Investment to benefit projects that will study changes in the teaching profession, the pandemic’s impact on small- and medium-sized enterprises
The federal government is investing more than $4 million through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC) Partnership Engage Grants, to support 172 projects and almost 600 researchers working with businesses and community partners from across the country.
Over $3 million of the investment will directly support 139 projects that cater to the special call to address COVID-19-related research, which was included in the latest Partnership Engage Grants competition.
“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges around the world,” said Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and industry. “While much of the focus to date has been on developing and testing effective countermeasures to control the spread of the virus, the work these researchers will be doing to examine the longer-term impacts of the pandemic on individuals, businesses and communities will better position Canada for a strong recovery.”
Some of these projects will study changes in the teaching profession; the pandemic’s impact on small- and medium-sized enterprises; mental health among entrepreneurs; and impacts on seniors and their community support services.
“SSHRC’s investment in these diverse partnered research projects will advance critical knowledge needed to address the impacts of COVID-19 and the social, cultural and economic challenges facing citizens, communities and businesses in Canada and around the world,” said Ted Hewitt, president, SSHRC.
This additional funding brings the total amount for the June and upcoming September competitions to almost $5 million.
The Partnership Engage Grants COVID-19 Special Initiative provides researchers and their partners a unique opportunity to foster knowledge exchange on COVID-19 crisis-related issues, challenges and impacts, said the government. It offers a unique opportunity to exchange knowledge between postsecondary researchers and different sectors of society, including graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and other highly qualified personnel.
The special call is ongoing, and recipients of the September-deadline applications will be announced soon, according to the government.
Previously, the federal government encouraged all members of the research community to take extra precautions to protect the security of COVID-19 related research, intellectual property and knowledge development.
