Connection Grants — Joint Initiative for Digital Citizen Research

From: Canadian Heritage

Canadian Heritage is partnering with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to provide funding support through arms-length Connection Grants. These grants provide assistance to selected events and outreach activities for short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives. These events and activities represent opportunities to exchange knowledge and engage on research issues related to online disinformation and other related online harms as well as their impact in the Canadian context.

The Joint Initiative has 3 broad objectives:

to promote Canadian research that will develop better understanding — based on empirical evidence — of the impacts of online disinformation in Canada in order to better inform programs and policies
to build Canada's capacity to conduct research on and related to countering online disinformation and other related online harms, specifically in the target areas described below
to help foster a community of research in the digital citizenship and countering online disinformation space in Canada

Who can apply

Applications may be submitted by institutions or individual applicants and teams (consisting of one applicant or project director and one or more co-applicants and/or collaborators).

For more details, visit the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Connection Grants web page.

Eligible projects

Connection Grants support workshops, colloquiums, conferences, forums, summer institutes or other events or outreach activities — as defined on the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Connection Grants web page — geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives.

In addition to adhering to SSHRC’s policies and regulations pertaining to the Connection Grants, the proposed projects must also address the broad objectives pertaining to the Joint Initiative as described above.

The Joint Initiative also requires that the proposals focus on 1 or more of the following specific areas:

creators and propagators of (online) disinformation in a Canadian context
digital techniques used to spread (online) disinformation in a Canadian context
sectors of Canadian society more or less vulnerable to (online) disinformation, including how disinformation may specifically affect marginalized, minority and Indigenous communities
effects of exposure to information and (online) disinformation on Canadians’ individual beliefs behavior as well as overall mental health
different impacts of (online) disinformation in Canada, including on democratic institutions and elections
government responses to (online) disinformation

Maximum amount

Connection Grants supporting events are valued at $7,000 to $25,000 over 1 year.

Connection Grants supporting outreach activities are valued at $7,000 to $50,000 over 1 year. The SSHRC is willing to consider amounts higher than $50,000, although such applications must justify the need for the higher amount, as well as provide evidence the entire award can be managed within the 1-year timeframe.

Applicants must request a minimum of $7,000.

Application deadline

The Application deadline date is expected to be announced in the near future. Please ensure that you visit this webpage in the coming months.

How to apply

Interested applicants must submit their application to the SSHRC’s Connection Grants funding opportunities.

To be considered under the Joint Initiative, applicants are required to select this option from the drop-down list of the “Joint or special initiative” field under the “Application — Identification” section of the application form.

Applications received for this joint initiative will be assessed against all other proposals received under SSHRC Connection Grants. The Department of Canadian Heritage will determine which applications are relevant to the Joint initiative and fund the proposals recommended for funding by the SSHRC peer review committee and deemed relevant by the Digital Citizen Initiative’s governance committees.

Applicants needing help to prepare their application should contact the SSHRC well in advance of the application deadline.

Funding terms

The SSHRC will not fund the full cost of any Connection project. Additional support in the form of eligible cash and/or in-kind contributions (excluding registration fees) equivalent to a minimum of 50% of the amount requested must come from sponsoring organizations.

For more details, see the SSHRC’s Guidelines for Cash and In-Kind Contributions.

All activities must take place within 12 months of the start date indicated on the notice of decision.

In addition to the reporting requirements for the Connection Grants, grant holders will be required to prepare a short paper targeted at the Joint Initiative’s policy objectives and practitioner communities, summarizing the findings of their events or outreach activities.

Contact us

Please contact the SSHRC to apply for funding through arms-length Connection Grants:

Email: connection@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
Telephone: 1-855-275-2861

Please contact Canadian Heritage for more information on the Joint Initiative for Digital Citizen Research:

Address: Department of Canadian Heritage
Digital Citizen Initiative
25 Eddy Street, 7th Floor
Gatineau QC J8X 4B5
Email: icn-dci@pch.gc.ca
Telephone: 1-866-811-0055 (toll-free)
TTY: 1-888-997-3123 (toll-free)

Agents are available to answer your questions Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm (ET).

Language selection

Search