Category Archives: Outreach Activities

Brescia Fall 2016 Research Workshops

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The following research workshops will be offered in September at Brescia:

Research Grant Writing & Development Workshop

Date: Friday, September 23rd
Time: 11:30 – 1:00pm
Location: Mother St. James Building, Room 302A

This workshop provides a high-level overview of planning, writing and developing research grant applications. Topics covered include:

  • Preparation and planning (proposal, timelines, budget, CCV, ethics etc)
  • Elements of successful proposals
  • Find the right sponsor – types of funding sources
  • Writing tips
  • Common flaws
  • Resources

Time will be set aside for specific questions. Please feel free to bring your lunch.

SSHRC Connection Grant Workshop

Date: Friday, September 30th
Time: 11:30 – 1:00pm
Location: MSJ, Room 302A

Ready to mobilize your knowledge?  SSHRC’s Connection Grants support events and outreach activities geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives such as workshops, colloquiums, conferences, forums, summer institutes, etc. Connection Grant funding is for one year, and there are four application deadlines throughout the year: February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1. This workshop provides a detailed overview of SSHRC’s Connection grant, and the essentials needed to apply for this opportunity.

Please contact Elizabeth Russell-Minda, Research Officer with questions about these workshops.

SSHRC Connection Grant – February 1, 2016 Competition

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SSHRC Connection Grant –February 1st Competition

SSHRC’s Connection Grants support events and outreach activities geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives. These events and outreach activities represent opportunities to exchange knowledge and to engage on research issues of value to those participating. Events and outreach activities funded by a Connection Grant may often serve as a first step toward more comprehensive and longer-term projects potentially eligible for funding through other SSHRC funding opportunities.

Description: Connection Grants support workshops, colloquiums, conferences, forums, summer institutes or other events or outreach activities that facilitate:

  • disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary exchanges in the humanities and social sciences;
  • scholarly exchanges between those working in the social sciences and humanities and those working in other research fields;
  • intersectoral exchanges between academic researchers in the humanities and social sciences and researchers and practitioners from the public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors; and/or
  • international research collaboration and scholarly exchanges between researchers, students and non-academic partners from other countries.

Matching Funds: SSHRC will not fund the full cost of any Connection event or outreach activity. Additional support in the form of cash and/or in-kind contributions (excluding registration fees), equivalent to a minimum of 50 per cent of the amount requested from SSHRC, must come from sponsoring organizations. For example, an applicant requesting $10,000 in funding from SSHRC, will have to provide additional support equal to $5,000. SSHRC will consider only those funds stemming from sponsoring organizations in its calculation of matching funds; individual contributions will not be considered in the calculation of matching funds.

Amount: The maximum value for a SSHRC Connection Grant is now dependent on whether it is an “event” Connection Grant OR if it is a Connection Grant with “outreach activities”. Event Connection grants are a maximum of $25,000 for one year ($7,000 – $$25,000). Outreach Activities Connection grants are a maximum of $50,000 ($7,000 – $50,000) for one year.

Agency Deadline: February 1, 2016, by 8:00pm EST.
Brescia Research Officer: January 28th, 2016, 5:00pm. If you require institutional support, or wish to have feedback on your application, please submit to RO at least 2 weeks before agency deadline.

Brescia Deadline SSHRC Deadline Decision Date
January 28th, 5:00PM (ET)  February 1st, 2016, 8:00pm (ET)  by March 31st, 2016

Submission process: uses SSHRC web-based forms including Web CV.

For more information, visit the SSHRC Connection Grant opportunity page.

image credit: imelenchon, morguefile

Just Own It! Entrepreneurship Videos and Teacher Guides Now Available

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Brescia’s Just Own It! Entrepreneurship Video series is now available and ready for use in high school classrooms. Earlier this year, Brescia successfully hosted 270 high school girls at a one-day conference and summer entrepreneurship boot camps. The program was supported by funding from the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure to promote entrepreneurship to high school girls,

Just Own It! is a series of five videos that provides high school students with an introduction to entrepreneurship . The videos feature young entrepreneurs to whom high school students will relate. The quirky, fun, ironic approach will engage students.  The videos range in length from 6 – 8 minutes, ideal for use in an educational environment. Find them on our Just Own It! YouTube channel.

The videos cover topics such as the traits of an entrepreneur, identification of a customer problem, development of a product, creating a business model, validating a business model, and pitching a business idea.  And for good measure, we have also created a Teacher’s Guide for each video, with resources and class activities.  Go to Just Own It! Teacher’s Guides to download the teacher’s guides. Please share these videos with anyone who might find them helpful in reaching Ontario’s Youth.

If you’d like to help promote these videos, we’re especially interested in getting the message out to high school teachers. Feel free to send a Tweet, Facebook or Linked In post, or just send emails to your nearest and dearest. The Just Own It! team is very grateful for your assistance! Thank you.

Getting the Research Out There – Knowledge Mobilization, Translation and Dissemination

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All Tri-Council granting agencies (SSHRC, CIHR and NSERC) require applicants to include knowledge dissemination plans within their applications for research funding. Other non-Tri-Council sponsors may also require knowledge dissemination plans to be included in the application. Knowledge dissemination takes on various forms: Knowledge mobilization (KMb) is the standard term used by SSHRC, Knowledge Translation (KT) is commonly used by CIHR, and NSERC has been known to use both terms interchangeably. Differences do exist between KD concepts, but all have a common goal in moving research from the “lab” to the social sphere through direct communication and exchange between researchers and the public. KMb/KT/KD is typically carried out through reports, policies, practice, meetings, and conferences. But research findings can be communicated and disseminated in many other creative and non-traditional ways. Internet-based communications and social media channels have created additional (and immediate) avenues for getting research findings out to a wider audience.

Examples of KMb/KT include:

  • publications (e.g., journal articles, books);
  • events such as workshops and conferences;
  • teaching curricula; and/or
  • various forms of knowledge synthesis and networking.

If feasible, research results should be made available to the public through websites, databases, or institutional repositories in accordance with many Tri-Council Open Access policies.

KT/KMb/KD plans do not have to be formulaic. They can be integrated as a part of the proposed research study, and as part of an “end of study” dissemination plan, or both.

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The following sites provide useful information and insights into the world of KMb/KT and KD:

KMBeing

Institute for Knowledge Mobilization

SSHRC Community Engagement and KMb

KT at CIHR

Research Matters

 

SSHRC Connection Grants

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SSHRC’s Connection Grants support events and outreach activities geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives. These events and outreach activities represent opportunities to exchange knowledge and to engage on research issues of value to those participating.

Amount: $7,000 – $50,000 (potentially higher amounts)

Matching Funds: SSHRC will not fund the full cost of any connection event or outreach activity. Additional support in the form of cash and/or in-kind contributions (excluding registration fees), equivalent to a minimum of 50 per cent of the amount requested from SSHRC, must come from sponsoring organizations.

Deadlines:
Brescia Research Officer:
3-4 weeks for institutional support request (funds and letters of support)
1 week for proposal review and feedback

SSHRC:
Deadline                                                      Decision Date
May 1, midnight (eastern time)                June 30
August 1, midnight (eastern time)           September 30
November 1, midnight (eastern time)    December 31
February 1, midnight (eastern time)       March 31

Description: Connection Grants support workshops, colloquiums, conferences, forums, summer institutes or other events or outreach activities that facilitate:

  • Disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary exchanges in the humanities and social sciences;
  • Scholarly exchanges between those working in the social sciences and humanities and those working in other research fields;
  • Intersectoral exchanges between academic researchers in the humanities and social sciences and researchers and practitioners from the public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors; and/or
  • International research collaboration and scholarly exchanges between researchers, students and non-academic partners from other countries.

Eligibility: Applicants must hold an eligible academic research appointment at Western.

Note these updates to the program:

Applicants can have whatever combination of cash or in-kind they can confirm from sponsoring organizations. i.e. support from the sponsoring organization can now be entirely in-kind, provided it is justified and calculated using the appropriately.

The maximum value for a SSHRC Connection Grant is now dependent on whether it is an “event” Connection Grant only OR if it is a Connection Grant with “outreach activities”.
“Event” Connection grants are a maximum of $25,000 over one year. (Minimum$7,000 and maximum is $25,000).
Connection grants with “outreach activities” are a maximum of $50,000. (Minimum $7,000 and maximum is $50,000).

SSHRC is willing to consider amounts higher than $50,000, although such applications must satisfactorily justify the need for the higher amount, as well as provide evidence that the entire award can be managed within the one-year time frame.

There is now a restriction on the number of applications per year. As of June 18, 2014, “An applicant may apply for one Connection Grant per calendar year. An applicant may not apply for or hold more than one Connection Grant for the same event or outreach activity.” Please refer to SSHRC’s regulations regarding multiple applications for more information.

Applicants may draw on complementary funding from SSHRC research grants and/or other research funding agencies, but must make clear in their budget proposal that there is no duplication of financial support for the same budget expenses. While SSHRC funds may be used in this complementary way, these funds cannot be counted towards the 50 per cent requirement for matching funds.

Application instructions: SSHRC Connection Grants

CIHR Planning and Dissemination Grants (Winter 2015)

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CIHR’s Planning and Dissemination Grants are intended to provide support for planning and/or dissemination activities consistent with the mandate of CIHR.

Amount: The maximum amount per grant varies by Institute/Initiative but will not exceed $25,000 for up to one (1) year

The availability of funding also varies with the Institute or Initiative. For example, the Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes among others.

Deadlines:
Brescia Research Officer: 3-4 weeks before agency deadline (for support requests and required forms)
CIHR: February 17 (for a decision June 30/15)

Description: Events/activities may focus on, but are not limited to, the following:

Planning:

  • Activities that assist potential teams of researchers, knowledge-users and/or partners in working together to identify research questions or emerging issues and priorities that could form the basis of a grant application;
  • Stakeholder consultations, including citizen engagement activities, regarding needs, gaps and opportunities in the health research landscape, priority policy issues and/or priority research questions, where such common understanding is currently lacking or requires further development;
  • Initial planning and discussion of a research project among potential team members including researchers, knowledge-users and/or partners to assess the viability of the research project and the partnership;
  • Conducting an environmental scan or preliminary synthesis of relevant literature, activities or programs;
  • Early-stage planning to determine possible commercial viability of a discovery;
  • Opportunities for knowledge exchange involving stakeholder linkages (to inform practice, care, and/or policy) that could potentially lead to an application to a funding opportunity;
  • Gatherings of partners, health researchers, and/or knowledge users where the main objective is to facilitate regional/national and/or international collaboration among individuals or groups from a variety of backgrounds (for example, building new and existing multi-sectored partnerships that include a significant number of participants from outside the conventional scientific community, consensus meetings, networking and partnership development events) interested in applying to a funding opportunity.

Dissemination:

  • Education of groups such as patients, health professionals, community organizations, policy-makers, the general public;
  • Knowledge dissemination that will inform practice, clinical care, partnership best practices, policy and decision making;
  • Dissemination and/or discussion of research findings at scientific meetings, workshops, conferences, congresses or symposia;
  • Development and dissemination of KT products and tools (e.g., written materials in various formats, plain language summaries, decision support tools, educational materials, web sites).

More information on the program and how to apply…