Canadian Government Insight Grants: October 2025 Competition

Eligibility Criteria

Applications can be submitted by an individual researcher or a team of researchers (consisting of one  applicant and one or more  co-applicants and/or  collaborators).

Applicants (except postdoctoral fellows and PhD students) must be affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution that holds  institutional eligibility at the time of application and before funding can be released. Researchers who maintain an affiliation with a Canadian postsecondary institution that holds institutional eligibility, but whose primary affiliation is with a non-Canadian postsecondary institution, are not eligible for  applicant status.

Applicants who have received a SSHRC grant of any type but have failed to submit an  achievement report by the deadline specified in their notice of award are not eligible to apply for another SSHRC grant until they have submitted the report.

Postdoctoral fellows are eligible to be applicants for this grant. However, for SSHRC to release grant funds, successful applicants must formally establish an affiliation with an  eligible Canadian postsecondary institution within five months of the grant start date (i.e., by September 2026 for the current competition), and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.

Students enrolled in a program of study are not eligible to apply. However, a PhD candidate is eligible to apply if they:

• will have met all requirements for the PhD before the grant is awarded, including all course work and successful defence of their dissertation; and
• establish a formal affiliation with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution within five months of the grant start date, and maintain such an affiliation for the duration of the grant period.

Eligible PhD students and postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to make inquiries with the research grants office of the eligible institution(s) with which they will be seeking affiliation.

Federal scientists who are affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution must demonstrate that their proposed research or research-related activity is not related to either the mandate of their employer or the normal duties for which they receive payment from that employer.

If the proposal falls within the mandate of the federal government and the research or research-related activity is performed in government facilities, funding can only be allocated for student salaries, stipends and travel costs.

Institutions

Only  eligible Canadian postsecondary institutions can administer grant funds awarded under this funding opportunity. Institutions proposing to administer a grant must hold or obtain  institutional eligibility. Institutions that are seeking institutional eligibility or have questions are strongly encouraged to contact  SSHRC’s Institutional Eligibility team at least 10 business days before the application deadline.

Offered Benefits

Insight Grants are valued at up to $500,000 over two to five years. A minimum request of $10,000 is required in at least one of the years. A maximum of $125,000 is available in a single year.

Application Process

Applicants must complete the  application form in accordance with the accompanying  instructions. Applications must be submitted electronically by an authorized research grants officer, or equivalent, from the applicant’s institution.

Eligible PhD students and postdoctoral fellows can submit their applications directly to SSHRC.

Applicants needing help while preparing their application should  communicate with SSHRC well in advance of the application deadline.

For more details, visit the scholarship webpage