SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) Awards

Description and Purpose of SIG Awards

Each year SSHRC makes a block grant to the University to support small scale research activities in the humanities and social sciences. Research Services allocates award funds to departments according to a formula based on department success and participation in SSHRC competitions. The funds may be used for one or more of the following purposes:

• Research (small or short-term research projects)
• International Travel (to present papers or attend scholarly meetings)
• Domestic Travel (to present papers within Canada )
• Conference Organizational Costs (incurred in setting up a conference or seminar)
• Other SSHRC related purposes

How SIG Awards are Awarded

Research Services allocates SIG funds to departments/faculties based on the funding formula (see below), and informs them that the funds are available. Each department/faculty then handles its own peer-reviewed competition in order to determine how its SIG funds are to be awarded.

Maximum Value of an Individual SIG Award

Each individual SIG award cannot exceed $7,000. (This does not prohibit a specific applicant from receiving multiple SIG awards that, combined, exceed the $7,000 limit.)

Spending Guidelines & Eligible Expenses for SIG Awards

Eligible and ineligible expenses must follow the current SSHRC guidelines , available at www.sshrc.ca/web/using/grant_holders/strategic_e.asp#3

The SIG awards established between April 1st, 2005 and March 31st, 2006 will have an end date of March 31st, 2008 . There are no extensions provided for SIG awards.

Eligibility

To be eligible to hold a SIG award, an applicant must:

(a) hold an academic appointment at the University of Toronto from the date of award, for the entire duration of the grant;

(b) have completed all Ph.D. requirements by April 1st of the year in which the grant takes effect; and

(c) may not be employed as an assistant or associate for a research program directed by another researcher,

AND

be eligible to be a principal investigator at the University of Toronto as described in the University's principal investigator eligibility requirements , available on-line at www.library.utoronto.ca/rir/pielig2.html ,

AND ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING MUST BE TRUE:

• The applicant, acting as a Principal Investigator, has submitted an application to SSHRC between April 1 st , 2004 and March 31, 2005 .
• The applicant has held SSHRC research funding (not including SIGs) in the period since April 1 st , 2005 .
• The applicant is a new faculty member, appointed since January 1 st , 2003 .

Temporary visiting scholars and students are not eligible to hold SIG awards.

Deadline to Allocate SIG Awards

Each department has until March 15, 2006 to distribute its allocation of SIG funds. (Please note: the SIG funds do not have to be spent in the year they are allocated.)

A new SIG Online Form ( https://rir.cns.utoronto.ca/sig ) has been developed to make the process of allocating SIG awards hassle-free for the unit. The program is a web-deployed system, which means you use your browser to access it. Training documentation that includes instructions on using the SIG system is also available online, at http://www.utoronto.ca/amsris/sighowto.htm .

Funding Formula for Department Allocation of SSHRC Funds

T$ = Total SIG Award made to UofT and available for distribution to the units (departments/faculties);
Dept = Department;
Awd = Number of SSHRC research grants receiving new funding between April 1st, 2005 and March 31, 2006 as known at April 1st, 2005;
Uns = Number of unsuccessful SSHRC research applications between April 1st, 2004 and March 31, 2005; and
Tot = Total for all units.

The first part of the formula rewards success and the second rewards participation in SSHRC competitions. The date range specified in the formula applies to the 2005-06 SIG award distribution.