Simon Fraser University is committed to supporting its faculty in their research and creative endeavours. The list below includes some examples of internal funding opportunities for faculty and staff.
For a full list of opportunities, please see the SFU Funding Opportunities database.
On this page
- VPR Travel Grants, Social Science & Humanities
- University Publications Fund
- William and Ada Isabelle Steel Fund
- SSHRC Small Explore Research Grants (SFU/SSHRC Institutional Grants)
- France-Canada Research Fund New Collaborations
- SFU Open Access Fund
VPR Travel Grants, Social Science & Humanities
Pool 1: Travel beginning April 1 - August 31. Applications will be accepted from April 1 - August 31 or until funds are exhausted.
Pool 2: Travel beginning September 1- March 31. Applications will be accepted from September 1 - March 31 or until funds are exhausted.
NEW: As of Pool-2 2023, Chair Evaluations are no longer required as part of the application process. The new application has removed this section (previous version of the application is otherwise the same and will still be accepted).
COVID-19 Travel related advisory: As per SFU’s Interim University-Related International Travel Policy, eligible applicants must follow specific steps before submitting the final application to ORS. Please refer to the Risk and Safety webpage for more details.
VPR Research Travel Grants are provided for faculty in areas supported by SSHRC to attend North American (max. $900) and international (max. $2,000) conferences to present a paper (including poster presentation), to serve as a keynote speaker or in the case of faculty in the School for the Contemporary Arts, to present one’s own creative work to a peer group. There are two intakes annually.
Eligibility: Faculty members are considered eligible to apply for one conference every second fiscal year. Applications from "special case" applicants will be considered towards the end of the fiscal year. In the case of joint authorship, only one presenter will be funded. For more information on eligibility, please see the guidelines below:
Please note that funds are allocated on a first come, first served basis. The grants will remain open until funds are exhausted. Please submit your application to Research Services (ors@sfu.ca).
For VPR Travel Grant submission to Kuali approval workflow please chose:
- Activity Type: Funded research
- Lead Unit: Search for and select your department
- Sponsor Name: SFU Vice President Research
- Funding Program: VPRI Travel Grant Pool 1
- Attachments: Proposal and Budget are mandatory, if you have no budget document, you need to upload the application again or a supporting document to satisfy system requirements
- Help: ata26@sfu.ca
University Publication Fund
Rapid Response - Ongoing;
Single and Serial - Accepting Applications April 12 through May 13
The University Publication Fund (UPF) is established under the authority of the Vice-President, Research for the purpose of providing support to faculty and staff of Simon Fraser University for their academic publications. The UPF is split into three streams:
- The Rapid Response Publications supports a maximum of $2,000 with applications accepted all year.
- The Single Event Publications support applications over $2,000 with an annual intake occurring between April 12th – May 13th
- The Serial Event Publications supports applications over $2,000 with an annual intake occurring between April 12th – May 13th
For more information on these programs, please check the guidelines: PDF
- Single Event
- Rapid Response
- Submit applications to InfoReady.com: https://sfu.infoready4.com
- InfoReady PowerPoint Presentation (.pdf)
- InfoReady Zoom Presentation (video) - SFU login required
- Serial Event Publications Application
Please note that the UPF program is administered by Research Services under authority of the University Publication Fund Committee.
William and Ada Isabelle Steel Fund
Opens April 18. Applications accepted until May 18
The William and Ada Isabelle Steel Fund reflects the intent of the endowment left by William and Ada Isabelle Steel for research studies into any aspect of alcoholism and/or drug addiction.
Please note that this program is funded by William and Ada Isabelle Steel Endowment, where its annual income allocation is used support this annual competition. This year’s program has $30,000 to fund any number of projects relating to alcoholism and/or drug addiction. This program is administered by Research Services and adjudicated by the Vice-President, Research. Please submit your application to Research Services (ors@sfu.ca).
SSHRC Small Explore Research Grants [SFU/SSHRC Institutional Grants]
Spring Intake - Online application deadline June 1, 4:30 p.m.;
Fall Intake - Online application deadline December 15, 4:30 p.m.;
SSHRC Small Explore Research Grants support scholarly research in the contemporary arts, humanities and social sciences for expenses up to a maximum of $7,000. A lead applicant, together with one or more eligible co-investigators may apply in a single application for up to a maximum of $10,000. There are two intakes (i.e., spring and fall) annually.
- Application guidelines and forms:
- Guidelines: Download .pdf
- Application: Apply on InfoReady Portal: https://sfu.infoready4.com
- Applications may also be submitted by a proxy: Download instructions (.pdf)
- Form B: Revised format now included in InfoReady portal
- Chair Evaluations: Not required
- InfoReady application instructions: Download .pdf
- Approved Kuali Proposal (this replaces the previously required SFU signature sheet)
Funding for this competition is provided by the SSHRC Institutional Grants. All successful applicants must adhere to SFU and Tri-Agency guidelines. For more information, please check Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.
The SSHRC Small Explore Research Grants program is administered by Research Services under authority of the SFU/SSHRC Institutional Grants Committee. Please submit applications to Research Services (ors@sfu.ca).
- Committee Terms of Reference: Download .pdf
- Committee membership: Download .pdf
- Budget spreadsheet: Download .xlsx spreadsheet
New Collaboration Support Program (FCRF)
Accepting applications until Friday, November 17, 2023
The France-Canada Research Fund (FCRF) "New Collaboration Support Program" provides financing for new scientific projects jointly developed by French and Canadian teams that have never worked together before. The financing is awarded to two-year projects in amounts ranging from $8,000 to $15,000, according to the needs expressed by the principal investigators. This financing is primarily intended to support the mobility of young researchers and their students.
The 2024 call for applications in now open. This application has an internal deadline (Wednesday, November 15, 2023) and external deadline (Friday, November 17, 2023; 23:59 PT).
- Internal application to include an approved Kuali proposal (this replaces the previously required SFU signature sheet)
- Upon confirmation of internal sign-off, applicants must email their complete application to Embassy of France's Office for Science and Technology (assistant.science@ambafrance-ca.org) by Friday, November 17, 2023; 23:59 PT.
Please note
- The FCRF only accepts a maximum of five proposals per institution. Should more than five applications be submitted, SFU’s Institutional Strategic Awards will oversee the selection of applications that will move forward as part of a final application process, occurring after the submission stage.
- Application requires a signature for the “Vice-Rectors for Research in Canada”. For SFU this is the Director or Research Services, who will sign the application once reviewed by Research Services.
- The Mitacs Globalink Research Award (GRA) listed under Appendix 2: Complimentary Funding on the Guide is currently not available for SFU applicants due to the program being on hold at SFU.
For more information please see the France Embassy website: https://francecanadaculture.org/france-canada-research-fund/
SFU Open Access Fund
The SFU Open Access Fund supports SFU authors publishing in fully open access journals that charge Article Processing Charges.
Article Processing Charges are an eligible expense for certain grants to cover the cost of open access publishing, especially when open access publishing is a requirement of the grant. SFU Library has tips for estimating these costs and sample wording to request funding in your grant proposal. See Open Access Funding and Grant Proposal for details.
Please note: this Fund is administrated by SFU Library. No SFU Signature Sheet or internal approvals are required.