Call for proposals: Connecting Indigenous Research and Leadership in Canada and the Global South

IDRC is a Crown corporation created in 1970 by the Parliament of Canada. IDRC supports and strengthens the capacity of people and institutions in low- and middle-income countries to undertake the research that they identify as most urgent. It works with researchers and research users as they confront contemporary challenges in their own countries and contributes to global advances in their fields.

IDRC has a rich history of supporting Indigenous research in the Global South. This includes strengthening Indigenous health systems; supporting Indigenous scientists in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields; resiliency against climate change; governance; and providing more leadership and research opportunities to members of these communities through education, capacity strengthening and access to global research networks and forums. Gender equality and inclusion are central to all our programs.

Overview of the call

This call was developed through a partnership between IDRC and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), a Canadian federal research funding agency that promotes and supports research and research training in the humanities and social sciences. Through its research training and talent development, insight research and research partnership programs, and through partnerships and collaborations, SSHRC strategically supports world-leading initiatives that reflect a commitment to ensuring a better future for Canada and the world.

Background and rationale

Realizing the rights of Indigenous Peoples, both globally and in Canada, is essential to achieving a sustainable and equitable future. In alignment with Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, and as part of IDRC’s focus on fostering local, Southern-led solutions to development challenges, IDRC is dedicated to supporting Indigenous-led research and amplifying Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences to build a more inclusive and sustainable world. We believe that connecting Indigenous Peoples globally can play a pivotal role in generating new knowledge, advancing science, sharing teachings and reinforcing their action through the creation of synergies. These connections can drive lasting and inclusive solutions to pressing development challenges.

To advance these connections, IDRC aims to support knowledge exchanges between Indigenous researchers in Canada and the Global South. These exchanges can deepen the understanding of the shared challenges Indigenous Peoples face and the negative impacts that colonialism has had, and still has, on their development, voice and agency. More importantly, these exchanges can foster the sharing of strategies to address these challenges while building alliances and solidarity across communities and borders.

Key objectives

This call for proposals is a dedicated funding opportunity for Indigenous organizations in the Global South that are interested in connecting with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities in Canada through knowledge-sharing activities. The purpose is to co-develop an interdisciplinary, Indigenous research agenda and build alliances between Indigenous researchers in the Global South and First Nations, Métis and Inuit researchers in Canada that may lead to broader joint research endeavours in the future.

More specifically, this funding opportunity aims to:

• support the research priorities of Indigenous Peoples as identified by them;
• champion Indigenous leadership, self-determination and capacity in research for the benefit of Indigenous communities;
• increase awareness and visibility of Indigenous researchers, students and communities in policy and research fora;
• 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, data sovereignty and intellectual property rights in Indigenous research.

Expected Outcomes

This call for proposals will support events and activities such as community gatherings and workshops that will mobilize existing knowledge, facilitate dialogue and knowledge sharing and promote interdisciplinary research methodologies. These events and activities will result in the preparation of a research agenda, strategy and/or action plan that contribute to and support capacity-strengthening and leadership for Indigenous communities to conduct research. Applicants can choose to focus on all or a selection of the following outcome areas:

1. Increased support to Indigenous talent and research careers

• Indigenous graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers are supported.
• Indigenous Elders and Indigenous knowledge holders are involved in research.
• Barriers to participation and success, including nation- and gender-specific barriers, are removed.
• An inclusive research and research training environment is fostered.
• A science and engineering culture is fostered.

2. Increased engagement with Indigenous knowledge

• Research into Indigenous knowledge systems is supported.
• Indigenous science and holistic approaches are supported.
• The understanding of reconciliation[2] among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples in Canada is enhanced.
• The knowledge of Indigenous languages and practices is built.
• Intersectionality (gender, age, sexuality and other markers of difference) is taken into consideration.

3. Strengthened Indigenous capacity and leadership in research

• Indigenous and community-led research is supported.
• Rights-based approaches are supported.
• Indigenous ownership and control of data is ensured.

4. Fostered mutually respectful relationships

• Past use of extractive and unethical research practices between non-Indigenous researchers and Indigenous communities are acknowledged and rejected moving forward.
• Ethical and responsible conduct of Indigenous research is supported.

Funding scope and duration

As a result of this call, up to seven grants of up to CAD100,000 will be issued. The project duration for these grants is one year including all research activities and final reporting.

IDRC reserves the right to fund additional proposals from this call if/when more funding becomes available.

IDRC is under no obligation to issue any funds prior to the applicant returning a fully executed Grant Agreement to IDRC.

All grants are subject to sufficient funds being made available to IDRC by the Parliament of Canada or under a donor partnership agreement with a particular external funder.

IDRC reserves the right to cancel this call for proposals at any time without prior notice and/or to not issue any grants under this process.

Eligibility criteria

Proposals need to meet the following eligibility criteria to be considered:

• The Lead Applicant Organization to this call must be headquartered in an eligible country in the respective region where it operates (West and Central Africa, East and Southern Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa). See Annex 1 for the list of eligible countries.
• The Lead Applicant Organization to this call must have independent legal status (or “legal personality”) and be capable of contracting in their own right and name, receiving and administering funds, and have authority to direct proposed project activities. Applicants must be able to demonstrate legal status through written documentation. Legal status will only be reviewed if and when applicants are selected following technical selection.
• The call for proposals is not open to individuals or government ministries, and agencies or branches, offices and chapters of international organizations, but it is open to public research institutes, think tanks, universities and not-for-profit organizations with a research mandate. Regional or country offices of international organizations are ineligible to apply as Lead Applicant Organizations even if these offices are registered as independent legal entities in their countries of location.
• The Lead Applicant Organization must be Indigenous or supporting Indigenous-led research programs. Preference will be given to Indigenous organizations or organizations supporting Indigenous-led research programs that have established linkages with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities in Canada. Indigenous organizations or organizations supporting Indigenous-led research programs seeking to establish such linkages will be considered as well.
• The research team must include Indigenous researchers and, in particular, women or gender-diverse Indigenous researchers.

Expectations of projects

Applicants are expected to comply with the following considerations, which should be reflected in their proposal.

A) Southern leadership 

IDRC’s mandate is to promote inclusive development in the Global South. Only projects that are led by Global South Indigenous researchers will be considered.

B) Partnership with Indigenous groups in Canada

Applicants are required to submit an official letter of collaboration from a First Nations, Métis or Inuit organization in Canada.

C) Ethical considerations 

Applicants should consult the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (specifically Chapter 9: Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada) while preparing their application.

D) IDRC gender equality and inclusion considerations