FASS Early Career Research Awards (ECRA) - Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

FASS Early Career Research Awards (ECRA)DescriptionThese grants are designed to support the development of research programs by newer faculty in FASS. Awardees will be required to use the funds to prepare and submit a formal application as the Principal Investigator (Applicant) for a major external grant, preferably to a Tri-Agency (SSHRC, NSERC, or CIHR) program, within two years of receiving the Award.Value and Duration

Value: $7,500.00

Duration: Maximum of 24 months

Application deadline: Tuesday, January 30th, 2025

Start date: April 2023

Award winners will be recognized at the annual FASS vin d'honneur celebration.EligibilityAt the time of application, applicants:

Must be at the rank of Assistant Professor

Must be in a tenure-track appointment

Must have at least 50% of their appointment in FASS

Previous ECRA awardees are ineligible, as are current and previous holders of Tri-Agency grants or other major external awards.Awardees of the FASS ECRA are not eligible to hold simultaneously an internal CU Research Development Grant administered by the Office of the Vice-President (Research and International).ConditionsAll ECRA expenditures must comply with the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration and cannot be used to fund teaching releases.All ECRA awards will be made with the strict condition that the awardee must apply for substantial external research funding, preferably to a Tri-Agency program, within two years of the ECRA’s start date. The ECRA awardee must be the Principal Investigator (Applicant) on the external application which, if successful, must be administered by Carleton University.If your application is funded and your work involves human subjects, you must obtain ethics approval from the relevant Board prior to commencing those activities.Resources, Application Process, and Evaluation CriteriaResourcesThe program is modelled on the SSHRC Insight Development Grant (IDG), which is the external grant most commonly applied for by ECRA awardees.Applicants are encouraged to consult with their Faculty Research Facilitator on proposal development, and to seek feedback from at least one colleague during the preparation of the proposal.Further resources include:

SSHRC’s Guidelines for Effective Research Training

SSHRC’s Guidelines for Effective Knowledge Mobilization

The Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration

Application ProcessThe application consists of two components:

Applicants must submit their application in a single PDF file by email to: fass.awards@carleton.ca.

The applicant’s Chair/Director must submit in confidence a brief statement (maximum of 250 words) outlining the likelihood the applicant will be able to prepare a successful proposal for external funding over the next two years to fass.awards@carleton.ca.

Evaluation CriteriaThe following criteria and scoring scheme are used to evaluate the applications:

Challenge - The aim and importance of the endeavour (50%):

originality, significance and expected contribution to knowledge;
appropriateness of the literature review;
appropriateness of the theoretical approach or framework;
appropriateness of the methods/approach;
quality of training and mentoring to be provided to students, emerging scholars and other highly qualified personnel, and opportunities for them to contribute; and
potential for the project results to lead towards a competitive application for external funding, preferably to SSHRC, NSERC, or CIHR

Feasibility - The plan to achieve excellence (20%):

appropriateness of the proposed timeline and probability that the objectives will be met;
expertise of the applicant or team in relation to the proposed research;
appropriateness of the requested budget and justification of proposed costs; and
quality and appropriateness of knowledge mobilization plans, including for effective dissemination, exchange and engagement with stakeholders within and/or beyond the research community, where applicable.

Capability - The expertise to succeed (30%):

quality, quantity and significance of past experience and published and/or creative outputs of the applicant and any co-applicants, relative to their roles in the project and to the stage of their career;
evidence of past knowledge mobilization activities (e.g., films, performances, commissioned reports, knowledge syntheses, experience in collaboration / other interactions with stakeholders, contributions to public debate and media), and of impacts on professional practice, social services and policies, etc.; and
quality and quantity of past contributions to the development of training and mentoring of students, postdoctoral researchers and other highly qualified personnel.

Application ComponentsSummary of proposal (0.5 pages)Provide a summary of your research proposal in clear, plain, non-technical language understandable to scholars with varied areas of expertise. Clearly indicate:

the problem or issue to be addressed; and

the potential contribution of the research in advancing knowledge and, where applicable, the wider social benefit (e.g., Will this research be of interest to other areas of research/disciplines? Will it be of interest outside the academic community? How will it be used and by whom?).

Roles, responsibilities, and the training of students (0.5 pages)Describe the proportion of your time to be spent on this project in relation to any other ongoing research projects or programs (excluding prospective grants).Describe the specific roles and responsibilities of students and research assistants, and indicate the duties, especially with respect to research, that they will be undertaking, as well as how these will complement their academic training.Knowledge mobilization, outcomes, and audiences (0.5 pages)Include:

a brief discussion of the purpose and overall plan to increase the accessibility, flow and exchange of knowledge among various appropriate audiences or participants (academic and/or non-academic); discuss how you will engage these audiences (potential audiences may include: diverse groups of researchers, policy-makers, business leaders, community groups, educators, media, international audiences, practitioners, decision-makers and the general public)

a schedule for achieving the intended knowledge mobilization activities; and

a brief list of the expected scholarly and societal outcomes that could emerge from the proposed project (e.g. potential learning, effects, implications)

Funds requested and justification (1 page)Estimate the costs you are asking the ECRA to fund. For each entry, justify all budget costs in terms of the needs of the project.Detailed description (1.5 pages)ObjectivesBriefly state the explicit objectives of your proposed research.Context

Describe the originality, significance and expected contribution to knowledge of the proposed research.

Situate the proposed research in the context of relevant scholarly literature.

Describe the appropriateness of the theoretical approach or framework.

Explain the potential influence and impact within and/or beyond the social sciences and humanities research community.

Methodology

Describe the proposed research strategies and key activities, including methodological approaches and procedures for data collection and analysis that will be used to achieve the stated objectives,

Justify the choice of methodology and describe the specific instruments or procedures to be used.

Identify the external research funding program you intend to apply for, and describe the fit between the proposed research and the external program

Timelines (1 page)Describe the timelines for conducting the proposed project within the 24-month funded period of the ECRA. Include the drafting and submission of an external funding application, preferably to a Tri-Agency program (SSHRC, NSERC, or CIHR).List of references (1 page)CV (no page limit)Please use the FASS CV Instructions and FASS CV Template, found here.Award WinnersView Past Award Winners

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Carleton University
330 Paterson Hall
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6
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FASSOD@Carleton.ca
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