You’re here because you’re wondering what I can do for your university or faculty.
Maybe you work in the Office of Research Services at a small university and you need some extra help with the SSHRC grants. Maybe you are the Associate Dean of a faculty with researchers applying to SSHRC and you want to use your budget to provide some extra support.
If you are just a researcher looking for help with you own research career — grants, career support, publishing — you’re a little bit lost. Please go to What I Can Do For You to see what I can do for you.
Right. They’ve gone. Welcome.
I know the rest of the site is speaking directly to researchers. But I can do things for you, too. In fact, I’ve been doing things for you or people like you since the spring of 2005.
On this page, I list them. Take a look and then e-mail me, telling me which package comes closest to what you need, and we’ll work out the details.
I’m looking forward to working with you.
Help! I need someone who understands humanities researchers to give these people some comments
You have a small research office. And only a small pool of previously successful researchers. And you want to help your applicants put in the best possible proposal so that they do as well as they can in a very competitive funding program.
Researchers can be funny about non-academics commenting on the content of their proposals.
But some of them seem to be really lost. They’ve never done this before. Or their research process doesn’t look like the headings in the instructions.
And let’s face it, getting a second opinion on a research proposal is just good sense.
You’ve come to the right place.
I’m a former academic (with a PhD in Sociology) and a former SSHRC program officer. (Want to see my résumé. It’s here.)
And I know the answer to the question “I read books and think big thoughts, what do I write in the methodology section?”
Basic SSHRC grant proposal review: $300 per application*
What you get
Support for your researchers
- Detailed comments on the text portions of the SSHRC application (i.e. detailed description, training, etc) sent to the applicant within a week of submission to me.
Support for you
- A cheat sheet summarizing key issues for humanities and social science researchers by section.
- Text you can use in the e-mail you send out to researchers explaining why it is in their interests to get the SRG proposal in before Labour Day. (Because they’d love to think it was you being arbitrary and bureaucratic but, really, they have other things on their minds in the first 2 weeks of September.)
- Copies of comments.
*This price is for applications like the Standard Research Grant programme. For the SRG & other programs with October deadlines, the price is valid if the proposal is submitted to me before the Labour Day weekend. I will accept proposals after Labour Day, but only for 2 weeks and I charge $450 per applicant.
For MCRI, CURA, and other major grants, contact me to discuss a price based on the length of application and number of drafts you want me to review.
Beyond Basic virtual grant support package: $500 per application*
What you get
Support for your researchers
- Individual 1-hour telephone coaching about their grant proposal and plans before they start substantial work on it.
- An e-mail summary of the key points and action steps.
- The e-book “Writing Your SSHRC Grant Proposal”
- Light e-mail support as they are working on the proposal.
- Detailed comments on the proposal (as per basic service)”
Support for you
- The cheat sheet.
- Text for the e-mail inviting researchers to take advantage of service.
- Learn more about supporting these researchers by attending the telephone coaching session (optional).
- Copies of comments.
* The same limitations apply to the fee as for the basic package. If during the call, we decide that the researcher would be better off waiting a year before submitting the grant application and spending the summer building a stronger foundation for a future application, I’ll discount the fee by $200.
Inspire & support package: $2500 + travel expenses + $200 per researcher
What you get:
Support for your researchers
- Presentation on granting process on your campus. (open to whoever you want to invite)
- Half-day workshop leading to concrete plans for the summer including writing for publication and drafting a grant proposal (max 15 participants).
- E-book “Writing Your SSHRC Grant Proposal” for each participant.
- E-mail follow up to participants summarizing what they had agreed to work on and what the timelines look like (copied to you).
- Light e-mail support and encouragement through the summer.
- Detailed comments on draft proposal (as per basic service).
Support for you
- The cheat sheet.
- Text for the e-mail inviting researchers to workshop
- Copies of comments.
Want a peek at what that presentation might be like? Here’s an excerpt from a talk I gave at Congress09.
Thanks to University Affairs for recording the talk and allowing me to use it.
We want to provide long term support to our new researchers and build a solid foundation
Successful grants are built on a foundation of publications, solid relationships with partners and collaborators, and preliminary research. This takes some time to build up. And new faculty are often overwhelmed with other tasks.
Especially in a small university that is building a stronger research culture, new faculty may appreciate some focused support to help them establish a research program that will take them through their career.
3-year research support package (virtual): $600 per researcher per year (assuming a summer start)
What you get:
A combination of individual and group coaching to support faculty in establishing and maintaining a research program, build a research community among workshop participants, and provide ongoing accountability and support. We use teleconferencing and internet tools to meet.
The first year has extra individual support to get things established. Group sessions are scheduled for significant transition times in the academic year. Light e-mail support and encouragement is included throughout the 3 years.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Coaching | 30 min + 1 hour + 1 hour | 1 hour | 1 hour | |
| Group sessions | 3 x 90-min (August, December, April) | 3 x 90-min (August, December, April) | 3 x 90-min (August, December, April) | |
| Focus | Publishing strategies; long term research planning | Writing, preliminary research, relationship building | Grant proposal development, writing, preliminary research, relationship building |
Grant proposal review not included. Only the basic service would need to be added, at the end of year 3.
3-year support w/in-person visit: $2500 + $2500 per 10-12 researchers + travel expenses, first year support costs reduced to $300, Years 2 & 3 as per virtual package.
What you get:
The virtual package plus a general presentation to a wider group of faculty, with an on-campus visit in the first year. A workshop replaces the first group coaching session and the initial 30-minute individual coaching session is done in-person.
How do I book your services?
Seen something that meets your needs? Send me an e-mail telling me what you want and I’ll get in touch to finalize things.
I work as a contractor so if your institution needs me to sign some forms, that’s okay with me. Or I have a standard agreement that I can send.
We will agree on things like when I will invoice you and you can look into any questionnaires your finance office might have (to be reassured that I really am a contractor and not an employee so the CRA doesn’t get mad at them) and whether they do direct deposit for contractors (which I really like).
And we’ll figure out dates for visits and numbers of participants if that’s relevant.
Thanks for dropping by. I look forward to hearing from you.
