Insight Grants

The Insight Grants support long-term research initiatives.

Visit the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) website for more information on the Insight Grants.

Potential applicants are encouraged to discuss this funding opportunity with their Faculty Research Facilitator.

Value and Duration

Insight Grants are valued at up to $500,000 over two to five years. A minimum request of $10,000 is required in at least one of the years. A maximum of $125,000 is available in a single year.

Applicants can choose from one of two streams when applying for an Insight Grant, depending on the amount of funding required:

• Stream A for requests between $10,000 to $125,000
• Stream B for requests between $125,001 to $500,000

Overview

Insight Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the 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. 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 Stream B.

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

Insight Grants are valued at up to $500,000 over two to five years. A minimum request of $10,000 is required in at least one of the years. A maximum of $125,000 is available in a single year.

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 subject matter eligibility for more information.

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 opportunity.

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

Applicants

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 meets the requirements for institutional eligibility at the time of application and before funding can be released. Researchers who maintain an affiliation with a Canadian postsecondary institution, 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, in order for SSHRC to release grant funds, successful applicants must formally establish an affiliation with a Canadian postsecondary institution that meets the requirements for institutional eligibility within five months of the grant start date, 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 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 Research Grants Office of the eligible institution(s) at which they will be seeking affiliation early in the process.

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.

Deadlines

• Faculty deadline: consult your Faculty Research Facilitator
• Office of the Vice-President (Research, Innovation and International) (OVPRII) Approval Form deadline: September 25, 2026 (anticipated)
• OVPRII submission to sponsor: October 2, 2026 (anticipated)

How to Apply

1. Submit an internal Approval Form through our central awards management database cuResearch.
2. Submit an external application to SSHRC.

Contact Us

Please contact your Faculty Research Facilitator to discuss this funding opportunity.