Research & Innovation Services

Preamble and Purpose

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) provides funding for the University of Lethbridge through its Institutional Grant Program. The amount the University receives is based on the number of University faculty members who are eligible for SSHRC funding, as well as our performance in the Council's research grant programs. Part of the funding received from SSHRC is used to support the Office of Vice President Research Internal Artistic/Creative Research Grant.

The intent of the Internal Artistic/Creative Research Grant is to encourage, stimulate and support research and scholarship in the Arts, including visual, digital and performing arts.   

“Research” is broadly defined and will include, but is not limited to the: 

• Creation of new literary, visual, performance or other artistic works;
• Interpretation, analysis, history and criticism of the arts;
• Development of techniques (e.g. musical, computer, material, etc.);
• Pedagogical studies; and      
• Development of new art forms, new performance approaches or new exhibition strategies.

The Internal Artistic/Creative Research Grant is also intended to develop the research skills of graduate and undergraduate students in artistic and related disciplines through participation in programs of creative scholarship.

A further objective is to provide artist/scholars a competitive edge through direct, short-term funding, enabling them to build upon and enhance developing programs and work towards applying for external funding.

Funding Available 

The Internal Artistic/Creative Research Grant provides funds of up to a maximum of $4,500 per grant term.

The Office of the Vice President Research will issue a call for proposals once per year and funds are dispersed on a competitive basis. The number of grants and the amounts awarded will depend upon funds available. The University SSHRC Committee may not be able to recommend support for all eligible projects/activities and may recommend a reduction in the amount requested.

 Eligibility:

Recipients must be members of the Fine Arts Faculty at the time of application and through the entire grant term, whose work involves research, the creation of works of art, and the training of undergraduate and/or graduate students. Applicants may be adjunct, part-time or full-time faculty as well as university-employed curators. Funding is not avaialable to Academic Assistants, Sessionals, Lecturers or Visiting Scholars.

• Only one grant per applicant will be awarded but small team applications will be considered (where each eligible member of the team may be considered for an award). Large team (more than three members) applications will not be considered.
• Faculty may be principal investigators on more than one other internal research grant (ULRF, ISG or CREDO) but the funding cannot be for the same research/creative endeavour. Faculty cannot apply for an Internal SSHRC Grant and an Internal Artistic/Creative Research Grant at the same time.
• Faculty who are co-investigators on external grants are eligible; those who are principal investigators on major external grants are not.
• Faculty may hold only ONE Internal Artistic/Creative Research Grant at one time.
• Faculty members may not reapply for an Internal Artistic/Creative Research Grant for a minimum of 24 months from completion of the previous one.
• Previous recipients of an Internal Artistic/Creative Research Grant must have submitted a final report to the Office of Research and Innovation Services in order to be considered for future awards.

Evaluation Criteria:

Applications for the Internal Artistic/Creative Research Grant are subject to competitive adjudication and will be reviewed by the University SSHRC Committee.

Significant outcomes (e.g. performance, exhibition or publication) are an expectation for this award. Priority ranking will be given to proposals of scholarly and/or artistic originality, creativity and significance that represent high levels of innovation and meet the following criteria:

• How will the proposed activity advance work in the field and/or contribute to the training of students?
• How does the creative work or activity relate to the larger creative research goals of the applicant and increase his or her chance of funding from external agencies?
• How does the project relate to or evolve out of the applicant's past work?
• What is the demonstrated potential for successful completion of the project within the grant period?
• What are the plans for dissemination of the results of the project through exhibitions, performances, publications, etc.?

Proposals will also be evaluated on the:

• Academic or artistic qualifications of the applicant;
• Clarity and scope of the objectives;
• Quality and innovativeness of presentation;
• Feasibility and adequacy of the methodological approach; and
• Justification of the budget relative to the requirements of the proposed project/activity.

The Committee will provide feedback to all unsuccessful applicants in a letter of advice. Recommended changes should be addressed in any resubmission.

Application Procedure:

The Office of the Vice President Research will issue a call for proposals the first week November each year.

Applicants must complete the online application form available through the BRIDGE and include the required attachment. For detailed instruction on the format of the attachment and what must be included click on this link: Internal Artistic-Creative Research Grant Application Instructions.doc  NOTE: Do not complete the online form until your attachment is complete and ready to be uploaded as you cannot save the online form to be completed at a later date.

Deadline for submission is 4 p.m. on the first Friday of January. Late submissions will not be accepted and incomplete applications will be deemed ineligible.

Funding decisions will be announced in April.

Disbursing Grants:

The University disburses grants by paying or reimbursing proper expenses; it normally does not advance cash. Monies from the award will be deposited into an account to which the grant holder may submit expenses.

Grant Period:

Grants will run from the opening of the research account (once all necessary approvals have been received) through August 31 of the following year.

Conditions of Grant Award:

Awards must be fully expended by the end of the funding period.

Grant term extensions will be approved only in exceptional circumstances which can be proven to be beyond the control of the researcher. 

If a faculty member leaves the employ of the U of L, the unused portion of the fund reverts back to the ISG account.

The Committee may stipulate other conditions of award, which will be contained in the letter of award to the applicant.

Further Information:

For further information and assistance, contact Mary Butterfield, Research Officer: mary.butterfield@uleth.ca or 403-317-2869.