SSHRC Impact Awards are designed to build on and sustain Canada’s research-based knowledge culture in all research areas of the social sciences and humanities. The awards recognize outstanding researchers and celebrate their research achievements, research training, knowledge mobilization and outreach activities funded partially or entirely by SSHRC. Past recipients of SSHRC funding are listed in the Awards Search Engine.

Impact Award recipients are to use award funds for activities that promote and further develop the work being honoured. In recognition of the crucial role postsecondary institutions play in mobilizing research knowledge, at least 10% of each award must be used to promote the recipient’s research achievements. Individual recipients and their institutions can choose to devote additional funds, including a higher percentage of the award funds, to these activities.

A multidisciplinary jury made up of distinguished individuals from academia, as well as the public, private and not-for-profit sectors from Canada and abroad, will select award recipients according to the selection criteria associated with each of the five awards.

Gold Medal ($100,000)

The Gold Medal is SSHRC’s highest research honour. It is awarded to an individual whose sustained leadership, dedication and originality of thought have inspired both students and colleagues.

The recipient’s achievements must have significantly advanced understanding in their respective fields of research in the social sciences and humanities. The exceptional quality and impact of the recipient’s research, and their ongoing efforts to share the results of this work, must have greatly enriched Canadian society, and contributed to intellectual, cultural, social and/or economic life in Canada and/or internationally.

Talent Award ($50,000)

The Talent Award recognizes outstanding achievement by an individual who, on April 1, 2026, holds a SSHRC-funded doctoral scholarship or postdoctoral award. This includes, but is not limited to, a Canada Graduate Scholarship, Canada Graduate Research Scholarship, Canada Postdoctoral Research Award, SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship or Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship.

The Talent Award is given to an individual who maintains academic excellence, has a talent for research and knowledge mobilization, and has demonstrated clear potential to be a future leader within and/or outside the academic sector.

Insight Award ($50,000)

The Insight Award recognizes outstanding achievement arising from a single or multiple SSHRC-funded initiatives. It is given to an individual or a team of six people maximum (including the nominee) whose initiative or initiatives have significantly contributed to knowledge and understanding about people, societies and the world. The research outcomes must have led to demonstrable impact within the nominee’s fields of research and/or beyond the social sciences and humanities research community.

In the case of team initiatives, the nominee must be the principal investigator. If successful, this person will receive the award on behalf of the team.

The nomination package must include the nominee’s tri-agency CV and those of any team members (up to five), if applicable.

Partnership Award ($50,000)

The Partnership Award recognizes outstanding achievement and societal impact of a project funded through SSHRC’s Research Partnerships funding opportunities in advancing knowledge through research partnerships and/or collaborative knowledge mobilization activities, all while supporting the next generation of scholars.

The Partnership Award is awarded to a partnership (at the local, national and/or international level) that, through mutual cooperation and shared intellectual leadership and resources, has demonstrated intellectual, social, cultural and/or economic impact within and/or beyond a local community, the partner organizations and/or the academic sector.

One project lead must be designated as the nominee to administer the award. However, up to two project co-leads from the winning partnership can be invited to accept the award on behalf of the partnership at the Impact Awards ceremony.

The nomination package must include the nominee’s tri-agency CV and those of any team members (up to five), if applicable.

Jury Prize ($25,000)

The Jury Prize may be awarded to a nomination, in any of the four Impact Award categories, that the jury considered uniquely outstanding in demonstrating excellence in one to many areas related to research, research-creation, communication and/or knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities, within or beyond the academic community.

The Jury Prize is awarded, at the discretion of the jury, to a nomination whether it is or is not the recipient of one of the Impact Awards.

Eligibility

A nominee must:

• be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, or a “protected person” under subsection 95(2) of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, by the nomination deadline;
• be an active social sciences and humanities researcher or student;
• hold or have held SSHRC funding relevant to the award category;
• be in good standing with SSHRC;
• be affiliated with an institution that meets the institutional eligibility requirements; and
• maintain affiliation with an eligible institution for the duration of the Impact Award.

Nominees:

• cannot nominate themselves;
• can be nominated in two sequential years for the same award, following which two years must pass before they can be nominated in the same category;
• can be nominated in only one category in any year;
• can be nominated in a subsequent year for a different SSHRC Impact Award; and
• cannot be a current member of SSHRC’s governing council, a previous Gold Medal winner or a SSHRC Impact Awards jury member.

To be eligible to administer an award, the institution affiliated with an Impact Award winner must provide SSHRC with a promotion strategy (two pages maximum) outlining a proposed approach for promoting and celebrating the impact and outcomes of the award winner’s research initiative.

Nomination process

Eligible institutions are invited to put forward nominations for all SSHRC Impact Award categories. Large institutions can submit only one nomination for each award in a given year, up to a maximum of four SSHRC Impact Award nominations. Small or medium institutions, according to the Canada Research Chairs Program’s institution size classification, may choose to wave the nomination quota in each category and submit more than one nomination for any given prize.

Institutions must provide the name and contact information of a person to whom SSHRC will send all questions and correspondence, including results.

If you are interested in being nominated for one of these awards, please contact the Office of Research (ahacquo1@lakeheadu.ca) by February 1, 2026.

The Research Training Awards (RTA) program is designed to support the next generation of cancer researchers across Canada who play a role in driving growth and innovation in research, ultimately improving cancer care. The program focuses on three main goals:

1. Building capacity in the cancer research ecosystem through an equity seeking lens by fostering a more inclusive research environment and increasing diverse representation, particularly by supporting and enhancing Black- and Indigenous-led cancer research.

1. Funding a diverse group of trainees across a range of cancer research areas and fostering long-term connections within the cancer research ecosystem.

1. Encouraging a comprehensive training experience in cancer research through exposure to other disciplines, mentorship, training, knowledge-sharing and engagement initiatives.

Together with the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) and Weizmann Canada, Brain Canada is thrilled to announce the launch of the Brain Canada & Weizmann Institute of Science Team Grants.

This program aims to leverage strengths and foster international collaboration between researchers in Canada and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Its purpose is to support innovative, unorthodox, and exploratory research that may be in the early and conceptual stages of project development but has potential for significant impact on our understanding of the brain and brain disorders. 

The research topic will focus on hypothesis-driven inquiries on the brain and nervous system, and may span the range of basic, translational, and clinical approaches, including the study of disease pathogenesis, progression, diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment. 

Click here to view the Request for Applications

Click here to download the Registration Form

The NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme promotes dialogue and practical cooperation between NATO member states and NATO partner countries based on scientific research, technological innovation and knowledge exchange. It enables scientists, experts and officials from Allied nations and NATO partner countries to work together to address emerging security challenges and their impact. 

Offered by Global Affairs Canada and China’s Ministry of Education, the Canada-China Scholars’ Exchange Program (CCSEP) aims to foster deeper mutual understanding, build strong academic and professional ties between Canada and China, and develop future Canadian leaders with expertise and experience in China. CCSEP alumni are part of a distinguished network of professionals who have gone on to build impactful careers in academia, public service, business, and other fields that contribute meaningfully to Canada-China engagement.  

 The program provides an excellent opportunity to learn Chinese, and/or pursue post-secondary studies or research at leading institutions across China.  

 Candidates must be Canadian citizens to participate in the outbound component of the program.  

 Who is eligible to apply?  

• Students at the post-secondary level 

• Faculty members and researchers  

• Mid-career professionals 

Last year, the program introduced new components to expand eligibility and create new opportunities for participants:  

• Longer Stays for Graduate Students: Graduate students can now stay in China for up to 24 months with the option to obtain a graduate degree from designated learning institutions in China. 

• Shorter Stays for Professionals: The minimum stay requirement for faculty, researchers, and mid-career professionals has been reduced from 2 months to 1 month, offering greater flexibility for those seeking short-term professional development opportunities. 

The deadline to apply on the My EduCanada portal is January 12, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EST. Apply today to start your extraordinary adventure in China!  

For more information: 

• Review application guidelines: Canada-China Scholars’ Exchange Program
• Register for the online info session on November 18 at 2:30 p.m. EST:  Webinar - Canada-China Scholars’ Exchange Program 2026-2027.   
• Webinar recording:  CLICK HERE
• Webinar presentation slides:  CLICK HERE 

For any questions about the program, please contact: scholarships-admin-bourses@international.gc.ca. 

SSHRC Destination Horizon - Call for Applications #4  (Internal deadline January 8, 2026)

https://sshrc-crsh.canada.ca/en/funding/opportunities/joint-initiatives/2025/destination-horizon-grants/competition.aspx

SSHRC has launched its next call for Destination Horizon Grants.  These grants are intended to support SSHRC-eligible researchers whose primary affiliation is with an eligible Canadian post-secondary institution, to build capacity, foster existing partnerships, and further develop networks and/or consortia with partners in the European Union and other “associated countries”, with the ultimate goal of applying to Horizon Europe (HE)—Pillar II calls with a collaborative proposal.  Applications for the Destination Horizon grants are submitted on the SSHRC Convergence portal. 

All HE Pillar II projects are implemented by an interdisciplinary consortium (partnership of organizations across different nations, which must include at least 3 partners (beyond Canada, this must include a partner from at least one EU Member State).  Most HE research consortia consist of 10-20 partners, and have one lead institution.

Consortium partners can be legal entities engaging in breakthrough research, including

• academics
• industrial researchers
• small- to medium-sized enterprises
• non-profit and charity sector entities
• other research and innovation actors in Canada

The purpose of this initiative is to assist Canadian researchers in making the connections and developing the networks needed to successfully join a research consortium in preparation to apply to Horizon Europe.

FUNDING:  SSHRC will provide up to $15,000 for one year; 100% matching cash funds is required, for a total maximum funding of $30,000.  Matching funds will be provided through the internal VPRI International Research Partnership Award mechanism for any applications selected and funded by SSHRC. 

Funds may be used for connection-type activities, including but not limited to:

• Travel expenses for PI, co-investigators and collaborators (travel to Europe or to Canada)
• Workshops or conferences
• Networking
• Proposal development
• Team-building consultants

Funds may not be used to conduct actual research activities.

ELIGIBILITY & SELECTION:  There are no merit criteria for selection.  All applications deemed eligible by SSHRC will be entered into a randomized selection process to determine awards. An eligible application that is not randomly selected for an award may be re-submitted for a future competition.

To be eligible for this funding opportunity, applicants must demonstrate:

• their eligible affiliation and primary affiliation in the social sciences or humanities;
• their readiness to further develop networks and/or consortia with EU and other associated countries’ researchers, with the ultimate goal of applying to a Horizon Europe—Pillar II call;
• eligible budget requests; and
• 100% matching cash contributions from the host institution.

SSHRC’s competition is now open; the first intake was in January, the internal deadline for the fourth intake is January 8, 2026.  Any application that is submitted but not selected by SSHRC may be re-submitted for the next round.

Institutional selection and submission:  Each post-secondary institution may only submit up to three Destination Horizon Grant applications for a given deadline.  If more than 3 eligible applications are received for a given deadline, the Office of the VPRI will apply the same two-stage random selection process to select the applications that will be submitted.  Therefore, a strict internal deadline will be treated as an Expression of Interest - at a minimum, a draft of the project description must be received by that date.  EOIs received after the EOI/Internal Deadline will not be considered for that round, but may be considered for the subsequent round.  Please submit a copy of the project directly to either Nicole or Jill.  If required, the selection process will take place within 24 hours and you will be notified ASAP if you can proceed to complete the application.

Applications are submitted on the Convergence portal.  For the purpose of this application, please note that Lakehead is the "host" organization, and only one Letter of Support (from the VPRI) is required.  (Ignore the plural "Letters" of support indicated in the application portal).

Please note: Pending the results of the third round of applications, there may need to be an internal selection process to limit the number of applications submitted to SSHRC.

For Horizon Europe Resources, including draft workplans for 2026-27:  please click HERE. 

For examples of past and current HE calls for proposals involving a SSH component, please click HERE.   While some HE calls are currently open, the draft 2026-27 work plans are expected to be finalized soon. 

For examples of HE funded projects with an SSH component, please click HERE.

For questions or assistance, please contact Jill Sherman at intl.research@lakeheadu.ca or Nicole Westlund Stewart, sshrc.research@lakeheadu.ca.

The Canadian Glycomics Network (GlycoNet) mobilizes Canada’s glycomics expertise into transdisciplinary, focused research and development programs to deliver breakthrough solutions for human and animal health and sustainable agri-food systems.

The Canadian Glycomics Network (GlycoNet) mobilizes Canada’s glycomics expertise into transdisciplinary, focused research and development programs to deliver breakthrough solutions for human and animal health and sustainable agri-food systems.