News

There are only seven days left to submit applications for the Special Call for Research Projects on Covid-19 (SCRP Covid-19). This call is for a separate grant funding stream specific for projects related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Goal for this Special Call

At CUE, we are part of an international community that has been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Lives have been endangered and lost, world economy has been seriously damaged, academic activities and calendars have been disrupted, and regular life activities and transit have been put on hold.  To assist our faculty members, the ORS has developed a Special Call for applications for Research Projects related to the Covid-19 pandemic (SCRP Covid-19).

The goal for this call is to contribute to the generation of new knowledge on how pandemics emerge and affect our lives, and how to best respond to them. We believe our academic community is interested in contributing to the effort of understanding how this pandemic started and evolved, to create and provide invaluable insight and instruments that may allow us to be more vigilant and responsive to subsequent threats.  Learning from our successes and errors at various levels will be a key source of information that can potentially save lives and reduce the future financial and social impact of these events.

Special considerations for SCRP Covid-19

Successful applications for SCRP Covid-91 must significantly contribute to the goal of this call. While the research from this call may become the foundation of an emerging line of research, SCRP are expected to be short-lived (up to one year). No additional funding will be provided under this stream for a successful project. Therefore, an application under this stream must be self-sufficient from start to end, and have a high likelihood to generate the results needed to produce an Impact Report, which is a requirement for this grant.

We strongly encourage applicants to include Research Assistants in their project and budget, as their contributions will undoubtedly enrich the research. During the closure due to Covid-19, Research Assistants may contribute by working from home, doing literature research, data analyses, document development and other. Once CUE reopens, their involvement can expand.

Due to the nature of this call, these funds are not considered Internal Research Grants. Accordingly, there will be no $5,000 limit in combined funding or existing grant restrictions for submission of applications. However, if large numbers of applications are received, during the adjudication of these awards, preference may be given to those who have not received awards up to the $5,000 limit in the last 12 months.

Knowledge dissemination activities (i.e. conference travel) are not eligible. However, networking activities (e.g., research travel, workshops) related to the research itself are eligible, and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Areas of Research

For this call, projects must fall into one of the following Areas of Research:

• Education
• Emergency Management Strategies
• Health: Public Health, Psychology, Immunology
• Management: Private Sector, Government, Public Education (K-12, Postsecondary)
• Science: Mathematics, Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Virology
• Social Sciences: Communications, History, Political Sciences
• Technology: Information Security, App and Software Development, Telecommunications

Proposed lines of research

Projects in this call may include, but are not limited to:

• Changes to policy for food and other service providers
• Cyberattacks and safe work-from-home practices
• Disruption of the production and distribution of goods
• Effects of prolonged quarantine on mental health status
• Fighting misinformation
• Handling health emergencies in Indigenous communities
• Mathematical modelling of epidemiological data to predict outbreak burden to the health system
• Socioeconomic impact
• Transition from in-person to virtual classroom teaching

Impact Report

Projects funded under SCRP funding require successful applicants to provide Impact Reports by the end date of the project, as indicated in the Letter of Award. Impact Reports are executive summaries supplemented with additional information generated from the research findings, submitted for the use of CUE Administration in the dissemination of findings from this call.

For this special call, the Impact Report will include three sections: Executive Summary, Research Report and Recommendations for Policy Development (CUE, local, provincial, federal government, other), as applicable. The template for Impact Reports will be provided by the Office of Research Services. Non-compliance or late submissions of Impact Reports may result in ineligibility to apply in subsequent calls for applications.

Application deadline

Applications will be received until May 15th, 2020 at midnight. No extensions will be provided. Applicants may only submit one application to this competition.

Value and Duration

The maximum level of support is $5,000 for an application. The maximum total of $5000 in combined grants per year does not apply. As the demand for funds normally far exceeds the funds available, not all meritorious proposals can be adequately supported.

The grant start date is the deadline of the application. Once awarded, grant funds remain active for one year from the deadline of the application submission. After completion, funds will expire, and unused funds will be reclaimed.

How to apply

Please, contact the Office of Research Services (research@concordia.ab.ca) to request a copy of the SCRP Covid-19 guidelines and application form. Applications will be received by email as a single PDF document.

The ORS is operating as a virtual office until further notice, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.