RESEARCH GRANTS

Guidelines for Researchers holding TSAS Grants

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January 2016

1. Eligibility

1.1 Principal Investigators (PIs) must hold a continuing position at a University, in Canada or elsewhere, (under normal circumstances this means a tenured or tenure-track appointment), and be recognized as an affiliate of TSAS as a Senior Researcher. Our website outlines a process by which individuals may become affiliated with TSAS.

1.2 Co-Investigators must also be affiliated with TSAS, as Senior Researcher, and may be from outside of Canada.

1.3 Research Assistants are typically graduate students (Junior Researchers), or they can be anyone relevant to the research project.

1.4 Research Partners are institutions that are relevant to a research project. If outside of government, they may be compensated (at an institutional level… i.e., through an invoice) for services rendered for a research project (e.g., recruitment of research subjects).

1.5 Both the applicant and his/her home institution must abide by the terms and conditions of these guidelines.

1.6 TSAS will only consider applications from affiliates in good standing. Affiliates must submit annual reports and not have outstanding working papers to remain in good standing.

2. General Principles and Conditions of the TSAS grant adjudication process

2.1 It is TSAS’ practice to consider only one application from any of our research affiliates during any given grant competition, as PI. Researchers wishing to apply as PI for more than one grant must seek the permission of the Directors of TSAS, and must supply a good rationale, before doing so. Applicants may be considered Co-Investigators on more than one proposal.

2.2 Consideration will be given to all applicants, but funding will be provided based on the merit of individual applications, policy relevance, and potential contribution to the mandate of TSAS.

2.3 Proposals should be clear, justify the use of all monies requested, and provide all information requested on the application form.

2.4 Proposals that involve NGO research partners must adhere to the rules itemized in our Charter of Community Research Principles.

2.5 Grant funds may not be used to provide salary or honoraria for the Principal Investigator and/or Co-Investigators. Generally speaking, salaries are a valid budget line item for Research Assistants when they are graduate students. Also, NGOs (Research Partners) may be reimbursed for their staff time spent on the study.

3. Termination

3.1 An award may be terminated if conditions are not observed. Unspent funds must be returned to TSAS if the award is terminated.

4. Grants

4.1 The applicant, his/her Department Head/Chair, his/her Dean, and the University Research Grants Officer must sign the application. These signatures signify that the relevant authorities of the applicant’s home university approve of the use of department facilities, services or other resources as may be necessary for the work, and that the applicant has (or will be allowed) the necessary research time within his/her normal work schedule.

4.2 Principal Investigators of successful proposals will be added as Co-Applicants to the TSAS Partnership Grant. Funds will be transferred to the Principal Investigator in the form of a sub-grant to be established by the Office of Research Services at the Principal Investigator’s home university.

4.3 The term of the grant is 12 months. It is expected that funds will be completely spent by the end of the grant period.

4.4 Grant funds may be used only for the project and purposes described in the application, subject to any special conditions given in the Letter of Award.

4.5 The transfer of funds from one budget category to another is permitted, up to 20%, according to the needs of the research as it progresses. The use of funds for a previously unspecified cost or new budget item requires prior approval by the Directors of TSAS.

4.6 Principal Investigators must assume responsibility for any overdraft on the grants provided and they should not expect supplementary funding beyond the original grant from TSAS.

4.7 All expenses must adhere to the terms and conditions to the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.

4.8 Investigators must also abide by the policies and regulations operative in their home university.

5. Student Support

5.1 The pay rate for Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) may vary from university to university and from discipline to discipline, and also by the student’s level in the graduate program. Applicants should consult with the appropriate office on their campus for their University’s guidelines.

5.2 The PI will be required in his/her annual report to TSAS to list all students working on TSAS funded research including names, level of academic study (e.g. M.A. or Ph.D.), academic discipline, and contact information. SSHRC also requires that the citizenship status of students be stated in annual reports.

5.3 An effort shall be made by the Principal Investigator to ensure significant student participation by involving their student research assistants in TSAS conferences, seminars and workshops (see item 6.2).

6. Travel

6.1 Travel must follow the guidelines in University of Waterloo Policy #31, or parallel policies of other universities.

6.2 Whenever possible, researchers are requested to build attendance at TSAS conferences and workshops into the budget of their research projects. TSAS represents an ideal forum for the discussion of research results and the network will be more effective if researchers commit to this form of dialogue.

7. Reports

7.1 A Working Paper and Policy Briefing Note must be submitted by the end of the project. We anticipate that Working Papers will also be revised and submitted to journals or other academic forms of publication. These positive developments should be itemized in the annual reports submitted to TSAS by affiliated researchers in the years after completion of the project.

7.2 Researchers should also work with the TSAS Directors to disseminate their findings through knowledge transfer/mobilization mechanisms such as policy briefs, TSAS workshops and conferences, Ottawa-based brown bag presentations, and targeted research syntheses.

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