Social innovation is a diverse, multidisciplinary solution to a complex set of problems being experienced by a community. Our Social Innovation Research Fund Pilot is administered by NBIF in partnership with the New Brunswick Social Policy Research Network (NBSPRN). Through this project, we aim to better understand the problems New Brunswick’s researchers and collaborators are working on solving in our communities and how we can assist. We offer funding that can help get projects off the ground and move them towards developing into a longer-term solution.
We hope to see impacts in our communities that will create lasting changes to systematic challenges that have left vulnerable people behind. Please see below for information to help guide you in writing your application.
Projects must begin within six months of the official award date and have a maximum duration of two years. Proposals should focus on a socially innovative research projects where the research aims to impact the province of New Brunswick through one of the following:
- Economic impact – direct or indirect;
- Measured improvement in quality of life of New Brunswickers or a specific community or group in the province;
- Intervention working to address a complex environmental issue impacting the province; or
- Intervention working to address a complex social problem in the province that has a direct or indirect cost to the provincial government.
A maximum of $50,000 can be requested in a single research proposal, covering up to 66% of the costs of the project (e.g. maximum total project cost of $75,000). The matching portion of the funding may be cash or in-kind contributions (including institutional contributions) but cannot be from another provincial government source.
Eligible project costs may include the salary of researchers and assistants (hired by the principal investigator), costs associated with knowledge mobilization (e.g. outreach activities, translation fees, publication, community engagement), travel expenses related to knowledge transfer and meetings with impacted groups, costs related to data collection and recording, consumables and equipment. Indirect costs are not eligible. Expenses can not be retroactively claimed before the award date and all costs must be incurred within two years of the research project.