Guidelines on impact assessment
As a federal authority as defined by the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) must conduct impact assessment reviews for activities on federal lands or lands outside of Canada—for which it provides financial assistance—to determine whether the proposed activities will have an adverse effect on the environment and/or have social, economic or cultural implications.
Note: Activities funded by SSHRC are subject to review only when they are “projects” or “designated projects”, as described in sections 82 and 83 of the IAA.
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Definitions
A “project” is a physical activity in relation to a physical work that is carried out on federal lands or outside of Canada (Section 81 of the IAA). Examples of projects include the construction, expansion, operation, decommissioning or abandonment of smaller structures such as observation blinds, boardwalks, field camps, and small wind or wave turbines.
A “physical activity” is any activity that involves some degree of physical effort carried out in relation to a physical work.
A “physical work” is generally accepted as being constructed by humans and having a defined area and a fixed locality.
“Designated projects” are one or more physical activities that are carried out anywhere in Canada, including all federal lands, and are listed in the Physical Activities Regulations; they include the construction, expansion, operation, decommissioning or abandonment of large-scale structures such as mines, highways, bridges, airports and nuclear facilities.
Administrative matters
To determine whether any potentially funded research could have an adverse effect on the environment or otherwise per the IAA, SSHRC requires applicants to self-identify on grant applications, through screening questions, in cases where their proposed research activities constitute a “project” that would take place on federal lands (as described in Section 2 of the IAA) or outside of Canada, as well as complete the Impact Assessment Form (Appendix A) module of the application form. You can find additional information about whether your research requires submission of the Impact Assessment Form in the relevant application instructions.
Following the application deadline, SSHRC will screen applications to determine whether the activities reported through the Impact Assessment Form (Appendix A) are subject to the IAA.
If, after screening your application, SSHRC determines there could be one or more adverse environmental effects resulting from your project, there are two possible outcomes:
- In cases where the proposed activities constitute a “project,” SSHRC will conduct its own impact assessment to determine whether the activities are likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects, taking into account the effects as described in Section 2 of the IAA. Where applicable, the impact assessment conducted by SSHRC will be posted on the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry.
- In cases where the proposed activities constitute a “designated project,” SSHRC will verify that the applicant has submitted an Impact Statement to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada for review, in accordance with the Impact Assessment Process Overview.
In cases where the proposed activities in a SSHRC grant application depend on a “project” or “designated project” funded by another organization, SSHRC may make the award conditional on the completion of the impact assessment review of the related “project” or “designated project”.
In any of the above situations, funds for successful SSHRC applications will be released by SSHRC only if it is established that the project or designated project will not likely result in significant adverse environmental effects. Partial funding may be released, at SSHRC’s discretion, for related research activities not requiring an impact assessment review.
In addition to the impact assessment described above, SSHRC also requires that grant recipients comply with all applicable legislation and regulations related to the environment in the conduct of their research. This includes securing licenses and permits for research in the field, etc. (see Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2021), Section 2.4).
During the course of their award, grant recipients must promptly advise SSHRC if the nature of their research activities changes substantially, and/or if the location where the research will be conducted changes, such that the Act might need to be applied.
SSHRC staff will provide guidance and information to applicants and institutions as needed.