SSHRC Explore Early Career Researcher

Explore grants support early career researchers (within the first six years of a tenure-track appointment) to develop their first successful application as a principal investigator (PI) to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Guidelines

Terms and Conditions

Eligibility

Principal Investigator

• Holds a full-time tenured or tenure-track position at Carleton at the time of application (i.e., appointment date on or before the applicant submission deadline).
• Be within the first six years of academic appointment.
• Does not hold Tri-council (SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR, NFRF) funds as a PI at the time of application (excludes fellowships and scholarships).
• Intends to submit a competitive proposal to SSHRC as a PI within the next 12 to 18 months.
• Has not been awarded a Research Development Grant (SSHRC Explore, NSERC or CIHR) within the past three years. Previous recipients of a Research Development Grant proposing a similar research project must clearly explain how they are planning to respond to committee comments.
• NEW: the final report for the previous award must have been submitted.
• Does not hold a SSHRC Exchange Grant: Knowledge Mobilization.
• A professor may only submit one application as a PI or co-principal applicant (co-PI) in a given gate to the Research Development Grant (SSHRC Explore, NSERC or CIHR).

Co-Principal Investigator

• Holds a full-time tenured or tenure-track position at Carleton at the time of application (i.e., appointment date on or before the applicant submission deadline).
• Has not been awarded a Research Development Grant (SSHRC Explore, NSERC or CIHR) within the past three years. Previous recipients of a Research Development Grant proposing a similar research project must clearly explain how they are planning to respond to committee comments.
• NEW: the final report for the previous award must have been submitted.
• Does not hold a SSHRC Exchange Grant: Knowledge Mobilization.
• A professor may only submit one application in a given gate to the Research Development Grant (SSHRC Explore, NSERC or CIHR).

Team Member

• Anyone is eligible, no CV submission is required.

Budget

Expenses must be eligible under the Tri-Agency Guidelines for Use of Grant Funds.

Eligible Expenses

• Stipends to students and postdoctoral fellows;
• Salaries of technical and professional staff;
• Materials, supplies and services;
• Research travel (e.g., field work); and
• Knowledge dissemination (travel to present papers at academic conferences and open access costs for no more than a total cost of $3,000).

Note: small equipment (i.e., computers) cannot account for more than one third of the total budget.

Ineligible Expenses

• Professional development activities;
• Partnership-building activities;
• Large equipment and renovations; and
• Teaching release.

Note: transfers of funds to other institutions are not permitted.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Challenge — The aim and importance of the endeavor (50%)
   • Originality, significance and expected contribution to knowledge;
   • Appropriateness of the literature review, the theoretical approach or framework, and the methods;
   • Consideration of sex, gender and other identity factors in the research design;
   • Quality of training and mentoring to be provided to students, emerging scholars and other highly qualified personnel, as well as opportunities for them to contribute; and
   • Potential for the project results to have influence and impact within and/or beyond the social sciences and humanities research community.
2. Feasibility — The plan to achieve excellence (30%) 
   • Appropriateness of the proposed timeline and probability that the objectives will be met;
   • Expertise of the applicant/team in relation to the proposed research; and
   • Appropriateness of the requested budget, justification of proposed costs and, where applicable, other financial and/or in-kind contributions.
3. Capability — The expertise to succeed (20%)
   • Quality, quantity and significance of past experience and published and/or creative outputs of the applicant and any co-applicants, relative to their roles in the project and their career stage;
   • Evidence of other past knowledge mobilization activities (e.g., films, performances, commissioned reports, knowledge syntheses, experience in collaboration/other interactions with stakeholders, contributions to public debate and media) and of impacts on professional practice, social services and policies, etc.; and
   • Quality and quantity of past contributions to the development of training and mentoring of students, postdoctoral researchers and other highly qualified personnel.

Contact Us

Christine Rivas: christinerivas@cunet.carleton.ca