Sponsor: Social Science and Humanities Research Council
Value: Up to $50,000 | 1 year
Important: All of the grants for this funding opportunity are reserved for First Nations or Métis not-for-profit organizations, Indigenous not-for-profit organizations serving more than one distinction, or Indigenous postsecondary institutions. The portion of the federal budget commitment dedicated to the Inuit Peoples will be allocated through a separate funding mechanism.
Description:
For a full program description, including organization eligibility requirements, allowable budget expenses, and evaluation criteria, see https://sshrc-crsh.canada.ca/en/funding/opportunities/joint-initiatives/2025/indigenous-capacity-leadership-research/competition.aspx
The Indigenous Capacity and Leadership in Research (ICLR) Connection Grants will contribute to Indigenous leadership and self-determination in research. The events and activities funded represent opportunities to engage and exchange knowledge on successful ways of conducting Indigenous research that are transformative and contribute to Indigenous-led research, including wholistic and distinctions-based approaches.
This funding opportunity aligns with the tri-agency Setting New Directions to Support Indigenous Research and Research Training in Canada strategic plan and Indigenous communities’ aspirations to provide support for transformative research and training that contributes to innovation and reconciliation.
More specifically, it aims to:
- support the research priorities of Indigenous Peoples;
- champion Indigenous leadership, self-determination and capacity in research, to the benefit of Indigenous communities;
- increase awareness and understanding of Indigenous researchers, students and communities;
- recognize Indigenous ways of knowing as an integral part of valid and authoritative research;
- support Indigenous-led strategies and structures that address respectful and mutually beneficial data management and intellectual property rights in Indigenous research; and
- decolonize Indigenous research through the development of clear structures and resources for Indigenous Peoples to grow research capacity, including creating greater accessibility to granting agency program funding.
In the case of an application to an individual grant, the project director must be affiliated with one of these eligible organizations/institutions. (See Applicants and Institutions details below for more information on institutional and individual grant eligibility.)
This funding opportunity invites applications in any discipline from institutional or individual applicants affiliated with First Nations or Métis not-for-profit organizations, Indigenous not-for-profit organizations serving more than one distinction, or Indigenous postsecondary institutions. All projects must have the objective of informing and contributing to the development and growth of research strategic plans and activities to support distinctions-based leadership and self-determination in research.
The ICLR Connection Grants affirm the important wholistic contributions to human knowledge made by Indigenous knowledge systems within a First Nations and Métis context. Furthermore, the funding opportunity emphasizes Métis and First Nations knowledge systems, including ontologies, epistemologies and methodologies, as important avenues for exploring the contours of knowledge, supporting research paradigms, and contributing to collaboration that extends the boundaries of knowledge in western research paradigms. These grants will support relationships with land, spirits and ancestors, as well as more-than-human relatives. Applicants are encouraged to submit projects that are wholistic and reflect the full range of collaboration across disciplines and subject areas pertaining to the social sciences and humanities; natural sciences and engineering; and health and wellness. Funding will support community gatherings, workshops or other events, or outreach activities that mobilize existing knowledge; facilitate dialogue and knowledge sharing; and result in the preparation of a research agenda, strategy and/or action plan, among other things.
Expected outcomes
ICLR Connection Grants support a wide range of events and outreach activities geared toward initiatives that contribute to and support wholistic research strategies, capacity growth, self-determination and leadership for First Nations and Métis communities to conduct research by:
- supporting knowledge mobilization and translation by Métis and First Nations researchers and community members at Indigenous not-for-profit organizations and postsecondary institutions;
- strengthening knowledge and understanding by leveraging perspectives from across multiple disciplines, sectors and ways of knowing;
- supporting First Nations and Métis leadership and capacity-building;
- strengthening Métis and First Nations research capacities by supporting training activities within their communities, at Indigenous postsecondary institutions and at Indigenous not-for-profit organizations;
- supporting development and growth of First Nations and Métis-led strategies and structures aligned with research data management practices and intellectual property rights in Indigenous research;
- generating research outputs by communities, nations, institutions and organizations that address Métis and First Nations’ needs; and
- integrating reciprocity as essential to research methodology, planning and outcomes.
Subject matter
Proposals are intended to be wholistic, involving any discipline, thematic area, approach or subject area. They should be guided by strategic themes that have emerged from the three federal research granting agencies’ ongoing engagement with First Nations and/or Métis communities, as well as with communities that include more than one distinction, and the priorities of those communities.
This funding opportunity’s themes focus on areas where grants can contribute to growing the capacity and leadership of First Nations and Métis communities to conduct research and partner with the broader research community, as well as the capacity of the broader research community to engage respectfully with the knowledge and worldviews of Métis and First Nations Peoples. Applicants to the ICLR Connection Grants are encouraged to organize wholistic events, outreach activities, or a combination of both, that address one or more of the following interrelated themes in a distinctions-based context:
- Supporting Indigenous Talent and Research Careers
- support Indigenous undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers
- involve Indigenous Elders and Indigenous knowledge holders in research
- remove barriers for participation and success, including nation- and gender-specific barriers
- foster an inclusive research and research training environment
- foster a science and engineering culture
- Engaging Indigenous Knowledge
- support research into Indigenous knowledge systems
- support Indigenous science and wholistic approaches
- enhance the understanding of reconciliation
- build knowledge of Indigenous languages
- take into consideration intersectionality (gender, age, sexuality and other markers of difference)
- Strengthening Indigenous Capacity and Leadership in Research
- support Indigenous- and community-led research
- support rights-based approaches
- ensure Indigenous ownership and control of data
- Fostering Mutually Respectful Relationships
- address or acknowledge an understanding of past research practices between researchers and Indigenous communities
- enforce ethical and responsible conduct of Indigenous research
Additional themes relevant to Métis and First Nations’ leadership in research that may inform the development of strategies, methodologies and approaches to conduct research are welcome.
September 23, 2025
Contact: If you have any questions, contact SSHRC at partnerships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca or Toll-free: 1-855-275-2861
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