialized, well justified and not offered by the University. You must demonstrate that the purchase of other office supplies such a toner and stationary is necessary for the research project.