The Social R&D Community is a network of practitioners dedicated to growing the craft of research and development in the social sector. Social R&D practitioners use creative approaches to generate new knowledge and innovations (services, programs, initiatives or products) to address complex social, environmental and cultural challenges. Social Innovation Canada is currently supporting the Social R&D Community through Employment & Social Development Canada’s Investment Readiness Program and the support of The McConnell Foundation.

Knowledge products are key resources that support the social R&D field and practitioners to learn and apply insights to evolve and expand their practice. There is a wealth of knowledge and insights among social R&D practitioners and we are excited to leverage funds to capture and share some of these insights.

The work being undertaken to support the social R&D field will help codify and disseminate established & emerging methodologies, thus increasing accessibility and adoption of social R&D tools and resources among social purpose organizations.

We know there are hundreds of organizations and individuals across the country with insights to share about Social R&D and we want to support organizations and individuals to develop knowledge products that will help advance the field.

Equitable Social R&D

It is vital that we ensure diverse voices are represented and celebrated in the fields of social R&D and social innovation. It is also important that we seek to challenge the confines that make practitioners of diverse backgrounds not feel welcome or that they can’t contribute their perspectives. Lastly, we need to demystify some of the language of social innovation and develop resources that resonate with community members.

Knowledge Products are resources that support the field and practitioners to learn and apply insights to evolve and expand their practice. A growing suite of social R&D resources exists, but they are largely lacking in BIPOC perspectives. There is also a gap in resources that are Black, Indigenous, and Person-of-Colour-led and -developed.

SI Canada is eager to support the development of knowledge products developed by BIPOC individuals, and to build understanding among innovators about equitable approaches to social R&D.

We are seeking proposals for $10k-$25k projects that will generate knowledge products (videos, reports, toolkits, etc.) to help serve the field.
This opportunity is open to social purpose organizations (including non-profit, charities or for-profit social enterprise), as well as informal grassroots groups. We will prioritize BIPOC individuals/organizations and equity-seeking applicants.

Application Process

Apply through this form by December 9, 2020, 5pm PST.

How will we use the knowledge products:

• Workshop content for our national
• Social R&D gathering in spring 2021
• Published on the SI Canada website and socialrd.org
• Shared via SI Canada channels (Common Platform, Blog posts, social media)
• Shared with the Social R&D Community of Practice