Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s 2023-24 Departmental Results Report: At a glance

Actual spending: $688,843,894

Actual human resources: 258

Departmental results achieved

In 2023-24, SSHRC invested $525 million to support more than 11,000 researchers through grants at postsecondary institutions across Canada, of which $84 million was spent by researchers to support the participation of research trainees in their SSHRC-funded projects. An additional $123 million investment directly supported more than 4,800 students through scholarships and fellowships.

Departmental Result 1: Canada’s social sciences and humanities research is internationally competitive

SSHRC helped Canada sustain and enhance its globally competitive position as a producer of high-calibre research, in part by supporting international collaborations in its programs, by w orking with international funding partners, and by delivering unique programs that strengthen Canada’s competitiveness in priority research areas.

• SSHRC worked with 11 global partners to launch the latest call of the Trans-Atlantic Platform on Democracy, Governance and Trust. It also worked to launch the 8th call of the Open Research Area initiative in partnership with several European funding organizations.
• Through the international Global Centers initiative, led by the United States’ National Science Foundation, SSHRC invested in a new global centre on climate change and clean energy. Also, the tri-agency New Frontiers in Research Fund finalized the results of the 2023 International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation. It also launched the 2024 NordForsk-led International Joint Initiative on Sustainable Development of the Arctic.
• Building on Stage 1 of the Canada Biomedical Research Fund completed in 2022-23, which funded five research hubs, SSHRC delivered Stage 2 of the competition, funding research, talent development and infrastructure projects aligned with the hubs’ research programs.

Departmental Result 2: Canada has a pool of diverse and highly skilled people in the social sciences and humanities

To increase the pool of highly skilled people in the social sciences and humanities, SSHRC supported research training and initiatives that foster equity, diversity and inclusion across the research enterprise.

• SSHRC continued to collaborate with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) on the development of the Tri-Agency Training Strategy. Additionally, the Tri-Agency Talent Evaluation was finalized, along with the associated Management Response and Action Plan.
• The three federal research funding agencies extended their strategic plan, Setting New Directions to Support Indigenous Research and Research Training in Canada, launched in 2020, to 2026. Based on a series of engagements with key partnersthe agencies released a report on Indigenous citizenship and membership affirmation. Also, SSHRC and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation finalized the results of the Reconciliation Network in Response to Call to Action 65 funding opportunity.
• SSHRC continued to collaborate with NSERC and CIHR on the implementation of the Tri-agency Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, including by providing designated funding for Indigenous scholars at the master’s level and awards for Black students and postdoctoral researchers.

Departmental Result 3: Canada’s social sciences and humanities research knowledge is used

SSHRC pursued opportunities to make the results of its funding accessible to Canadians and to organizations in all sectors, thus contributing to decision making, policy making and innovation, and helping to identify and address the challenges of today and tomorrow.

• Partnering with NSERC and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), SSHRC delivered the first competition of the Sustainable Agriculture Research Initiative. With AAFC, it also launched the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Network on Sustainable Agriculture in a Net-Zero Economy aimed at advancing sustainable agricultural sectors and food systems in Canada.
• Through its Imagining Canada’s Future initiative, SSHRC, in collaboration with funding partners, delivered a Knowledge Synthesis Grants competition on Evolving Narratives of Cultures and Histories, organized a virtual forum on Shifting Dynamics of Privilege and Marginalization, and completed its second pilot Ideas Lab initiative on Global Health and Wellness in the 21st Century.
• SSHRC took numerous actions to promote open science, including by launching a review of the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy in collaboration with NSERC and CIHR. At the same time, SSHRC worked with its tri-agency partners to develop and implement research security measures to ensure agency-funded research is safeguarded from threats to national security.

More information about Funding Social Sciences and Humanities Research and Training can be found in the “Results—what we achieved” section of the full departmental results report.