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SSHRC Insight Grants

Sponsor/agency: SSHRC

Program: Insight Grants

*Notify Amber Zapletal of your intent to apply*

Description 

Insight Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Insight Research program.

Insight Grants support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities. Funding is available to both emerging scholars and established scholars for research initiatives of two to five years.

Stable support for long-term research initiatives is central to advancing knowledge. It enables scholars to address complex issues about individuals and societies and to further our collective understanding.

Insight Grants support research proposed by scholars and judged worthy of funding by their peers and/or other experts. Insight Grant research initiatives can be undertaken by an individual researcher or a team of researchers working in collaboration.

Applicants choose from one of two streams, depending on the amount of funding required. Both streams will be adjudicated by the same committees and will receive the same rigorous level of merit review. The deadlines and application process are identical for both; however, the targeted success rate for Stream A is higher than for Stream B.

SSHRC welcomes applications involving Indigenous research, as well as those involving research-creation.

Program Summary 

Deadlines:

  • September 3, 2025: ORS internal comprehensive review deadline 
  • September 17, 2025: Internal Faculty Review deadline
  • September 24, 2025: Mandatory internal administrative review deadline 
  • October 1, 2025: Agency deadline  

Value: *NEW VALUES AS OF THIS YEAR*

Stream A: $10,000 to $125,000

Stream B: $125,001 to $500,000

Duration: 2 to 5 years

How to Apply:

  1. Notify Amber Zapletal of your intention to apply.
  2. Review the program guidelines and application instructions.
  3. Create and complete an application and SSHRC CV in the SSHRC web portal. We encourage you to consult Amber as necessary with any questions during proposal development and take advantage of the ORS comprehensive review and/or peer review honorarium program. 
  4. Send your complete application and RGA form to your dean/ associate dean for faculty review and internal approvals by September 17, 2025.
  5. Submit application and RGA form signed by your Dean to Amber for mandatory internal administrative review by September 24, 2025 at the latest.
  6. Submit the application to SSHRC by October 1, 2025 at 9 a.m.

Contact: ORS Grants Officer – Amber Zapletal

Agency Program Contact - insightgrants@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca

Program information:

Program website

Upcoming webinar – August 21, 2025 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. – Register here. 

Eligibility 

Subject Matter

Most SSHRC funding is awarded through open competitions. Proposals can involve any disciplines, thematic areas, approaches or subject areas eligible for SSHRC funding. See the guidelines on subject matter eligibility for more information.

Applications submitted to SSHRC that would be more appropriately evaluated by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research will not be accepted.

Projects whose primary objective is curriculum development, program evaluation, preparation of teaching materials, organization of a conference or workshop, digitization of a collection, or creation of a database are not eligible for funding under this funding opportunity.

An application will be declared ineligible if it is determined 30% or more of the requested budget has been allocated to ineligible expenses.

Applicant 

Applications can be submitted by an individual researcher or a team of researchers (consisting of one applicant and one or more co-applicants and/or collaborators).

Applicants (except postdoctoral fellows and PhD students) must be affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution that holds institutional eligibility at the time of application and before funding can be released. Researchers who maintain an affiliation with a Canadian postsecondary institution that holds institutional eligibility, but whose primary affiliation is with a non-Canadian postsecondary institution, are not eligible for applicant status.

Applicants who have received a SSHRC grant of any type but have failed to submit an achievement report by the deadline specified in their notice of award are not eligible to apply for another SSHRC grant until they have submitted the report.

Postdoctoral fellows are eligible to be applicants for this grant. However, for SSHRC to release grant funds, successful applicants must formally establish an affiliation with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution within five months of the grant start date (i.e., by September 2026 for the current competition) and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.

Students enrolled in a program of study are not eligible to apply. However, a PhD candidate is eligible to apply if they:

  • will have met all requirements for the PhD before the grant is awarded, including all course work and successful defence of their dissertation; and
  • establish a formal affiliation with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution within five months of the grant start date and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.

Eligible PhD students and postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to make inquiries with the Grants Office of the eligible institution(s) with which they will be seeking affiliation.

Federal scientists who are affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution must demonstrate that their proposed research or research-related activity is not related to either the mandate of their employer or the normal duties for which they receive payment from that employer.

If the proposal falls within the mandate of the federal government and the research or research-related activity is performed in government facilities, funding can only be allocated for student salaries, stipends and travel costs.

Co-Applicant

Individuals listed as co-applicants must meet the same eligibility criteria as those described under the Applicants section.

Only a person who was named as a co-applicant in the original application can replace an applicant (principal investigator) for an Insight Grant-funded project. Such replacement, however, remains subject to program approval.

Collaborators

Any individual who makes a significant contribution to the project is eligible to be a collaborator. Collaborators do not need to be affiliated with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution.

Timeline of Deadlines

  • September 3, 2025:

      • Office of Research Services (ORS) Comprehensive Review.
        • ORS guarantees an in-depth review on all submitted application components (application form, budget, proposal, CV, etc.). 
        • Subject matter review: ORS review is often well complemented by the review of a disciplinary expert who can further assess the scholarly merit of your proposal. You are therefore encouraged to also solicit colleagues to act as peer reviewers to help refine your grant proposal in tandem with the ORS review. Office of Research Services (ORS) Comprehensive Review: 
        • *NOTE* A Grants Officer will aim to review applications received after the above Comprehensive Review deadline up until the Final Review deadline. However, the level of review will depend on the volume of applications for this competition. At a minimum, ORS will review your application and flag any high-level issues that need to be addressed prior to submission.
        • *NOTE* If you are reapplying after an unsuccessful submission, please include your past Evaluation Group comments along with your draft.

  • September 17, 2025:

    • Internal Faculty Review Deadline (Faculty of Social Science and Humanities and the Faculty of Business and IT only)
      • Send your complete application and RGA form to your dean/ associate dean for faculty review and internal approvals. 

      • Mandatory for all FSSH and FBIT applicants

  • September 24, 2025 (9 a.m.):

    • ORS Final Review Deadline 
      • Administrative review of applications for completeness and to flag any issues that must be addressed prior to submission 
      • Assistance with online submission 
      • Submit your application by email to Amber Zapletal 
      • Applications must be accompanied by a Research Grant/Contract Authorization (RGA) form signed by your Dean.

      • Mandatory for all applicants 

  • October 1, 2025 (9 a.m.):

    • SSHRC Submission Deadline
      • When applicants submit through the online system, the application comes to ORS for institutional approval prior to being submitted to SSHRC.  
      • Submit applications through the online system by 9 a.m. to allow time to resolve any last-minute technical issues.
      • Mandatory for all applicants

Additional Information 

Multiple applications and holding multiple awards

Individuals can apply, as an applicant, for only one Insight Grant at a time.

Normally, researchers cannot apply as an applicant for an Insight Grant and an Insight Development Grant within the same calendar year. However, in 2017, SSHRC approved an exception to this multiple applications regulation that has been extended for the foreseeable future: researchers who applied unsuccessfully for an Insight Development Grant in February of a given year can apply for an Insight Grant in October of that same year. Therefore, researchers who applied for an Insight Development Grant in February 2025 and were not successful can apply for an Insight Grant in October 2025.

A researcher who applies for an Insight Grant in October 2025 can apply for an Insight Development Grant in February 2026, provided the objectives of the research are significantly different.

See SSHRC’s regulations on multiple applications and holding multiple awards for more information.

Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC) and Applicant Attestation

In accordance with  Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC), all researchers involved in activities funded by a grant that aim to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area (STRA) must review the List of Named Research Organizations (NROs) and attest that they are not affiliated with, or receiving funding or in-kind support from any listed NRO.

You must submit Attestation Form(s) from the applicant, co-applicants and collaborators, as applicable, certifying that they have read, understand and are compliant with this policy. Should your application be successful, you and your research team(s) will also be required to comply with the policy for the duration of the grant that aims to advance one or more STRAs.

Resources