Federal Minister of Science, the Honourable Kristy Duncan, announces major funding award in the social sciences and humanities at York University. This means more than 44 research projects at York will be supported by $7 million.
The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, minister of science, announced $163 million in Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) funding to support important research across Canada. She made the major announcement at York University’s Scott Library on September 9, 2016. More than 44 research projects at York will receive a total boost of $7 million of the federal funding, including $2.5 million for a unique project that looks at migration resiliency in urban Canada.
Left to right: Robert Haché, York University Vice-President Research & Innovation; Judy Sgro, MP, Humber River-Black Creek; The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science; SSHRC President Ted Hewitt; Valerie Preston, Partnership Grant lead and professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. Photo credit: YFile.
“Social sciences and humanities researchers help us to understand issues affecting our daily lives and provide evidence for sound policy-making. The Government of Canada believes that only this broad and holistic approach can lead to true discoveries, innovation and solutions that will help all Canadians, including those who now call Canada home,” said Minister Duncan.
The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science. Photo credit: Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation.
York geography Professor Valerie Preston will receive nearly $2.5 million in funding over five years through the SSHRC Partnership Grants program plus an additional $1.2 million in partner contributions for a total of $3.7 million.
“York has been ranked among the top 100 universities in the world in the humanities and social sciences, so it is wonderful that SSHRC is recognizing the leadership of our researchers with this funding,” said Mamdouh Shoukri, President and Vice-Chancellor of York University. “We are particularly delighted for Valerie Preston, whose research in migration and settlement is contributing to York’s leadership in that field, for York researchers who have received funding through the Insight Grants and Partnership Development Grants Programs, and for our graduate students, who have also received substantial support.”
As Robert Haché, York’s Vice-President Research & Innovation, said “SSHRC’s investment in research excellence in the social sciences and humanities at York University, as well as their support for the next generation of scholars and discoverers, are an affirmation that York University continues to distinguish itself in the breadth and impact of its scholarship, generating knowledge with real-world impact across a full range of disciplines. I want to congratulate today’s award recipients and wish them every success as they move forward with their research programs.”
Professor Preston, as the lead researcher for the study “Migration and Resilience in Urban Canada: Discovering Strengths and Building Capacity,” and her team will do a comparative analysis of resilience among migrants settling in two of Canada’s major immigration gateways – Toronto and Montreal – as well as large and small municipalities in Ontario and Quebec, and central and suburban locations in Toronto.
Valerie Preston, Partnership Grant lead and professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. Photo credit: Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation.
“One of the goals of the study is to look at how to improve settlement outcomes and to enhance well-being in the face of economic, political, social and cultural challenges. But also, to pilot strategies that facilitate the efforts of social institutions to promote resilience,” said Preston of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.
The research team will examine how social institutions influence resilience and boost migrants’ capacity to settle successfully in Canada. The project was developed in collaboration with CERIS, Ontario’s leading migration studies network, and includes 18 partners from Canadian universities, community-based NGOs, and municipal, provincial and federal government departments and agencies.
The September 9 announcement includes $3.2 million in Insight Grants for more than 25 researcher projects across multiple Faculties, including the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, the Faculty of Environmental Studies, the Schulich School of Business and Osgoode Hall Law School.
Three York researchers also received $573,391 in funding under the Partnership Development Grants Program to foster new research and related activities with new or existing partners, as well as to design and test new partnership approaches.
A complete list of the SSHRC funding grants can be found here: http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/news_room-salle_de_presse/press_releases-communiques/2016/partnerships_insight-partenariats_savoir-eng.aspx
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