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Community-University Research Alliances (CURA)Regulations Governing
Grant Applications
Context ContextAs globalization, the communications revolution and other forces continue to reshape the world, our communities are presented with an increasingly complex mix of opportunities and challenges with multiple social, economic and cultural dimensions. Changing patterns of employment and demands for skills in a knowledge-based economy, poverty and homelessness, an increasingly diverse social fabric, transformations in family life, changing values, young people entering the workforce, new constraints on organizations and public services, both urbanization and depopulation of rural areas, and new rules of business competitiveness are among the phenomena transforming the lives of individuals and communities alike. Many of these challenges are best addressed at the local and regional
levels by the local and regional groups that best understand the needs
of, and the factors affecting, particular communities. In addition, issues
which cut across geographic boundaries are also best addressed by postsecondary
institutions working closely with groups that represent particular "communities"
of interest. In service of these goals, stronger alliances between community
organizations and postsecondary institutions can be enormously effective
and yield important benefits for them both. The Council wishes to thank the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences for its seminal work on the original Community Research and Information Crossroads (CRICs) project proposal on which the CURA program is based. ObjectivesThe purpose of the program is to support the creation of alliances between community organizations and postsecondary institutions which, through a process of ongoing collaboration and mutual learning, will foster innovative research, training and the creation of new knowledge in areas of importance for the social, cultural or economic development of Canadian communities. Specific objectives are to:
![]() DescriptionA CURA:
Each CURA's activities will include:
The project partners jointly define a CURA's research activities as well as the participatory arrangements under which individual researchers and research teams will carry out those activities. The partners should continue to develop and refine the research activities and, in addition to strengthening the original alliance, should, where necessary, also recruit new partners during the period of the grant. SSHRC expects that partners will develop the capacity to work together effectively (i.e., community organizations will develop the capacity to shape research agendas and postsecondary institutions will develop the capacity to work with communities). In each CURA, the partners will jointly define and bring together one or more academic disciplines in order to target one or more research themes or areas. These themes or areas should be sufficiently broad to lend themselves to the full range of activities described above. Possible examples include: youth, poverty, culture and the arts, tourism and recreation, First Nations issues, socialization, integration of persons with disabilities, violence, the aging population, globalization, social justice, local and regional economic development, health and welfare, community capacity, social indicators, cultural heritage management, religion and society, gender issues and environment and sustainable development. Depending on the CURA's governance structure, a researcher from a postsecondary institution or an individual from a community organization will direct (or co-direct) the CURA and champion its goals. The director (or co-directors) will:
SSHRC plans to administer the program in a flexible manner and anticipates that adjustments may be made as the program continues to develop. ![]() Value and DurationApplicants successful at the Letter of Intent stage are eligible for a development grant of up to $20,000. At the Letter of Intent stage, eligible expenses are limited to travel, workshops, meetings, secretarial support and communication and dissemination activities. An individual CURA can receive funding of up to $200,000 annually for up to five years. CURA grants are subject to:
The grant may be used to cover non-physical infrastructure costs for the support and coordination of the research teams and for carrying out some of the research activities. Applicants should familiarize themselves with the regulations on eligible and ineligible expenses. CURAs are expected to seek funding from sources other than SSHRC to help support their research activities. ![]() EligibilityApplicantsApplications must be submitted jointly by one or more postsecondary institutions and one or more organizations from the community. "Community" may refer to either a geographic focus or to an issue/interest focus. This requirement reflects the fact that CURAs are partnerships between postsecondary institutions and organizations from the community established to jointly develop and implement research activities. While there may be cases where a single community partner is appropriate, it is expected that most CURAs will involve two or more community partners. Institutions that propose to administer any grant awarded under this program must meet the requirements for the management of SSHRC funds and hold or obtain institutional eligibility. Federal, provincial, territorial and municipal government departments and for-profit orgranizations are not eligible to administer SSHRC funds. These organizations may participate in SSHRC research projects as partners and researchers from these organizations may participate as collaborators. Postsecondary InstitutionsCURAs must be closely associated with academic units (department, centre, faculty, institute) within the participating postsecondary institution or institutions. Specifically, a CURA must:
Organizations from the communityEligible organizations from the community sector may include public, community or other organizations that are active in social, economic or cultural fields relevant to the CURA's research and training objectives. Nonprofit organizations, without research capacity, are encouraged to create alliances with researchers from established research institutions, in order to explore the possibility of collaboration. Multiple applications SSHRC will accept more than one application from any postsecondary institution or community organization. However, applicants are strongly encouraged to promote consultation and coordination within their organizations, as only one CURA may be funded per postsecondary institution or community organization per competition. While a given postsecondary institution or a community organization may submit any number of applications, only its highest ranked proposal in the Formal Application competition will receive funding—provided that the adjudication committee recommends that application for funding. ![]() Evaluation and AdjudicationThe CURA program involves a two-stage application process:
Only those applicants who are successful at the letter of intent stage will be invited to submit a formal application. Candidates so invited will be provided with the required application material and instructions for completing their proposals. They will also be offered development grants of up to $20,000 to help in the preparation of the formal application, i.e., to round out their network of partners and program of activities and to consolidate their collaborative activities. For development grants, eligible costs are limited to travel, workshops, meetings, secretarial support, and communication and dissemination activities. Note: Neither the applicant nor the lead organization can be changed between the letter of intent stage and the formal application stage. Letter of Intent (LOI) web application A multidisciplinary committee of both academic and non-academic leaders, will evaluate eligible letters of intent according to the following criteria:
The selection committee will be free to suggest to successful letter of intent applicants ways to strengthen their formal application. It could, for example, suggest the grouping of complementary applications, propose other possible partnerships or recommend additional sources for funding. Formal Application Formal applications will have to provide:
For formal applications, the evaluation criteria are as follows:
![]() Administrative RegulationsAll CURA applicants and grant holders must comply with the Regulations Governing Grant Applications and with the regulations set out in the Community-University Research Alliances section of the SSHRC Grant Holder's Guide. More InformationHolly Peel Tel.: (613) 992-4227 Éric Bastien Tel.: (613) 992-3407 Mathieu Ravignat Tel.: (613) 947-3724
Updated: 10/19/2006 7:54:19 AM |
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