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
- VPRI Major Research Project Application Preparation Grants
- BMO Research Award in Indigenous Business and Leadership
VPR Travel Grants, Social Science & Humanities
Pool 1 - April 1 through August 31
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.
- POOL 1 - Travel beginning April 1 - August 31: Applications will be accepted from April 1 - August 31 or when funds exhausted
- POOL 2 - Travel beginning September 1 - March 31: Applications will be accepted from September 1 - March 31 or when funds exhausted
- Application guidelines and forms
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).
University Publications 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 and Rapid Response Publications Application
- Serial Event Publications Application
Please note that the UPF program is administered by Research Services and adjudicated by the Vice-President, Research and the Deans. Please submit your application to Research Services (ors@sfu.ca).
- Committee Membership: PDF
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 - Applications Accepted April 20 through June 1;
Fall Intake - Applications Accepted November 1 through December 15
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.
Please note that Contingency plans related to the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on your research project may be described in this Project Description section, if appropriate. This is not mandatory, but it may assist the committee in assessing the feasibility of your proposal if your research plans are significantly disrupted, e.g., if international travel is not possible.
***As of 2021, Chair evaluations are no longer required as part of the application process. The new application has removed this section from the application (the previous version of the application is otherwise the same and if an old version is received the chair evaluation will be removed from the application prior to being adjudicated)***
- SPRING application deadline: April 20 - June 01
- FALL application deadline: November 01 - December 15
- Application guidelines and forms:
- Guidelines: PDF
- Application: Word, PDF
- Form B: PDF
- Research Funding Application 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.
Please note that 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).
New Collaboration Support Program (FCRF)
Accepting applications until November 18, 2022
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 2023 call for applications in now open. This application has an internal deadline (November 15, 2022) and external deadline (November 18, 2022; 23:59 PT).
- Internal application to include a Research Funding Application Signature Sheet and be submitted to Research Services (ors@sfu.ca).
- 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 November 18, 2022; 23:59 PT.
Please note that 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.
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 is required.
VPRI Major Research Project Application Preparation Grants
These grants are to assist SFU faculty members who are applying for major external research grants (such as SSHRC Partnership Grants or CFI Innovation Fund) to meet expenses associated with the preparation of applications. Assistance may take the form of support salaries for personnel needed to prepare application materials, costs of travel required to meet with research collaborators, etc. These grants do not fund research per se.
To inquire whether a funding opportunity is eligible for a grant please contact: isa@sfu.ca
Application for a grant may be made at any time and is by memorandum addressed to the Vice President, Research & International, accompanied by a completed SFU Research Funding Application Signature Sheet. The memorandum should reference the external granting program and the nature of the proposed project (scope and budget), outlining the proposed uses of application-preparation funds, including funds from other sources for these purposes. Completed memorandum and Signature Sheet are sent to ors@sfu.ca for review. Grants are to a maximum of $5,000; the amount awarded will depend on the rationale provided.
Approval of the application by the Department Chair or School Director is required, confirming the reasonableness of the expenses and any departmental cash contributions and/or provision of infrastructure such as space and office furniture or equipment for personnel.
BMO Research Award in Indigenous Business and Leadership
SFU Beedie has received a generous donation from the BMO Financial Group to fund research into Indigenous business in Canada. This fund will support research into Indigenous business in Canada including, but not limited to, fieldwork, the development of research articles and seminars, the creation of Canadian Indigenous business case studies, and teaching materials. Researchers affiliated with SFU Beedie or other SFU faculties including faculty members, adjunct professors, research assistants, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students are eligible to apply. There will be two competitions each year with the deadlines of May 15 and Nov 15.
Please note: This is an internal research funding opportunity managed by SFU Beedie. Research Services does not require a completed signature sheet. All completed forms are due to Shahrzad Jooya Ardakani (bsbgrant@sfu.ca) by the deadline date.