About 

The Indigenous Capacity and Leadership in Research (ICLR) Connection Grants will contribute to Indigenous leadership and self-determination in research. The events and activities funded represent opportunities to engage and exchange knowledge on successful ways of conducting Indigenous research that are transformative and contribute to Indigenous-led research, including wholistic and distinctions-based approaches.

This funding opportunity aligns with the tri-agency Setting New Directions to Support Indigenous Research and Research Training in Canada strategic plan and Indigenous communities’ aspirations to provide support for transformative research and training that contributes to innovation and reconciliation.

More specifically, it aims to:

support the research priorities of Indigenous Peoples;
champion Indigenous leadership, self-determination and capacity in research, to the benefit of Indigenous communities;
increase awareness and understanding of Indigenous researchers, students and communities;
recognize Indigenous ways of knowing as an integral part of valid and authoritative research;
support Indigenous-led strategies and structures that address respectful and mutually beneficial data management and intellectual property rights in Indigenous research; and
decolonize Indigenous research through the development of clear structures and resources for Indigenous Peoples to grow research capacity, including creating greater accessibility to granting agency program funding.
All of the grants for this funding opportunity are reserved for First Nations or Métis not-for-profit organizations, Indigenous not-for-profit organizations serving more than one distinction, or Indigenous postsecondary institutions. The portion of the federal budget commitment dedicated to the Inuit Peoples will be allocated through a separate funding mechanism.

In the case of an application to an individual grant, the project director must be affiliated with one of these eligible organizations/institutions. (See Applicants and Institutions details below for more information on institutional and individual grant eligibility.)

This funding opportunity invites applications in any discipline from institutional or individual applicants affiliated with First Nations or Métis not-for-profit organizations, Indigenous not-for-profit organizations serving more than one distinction, or Indigenous postsecondary institutions. All projects must have the objective of informing and contributing to the development and growth of research strategic plans and activities to support distinctions-based leadership and self-determination in research.

The ICLR Connection Grants affirm the important wholistic contributions to human knowledge made by Indigenous knowledge systems within a First Nations and Métis context. Furthermore, the funding opportunity emphasizes Métis and First Nations knowledge systems, including ontologies, epistemologies and methodologies, as important avenues for exploring the contours of knowledge, supporting research paradigms, and contributing to collaboration that extends the boundaries of knowledge in western research paradigms. These grants will support relationships with land, spirits and ancestors, as well as more-than-human relatives. Applicants are encouraged to submit projects that are wholistic and reflect the full range of collaboration across disciplines and subject areas pertaining to the social sciences and humanities; natural sciences and engineering; and health and wellness. Funding will support community gatherings, workshops or other events, or outreach activities that mobilize existing knowledge; facilitate dialogue and knowledge sharing; and result in the preparation of a research agenda, strategy and/or action plan, among other things.