SSHRC Impact Awards: April 2026 Competition

Overview
Value	$50,000 or $100,000
Nomination deadline	April 1, 2026
Results announced	Fall 2026
Submit the nomination online	Tri-Agency CV, application and instructions

On this page

• Webinars
• Description
• Gold Medal
• Talent Award
• Insight Award
• Partnership Award
• Jury Prize
• Eligibility
• Nomination process
• Regulations, policies and related information
• Contact information

Webinars

Description

SSHRC Impact Awards are designed to build on and sustain Canada’s research-based knowledge culture in all research areas of the social sciences and humanities. The awards recognize outstanding researchers and celebrate their research achievements, research training, knowledge mobilization and outreach activities funded partially or entirely by SSHRC. Past recipients of SSHRC funding are listed in the Awards Search Engine.

Impact Award recipients are to use award funds for activities that promote and further develop the work being honoured. In recognition of the crucial role postsecondary institutions play in mobilizing research knowledge, at least 10% of each award must be used to promote the recipient’s research achievements. Individual recipients and their institutions can choose to devote additional funds, including a higher percentage of the award funds, to these activities.

A multidisciplinary jury made up of distinguished individuals from academia, as well as the public, private and not-for-profit sectors from Canada and abroad, will select award recipients according to the selection criteria associated with each of the five awards.

Before announcing the names of the award winners and finalists, SSHRC will share competition results through the SSHRC Extranet for Applicants.

Eligible institutions are invited to put forward nominations for the:

• Gold Medal ($100,000)
• Talent Award ($50,000)
• Insight Award ($50,000)
• Partnership Award ($50,000)

As a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), SSHRC is committed to a more inclusive, diverse and holistic approach to excellence in research evaluation. SSHRC recognizes that the concept of impact is nuanced, and that the assessment of impact may vary depending on numerous factors. As such, the achievements of funded researchers and their academic and non-academic collaborators, and their contributions to the research ecosystem and society at large, should be understood in this light.

Gold Medal ($100,000)

The Gold Medal is SSHRC’s highest research honour. It is awarded to an individual whose sustained leadership, dedication and originality of thought have inspired both students and colleagues.

The recipient’s achievements must have significantly advanced understanding in their respective fields of research in the social sciences and humanities. The exceptional quality and impact of the recipient’s research, and their ongoing efforts to share the results of this work, must have greatly enriched Canadian society, and contributed to intellectual, cultural, social and/or economic life in Canada and/or internationally.

Selection criteria

1. Challenge—ambition and importance (25%):
   1. originality and significance of the body of work within the nominee’s fields of research.
2. Achievements—impact and outcomes (75%):
   1. qualitative and quantitative evidence of the sustained quality, impact and influence of the nominee’s research achievements within and/or beyond the academic community;
   2. level of the nominee’s engagement with—and the quality of training, mentorship (formal or informal) and outreach provided to—students, emerging scholars, participants, community members and/or members of the general public, relative to the nominee’s career level;
   3. nominee’s national and/or international stature;
   4. nominee’s commitment, creativity and successes in mobilizing research knowledge within and beyond the academic community; and
   5. nominee’s overall contribution to knowledge.

Talent Award ($50,000)

The Talent Award recognizes outstanding achievement by an individual who, on April 1, 2026, holds a SSHRC-funded doctoral scholarship or postdoctoral award. This includes, but is not limited to, a Canada Graduate Scholarship, Canada Graduate Research Scholarship, Canada Postdoctoral Research Award, SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship or Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship.

The Talent Award is given to an individual who maintains academic excellence, has a talent for research and knowledge mobilization, and has demonstrated clear potential to be a future leader within and/or outside the academic sector.

Selection criteria

1. Challenge—ambition and importance (25%):
   1. originality and significance of the body of work within the nominee’s fields of research, relative to the nominee’s career level level.
2. Achievements—impact and outcomes (75%):
   1. originality and significance of the nominee’s body of academic achievement and research, including, but not limited to, quality of publications, creative outputs, intellectual property, policies, etc., relative to nominee’s career level;
   2. qualitative and quantitative evidence of impact of the nominee’s work within their fields of research and/or beyond the social sciences and humanities research community;
   3. the nominee’s ability and commitment to mobilize research results within and/or beyond the academic community;
   4. level of the nominee’s engagement with—and the quality of training, mentorship (formal or informal) and outreach provided to—students, emerging scholars, participants, community members and/or members of the general public, relative to the nominee’s career level; and
   5. the nominee’s demonstrated potential for leadership and societal contributions within and/or beyond the academic community.

Insight Award ($50,000)

The Insight Award recognizes outstanding achievement arising from a single or multiple SSHRC-funded initiatives. It is given to an individual or a team of six people maximum (including the nominee) whose initiative or initiatives have significantly contributed to knowledge and understanding about people, societies and the world. The research outcomes must have led to demonstrable impact within the nominee’s fields of research and/or beyond the social sciences and humanities research community.

In the case of team initiatives, the nominee must be the principal investigator. If successful, this person will receive the award on behalf of the team.

The nomination package must include the nominee’s tri-agency CV and those of any team members (up to five), if applicable.

Selection criteria

1. Challenge—ambition and importance (25%):
   1. originality and significance of the body of work within the nominee’s fields of research.
2. Achievements—impact and outcomes (75%):
   1. qualitative and quantitative evidence of contributions within the nominee’s fields of research, including, but not limited to, scholarly literature, and other knowledge mobilization contributions, such as commissioned reports, professional practice, public discourse, public policies, products and services, experience in collaboration, etc.;
   2. level of the nominee’s engagement with—and the quality of training, mentorship (formal or informal), outreach and engagement provided to—students, emerging scholars, participants, community members and/or members of the general public, relative to the nominee’s career level; and
   3. qualitative and quantitative evidence of influence and impact on research and/or societal outcomes.

Partnership Award ($50,000)

The Partnership Award recognizes outstanding achievement and societal impact of a project funded through SSHRC’s Research Partnerships funding opportunities in advancing knowledge through research partnerships and/or collaborative knowledge mobilization activities, all while supporting the next generation of scholars.

The Partnership Award is awarded to a partnership (at the local, national and/or international level) that, through mutual cooperation and shared intellectual leadership and resources, has demonstrated intellectual, social, cultural and/or economic impact within and/or beyond a local community, the partner organizations and/or the academic sector.

One project lead must be designated as the nominee to administer the award. However, up to two project co-leads can be recognized and named as recipients on behalf of the partnership.

The nomination package must include the nominee’s tri-agency CV and those of any team members (up to five), if applicable.

Selection criteria

1. Challenge—ambition and importance (25%):
   1. originality and significance of the research partnership and/or collaborative knowledge mobilization activities.
2. Achievements—impact and outcomes (75%):
   1. qualitative and quantitative evidence of strengthening knowledge and understanding by leveraging perspectives from across multiple disciplines and sectors;
   2. genuineness of the collaboration among postsecondary institutions, and between postsecondary institutions and organizations from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors;
   3. level of the nominee’s engagement with—and the quality of training, mentorship (formal or informal), outreach and engagement provided to—students, emerging scholars, participants, community members and/or members of the general public, relative to the nominee’s career level; and
   4. demonstrated intellectual, social, cultural and/or economic influence and impact through research knowledge mobilization within academia and other sectors.

Jury Prize ($25,000)

The Jury Prize may be awarded to a nomination, in any of the four Impact Award categories, that the jury considered uniquely outstanding in demonstrating excellence in one to many areas related to research, research-creation, communication and/or knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities, within or beyond the academic community.

The Jury Prize is awarded, at the discretion of the jury, to a nomination whether it is or is not the recipient of one of the Impact Awards.

Eligibility

A nominee must:

• be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, or a “protected person” under subsection 95(2) of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, by the nomination deadline;
• be an active social sciences and humanities researcher or student;
• hold or have held SSHRC funding relevant to the award category;
• be in good standing with SSHRC;
• be affiliated with an institution that meets the institutional eligibility requirements; and
• maintain affiliation with an eligible institution for the duration of the Impact Award.

Nominees:

• cannot nominate themselves;
• can be nominated in two sequential years for the same award, following which two years must pass before they can be nominated in the same category;
• can be nominated in only one category in any year;
• can be nominated in a subsequent year for a different SSHRC Impact Award; and
• cannot be a current member of SSHRC’s governing council, a previous Gold Medal winner or a SSHRC Impact Awards jury member.

To be eligible to administer an award, the institution affiliated with an Impact Award winner must provide SSHRC with a promotion strategy (two pages maximum) outlining a proposed approach for promoting and celebrating the impact and outcomes of the award winner’s research initiative.

Institutions affiliated with an Impact award winner are invited to contact SSHRC for help in developing this strategy, and to collaborate with SSHRC’s Communications Division in promoting its winners and/or finalists.

Nomination process

Eligible institutions are invited to put forward nominations for all SSHRC Impact Award categories. Large institutions can submit only one nomination for each award in a given year, up to a maximum of four SSHRC Impact Award nominations. Small or medium institutions, according to the Canada Research Chairs Program’s institution size classification, may choose to wave the nomination quota in each category and submit more than one nomination for any given prize.

Institutions must provide the name and contact information of a person to whom SSHRC will send all questions and correspondence, including results.

Communication of results

SSHRC will share competition results with institutions through the SSHRC Extranet for Applicants. Winners will be contacted by SSHRC directly.

Monitoring

Award recipients will be informed of reporting requirements on receiving their award.

Regulations, policies and related information

The nominee or project director must assume responsibility for the award funds.

All nominees and recipients must follow SSHRC policies, regulations and guidelines.

Each SSHRC Impact Award nominee must have signed the Consent to Disclosure of Nomination Content for Promotional Purposes form allowing SSHRC to use their name, photograph, and any and all submitted materials to promote the awards and other SSHRC initiatives. By agreeing to be nominated, nominees also agree to participate in promotional award activities, including media interviews, ceremonies, receptions and other related events, should they be named a finalist or winner.

The Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC) applies to this funding opportunity. Grant applications that involve conducting research and related activities that aim to advance a sensitive technology research area will not be funded if any of the researchers involved in activities supported by the grant are affiliated with, or in receipt of funding or in-kind support from, a university, research institute or laboratory connected to military, national defence or state security entities that could pose a risk to Canada’s national security. Read the tri-agency guidance on the STRAC policy to understand how this may impact your application.

Specific rules for the use of grant funds

Gold Medal ($100,000)

All nominees and recipients must follow the regulations governing grants and the regulations set out in the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration. 

Funds must be used within one year to support or develop research, knowledge mobilization or other research-related activities.

At least 10% of the award funds must be used to promote the recipient’s research achievements.

Talent Award ($50,000)

Talent Award nominees and recipients must follow the regulations governing scholarships and fellowships and the regulations set out in the Tri-Agency Research Training Award Holder’s Guide or the regulations governing grants and the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration, as appropriate.

For Talent Award administration only, the laureate may choose from the following two options:

1. funds must be used within one year as a fellowship to support or develop the recipient’s doctoral or postdoctoral research; or
2. funds must be used within one year as a grant to support or develop research, knowledge mobilization or other research-related activities.

At least 10% of the award funds must be used to promote the recipient’s research achievements.

Insight Award ($50,000) and Partnership Award ($50,000)

All nominees and recipients must follow the regulations governing grants and the regulations set out in the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration.

Funds must be used within one year to support or develop research, knowledge mobilization or other research-related activities.

At least 10% of the award funds must be used to promote the recipient’s research achievements.

Contact information

For more information, contact:

Toll-free: 1-855-275-2861
Email: impactawards-priximpacts@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca