Research Guide for Library Faculty: Timelines

One year prior to the deadline

For a major grant (i.e., SSHRC ), ideally you want to identify the opportunity for which you want to apply roughly a year in advance.  Doing so gives you time to 1) conduct an in depth review of any pertinent literature, 2) apply for seed grants to advance your proposal such as internal funding programs like the SSHRC Explore and Exchange programs, and, if applicable, 3) assemble a team of committed co-applicants and collaborators. If you need help identifying a funding opportunity, acquiring seed money, or building a research team, this is a good time to contact the Research Facilitator.

Six months prior to the deadline

At this stage, you should strategize and think through some of the key components of the grant.  How, for instance, will you incorporate graduate student training into your grant? What plans do you have to meet the requirements for knowledge translation and mobilization?  It is also a good idea to begin drafting the “Detailed Description” of your project at this stage and to seek feedback from colleagues and/or your research facilitator about the specifics of your work.

Three months prior to the deadline

At this stage, you should start pulling together and drafting the rest of the application so that you can take full advantage of any internal review processes offered by the university (if available). 

Two months prior to the deadline

At this stage, having a rough full draft of the application is advisable.  Internal review deadlines vary from year to year, but they generally fall about two months before the deadline. Once you have submitted your grant for internal review, this is an excellent time to finalize your CV and address some other aspects of the application—like certain forms—that you have not dealt with yet. 

One month prior to the deadline

You will receive feedback from the internal review process approximately one month prior to the competition deadline.  You should allow sufficient time to address the concerns of your reviewers.  At this stage of the application process, you should be finalizing the key aspects of your application.

Two weeks prior to the deadline

Submit a full draft of your proposal to the Research Facilitator for review.  The Facilitator can make recommendations for improving the grant, edit, and help ensure that the grant is effective and readable. At this time, you should also notify the Dean Williamson that you will need her signature on your application.

One week prior to the deadline

In this final week, submit the grant to the Dean and Research Services for approval using UnivRS.  Once the Research Support Specialist in Research Services has conducted a technical and compliance review and recommends your application for institutional approval, you may “submit” your application to the granting agency.