Knowledge Synthesis Grants

Infrastructure Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) have partnered on the design and launch of Knowledge Synthesis Grants. These grants will generate critical insights in the area of mobility and public transit by expanding cross-sector collaboration and leveraging current research and training. In turn, these insights will assist decision-making in all orders of government and in the private, not for profit and community sectors. Through these grants, applicants will explore how peoples' ability to get around in urban and rural communities affects their social, environmental and economic wellbeing, such as:

• What are the social and economic implications of unequal access to public transit, including in rural communities?
• What are best practices and challenges for taking into account environmental and land use considerations through integrated transit planning?
• In a post-COVID-19 world, what challenges are presented to transit services to maintain public health and safety?
• In times of economic uncertainty, how are transit needs affected?

Knowledge Synthesis Grants take an interdisciplinary approach to synthesize research on major societal challenges, and once grant recipients have concluded their work they will produce reports available to the public.

Timelines

• Launch of the open call for proposals on September 14, 2020
• Application deadline on December 17, 2020
• Selection of 23 winning projects in Spring 2021
• SSHRC and Infrastructure Canada will organize a Knowledge Mobilization Forum in January 2022
• Evidence briefs summarizing the findings and policy implications will be available to the public by Spring 2022

Funding

• Infrastructure Canada is providing $300,000 to SSHRC for 10 research grants that are each $30,000
• SSHRC is funding 13 additional research grants. Together, 23 research grants are being awarded
• SSHRC will commit up to $25,000 for the organization of a Knowledge Mobilization Forum in January 2022

For more information on the Knowledge Synthesis Grants, please visit the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council's website.