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 with 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.

Making Social R&D more accessible

How do we make social R&D accessible for all?

How do we help social purpose organizations develop their own practice of social R&D?

Social Innovation Canada is interested in supporting the creation of knowledge products that help present the language, concepts and approaches of social R&D to a wider range of organizations and help them get started on their social R&D strategy.

Are you:

• Developing a creative tool to help organizations plan their social R&D strategies?
• Creating resources that describe the concepts and frameworks of social R&D in easily accessible ways?
• Using visual practices to support understanding of complex concepts?
• Creating games to help people, organizations and communities better understand their context?

We are seeking proposals for $10k-$25k projects that will generate creative resources (games, visuals, creative 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 at 5pm PST.