| Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada | |
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | May 1, 1978; 47 years ago (1978-05-01) |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Canada |
| Headquarters | 125 Zaida Eddy Private, 2nd Floor,Ottawa,Ontario, K1R 0E3Canada 45°25′14.5″N75°43′02.1″W / 45.420694°N 75.717250°W /45.420694; -75.717250 |
| Employees | 260 (approximately) |
| Annual budget | CA$ 1.1 billion |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent department | Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada |
| Website | www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca |
TheSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC;French:Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada, CRSH; often colloquially pronounced 'shirk',/ʃɜːrk/) is a Canadian federal research-funding agency that promotes and supportspost-secondary research and training in thehumanities andsocial sciences.[1]
In 2019-2020, SSHRC funded 24,000 researchers and 5000 research trainees in 51 programs.[2] Staff numbers were reported as 333 in the same period. Ted Hewitt is the current President.[3][4] SSHRC's provided CA$684 million for funding and $453 million institutional support for the fiscal year 2023-2024 and the number of employees (FTE) was 258.[5][6]
Along with theCanadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and theNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), SSHRC forms the major source of federal government funding to post-secondary research. They are collectively referred to as the "Tri-Council"[7] or "Tri-Agency.[8]
Created by an act of theParliament of Canada in 1977, SSHRC reports to Parliament through theMinister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development. SSHRC came into existence on 1 May 1978 under theSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council Act which was passed in anomnibus manner by the government ofPierre Elliot Trudeau.[9]
In June 2013, SSHRC's governing council endorsed six future challenge areas[10] developed during its Imagining Canada's Future[11] initiative, with a goal of addressing Canada's future societal challenges and meeting future opportunities through social sciences and humanities research.
The 2025-26Departmental Plan, portrayed the core responsibilities as two-fold:[12]
SSHRC creates policy, plansbudgets, and directs priorities through a council established by thefederal government. The appointed members are a mix of academics and representatives from the industry.[23] They have the role of advising theMinister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development on research policy in the areas of research and scholarship in thesocial sciences andhumanities, with the goal of representing the interests of academic,public andprivate sectors.[23] Council committees[24] create and oversee SSHRC's programs, determine the distribution of funds and handles the strategies for enacting the councils policies.
SSHRC funding opportunities[25] are very diverse and include partnerships with other institutions.[26] They are organized into three program streams:Talent,Insight andConnection (plus thematic and strategic grants and initiatives).
The Talent program[27] is to support students and postdoctoral candidates to become researchers and leaders across society, both within academia and across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
The program promotes research skills and assists in the training of highly qualified personnel in the social sciences and humanities. In this way, SSHRC fosters the development of talented and creative people who will become leaders across campuses and communities.
The Insight program[28] is to build knowledge and understanding about people, societies and the world by supporting research excellence in all subject areas eligible for funding from SSHRC. Research and training in the social sciences and humanities provide the foundation for a vibrant, healthy and prosperous society. They build knowledge and understanding about individuals, groups and societies.
The program aims to support and foster excellence in social sciences and humanities research intended to deepen, widen and increase collective understanding of individuals and societies, as well as to inform the search for solutions to societal challenges.
The Connection program[29] is to realize the potential of social sciences and humanities research for intellectual, cultural, social and economic influence, benefit and impact on and beyond the campus by supporting specific activities and tools that facilitate the flow and exchange of research knowledge.
Knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities facilitates the multidirectional flow of research knowledge across academia and society as a whole, in order to inform Canadian and international research, debate, decisions and actions. Those who can benefit from publicly funded research results in the humanities and social sciences - diverse groups of researchers, policy-makers, business leaders, community groups, educators and the media. The program aims to support knowledge mobilization activities such as networking, disseminating, exchanging and co-creating research-based knowledge as an important element of publicly engaged scholarship, and as a means of strengthening research agendas. SSHRC also recognizes that rapidly evolving information and communications technologies provide new opportunities to engage a variety of audiences with an interest and/or involvement in social sciences and humanities scholarship.
A program entitled Canada 150 Connection has been set up for the150th anniversary of Canada to support activities by post-secondary institutions and researchers that explore the contributions of social sciences and humanities research to Canadian society.[30]
In 2009, Federal Science MinisterGary Goodyear asked SSHRC to reconsider funding for a conference on the future of Israel and Palestine atYork University.[31] In response theCanadian Association of University Teachers demanded (unsuccessfully) the resignation of the Minister for interfering with an academic funding decision.[32][33]
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