In support of the Government of Canada’s increased focus on national security in research, SSHRC and Public Safety Canada recently released updated requirements regarding submissions for certain SSHRC grants (see listing below). The update is an expansion of the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships to apply to SSHRC grants.
Under the updated requirements, applicants to the selected grants who are working with private sector partners must complete risk assessments of their partners/projects and submit them as part of their complete grant application.
Completed risk assessment forms must be submitted to research.security@ubc.ca prior to grant submission, at least three business days prior to the ORS or internal faculty submission deadline.
The Research Security team will review submitted forms and validate their completeness prior to ORS submission.
SSHRC grants subject to the expanded requirements:
- SSHRC Partnership Grants (Stage 2); effective for Oct. 29, 2025 deadline
- SSHRC Partnership Development Grants; effective for Nov. 17, 2025 deadline
- SSHRC Partnership Engage Grants; effective for March 2026 deadline
Grant applications submitted without the risk assessment forms are at risk of missing the funder deadline or being rejected for incompleteness if the funder determines the application should have included them.
Relevant guides from the UBC Research Security team:
- Introduction to Research Security
- Grants covered by federal Research Security policies (updated August 2025)
A comprehensive guide on how to complete high-quality risk assessment and mitigation plans is also now available. Several resources are also available through the Government of Canada and the UBC Research Security website. The UBC Research Security team is also available for individual consultations and can host workshops for interested groups at UBC. Contact research.security@ubc.ca to set up a consultation or for more information.