SSHRC Explore – Major Collaborative Project Seed Grants

The ARB SSHRC Explore – Major Collaborative Project Seed Grant program is designed to provide critical seed funding to facilitate the subsequent development of strong, competitive proposals of an interdisciplinary and/or multidisciplinary nature for submission to external research sponsors. The goal of the program is to fund excellence and innovation.

Application Process

Each year there is one ARB SSHRC Explore – Major Collaborative Project Seed Grant competition. A completed ARB SSHRC Explore – Major Collaborative Project Seed Grant application form must be received by ROADS by 4:30pm on the deadline date, October 31st. (Next business day if the deadline falls on a weekend or statutory holiday.)

Researchers who intend to apply for ARB SSHRC Explore – Major Collaborative Project Seed Grants are encouraged to contact their Associate Dean, Research and ROADS for assistance and direction in proposal development.

Value

The maximum allowable ARB SSHRC Explore – Major Collaborative Project Seed Grant is $15,000 for up to 24 months, commencing the January following receipt of the award. Any grant funds not used by the end of that period will be returned to the ARB. To be eligible for future ARB funding, grantees must apply for a major, external grant of over $100,000 within two years. Any grant funds not used by the end of that period will be returned to the ARB.

Please Note: per SSRHC policy, Major Collaborative Project Seed Grants are only partially funded by the SSHRC Institutional Grant (up to a maximum of $10,000 for each award). The balance of funding is from McMaster institutional funds.

Adjudication Process

ARB SSHRC Explore – Major Collaborative Project Seed Grant applications will be reviewed for the following:

  • Are interdisciplinary and/or multidisciplinary and involve at least three investigators; the Principal Investigator must be affiliated with McMaster University, the other two can be from other institutions;
  • A clear and specific plan for submitting an application for a major external grant request for over $100,000 within two years;
  • Have a maximum requirement of 24-months funding and maximum support of $15,000 over the grant period;
  • Clarity, focus and appropriateness of the research objectives, research plan, and the theoretical and methodological approach;
  • Extent of scholarly content and originality;
  • Overall contribution of the research to the candidates long range research plan; and
  • Applicant’s scholarly contributions relative to the stage of career (e.g., publications, reviews, abstracts, conference presentations over the last six years). See SSHRC CV and SSHRC Relevant Research Contributions.

The complete guidelines and application forms:

Final Report Requirement

To be eligible for future ARB funding, researchers who have been awarded ARB SSHRC Explore or Exchange funds previously must submit a final report to ROADS within six months of completing the project.

The Final Reports form:

If you have any questions about the ARB, please contact Muriel Gervais, Research Administration Analyst.