Collaborative Research Planning Grant


Grant description:


UTM-based lead applicants may request up to $10K to support proposal development for submissions to collaborative grant opportunities where the total funding envelope is $200K or above. The objective of this funding is to provide support for UTM researchers to bring together a team of researchers and partners to develop collaborative grant proposals, with a priority on Tri-Council opportunities. Examples include: SSHRC Partnership Development Grants and Partnership Grants; NSERC Create Grants; Connaught Global Challenge Awards, etc. Other grants can be considered; please contact awards.ovprutm@utoronto.ca to see if additional opportunities are eligible for support. A UTM researcher must be the lead applicant on the grant. Planning grants to support ongoing research outside the partnership suites, such as SSHRC Insight or NSERC Discovery, are not eligible for support from this fund. Researchers will be eligible for only one grant within a 12-month period. For grants exceeding $1M, UTM researchers are encouraged to apply to the OVPRI’s Major Research Project Management Fund (see above); UTM can provide matching funds for this program, as described above. If the PI takes this route, they can receive 20K of support overall. Please note: if a UTM researcher receives support from this fund, it will count as the UTM “match” for the Major Research Management Project Fund’s Stream 1, should the applicant be pursuing that opportunity.

 

Eligible expenses:

These typically include RA stipend to support organizing meetings, research, and writing support (up to $6K max); hiring a free-lance grant-writer (though note we do have writing support within OVPR); professional graphics and figure development; and food, travel, and/or accommodation for proposal development. NB: this fund is designed to support proposal development; for researcher workshops or colloquia, please see the Outreach, Research, and Colloquia Fund.

 

Ineligible expenses:

Software and other expenses that are generally part of everyday research activity. Please be reminded our Strategic Development Research Officers in OVPR can assist UTM PIs by facilitating ideation workshops; providing consultations on research design; creating milestone and workback schedules for planning; and drafting some grant sections, working in collaboration with the PI and team.

 

Application guidelines:

We have three deadlines each year: January 15, June 1, September 1. Planning Grant proposals will be reviewed by senior UTM colleagues who are arms-length to the proposal. Applicants are strongly encouraged to meet with one of our Senior Development Research Officers to discuss your proposed research. We have SRDOs with PhD expertise in several fields; connect with the one whose research is closest to yours.

 

How to apply:

A complete application package includes the following material:

  1. Completed Cover Sheet
  2. Proposal: 2 pages maximum (single space, 12pt New Times Roman), in clear non-specialist language, under these headings:

    • Summary of Research: include a discussion of goals, objectives, and research problem to be addressed in the larger grant.
    • Planning Strategy: discuss your approach to reaching the objective of a completed grant proposal, ideally with milestones etc.
  3. List of Participants in the planning group and their affiliations (1 additional page for the participant table) with the following columns: Name; Affiliation; and Position (Faculty/Librarian/Postdoc/Grad Student/Undergraduate).
  4. Itemized budget and justification (additional 1 page maximum).

Please send the above four pages in a single PDF to Rong Wu (awards.ovprutm@utoronto.ca). If you have questions about this opportunity, please connect with the Strategic Research Development Officer whose research expertise most closely aligns with your project.
 

Click here to view past recipients and projects.