CHCI-SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships Collaboration
A partner program supported by CHCI and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
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Eligibility to participate in the collaboration is limited to current CHCI member organizations and to SSHRC Fellows in the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship funding opportunity.
CHCI members in all regions of the globe may host SSHRC Fellows. These opportunities are flexible and emphasize mobility and direct communication between SSHRC Fellows and CHCI members. There are no deadlines, and each residency is designed and managed by the Fellow and the CHCI host organization. CHCI member organizations may opt in at any time, and SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellows (or candidates) may contact any prospective CHCI host organization before submitting their postdoctoral application to SSHRC or at any point after receiving notification of their fellowship. In all cases, however, both parties must meet the minimum criteria for participation, as listed below.
Guidelines for Participation: CHCI Members
A significant aspect of the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships funding opportunity is the establishment of productive mentoring relationships between faculty members and Fellows. To this end, participating CHCI member organizations must commit to providing the resident SSHRC Fellow with such a relationship. During a SSHRC Fellow’s residency, the CHCI host organization would not be responsible for supervision of research. Rather, the appointed faculty member at each CHCI organization would commit to working closely with the resident Fellow and conducting mentoring activities such as developing ideas and refining writing. It is our hope that this particular aspect of our collaboration will encourage a meaningful level of interaction between resident Fellows and their CHCI hosts, and provide opportunities for CHCI members to contribute to the enrichment of the humanities as a global, multifaceted field of inquiry. Mentors and mentees should meet at least three times per term. At the end of the Fellow’s stay, we ask that the mentor file a brief report with CHCI about the Fellow’s term of residency. Please contact CHCI if you would like to discuss any aspect of this requirement.
In addition to this requirement, CHCI members interested in hosting a SSHRC postdoctoral Fellow must commit to providing the following minimum forms of support:
- A dedicated, equipped workspace with access to copier, fax etc.
- Internet/network access
- Full library access
- Opportunities for interaction with the local or virtual community of scholars
Participating CHCI member organizations may offer financial support for relocation or housing for the Fellow, but may not provide salary supplements, research funds, or health/fringe benefits (with the exception of compensation for teaching; see below).
Resident SSHRC Fellows are permitted to teach one course, but may not be required by the host organization to teach as a condition of their residency. Fellows may be compensated for their teaching.
A SSHRC Fellow can be in residence at a participating CHCI organization at any point during his or her fellowship, but should, if possible, remain in residence for a minimum of one academic term (academic year, summer, quarter, or trimester, as determined by the host organization’s academic calendar). In the case of independent organizations such as research libraries, we ask that Fellows remain in residence for a minimum of eight weeks. CHCI members must be able to accept inquiries from prospective residents at any time, and Fellows are allowed and encouraged to spend time at multiple CHCI member organizations during their Fellowship terms.
We recommend that prospective residents and host organizations contact each other at least three months before the proposed start date of a residency, to enable both parties to mobilize the resources necessary to make the residency a success. Sufficient lead-time is especially important for host organizations with limited office space, and to ensure that robust connections with mentors can be established.
In most cases, SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellows (or candidates) will contact participating CHCI member organizations directly to inquire about a potential residency. This contact may occur either before submission of a postdoctoral application to SSHRC (with the residency integrated into the applicant's program of work), or after an award has been offered. The option to propose a residency with a CHCI organization will be outlined in direct communication with successful SSHRC Postdoctoral candidates. CHCI members may also review online listings of SSHRC Fellows, when available, and will be encouraged to contact any Fellow of interest, through his or her place of tenure, to discuss a potential residency. After making initial contact, Fellows and CHCI organizations negotiate their own arrangements, tailored to the needs and interests of both parties. We ask that CHCI member organizations inform CHCI of a successful fellowship match.
Interested CHCI member organizations must provide CHCI with the following information for inclusion in our online collaboration description and list of participating member organizations:
• A brief organizational profile;
• Confirmation of the organization’s ability to meet the minimum requirements for support, as listed above;
• The earliest upcoming term in which they will be able to accommodate a Fellow;
• The name, title, email address, and phone number of a contact person who can speak authoritatively about the collaboration and is empowered to negotiate with a prospective resident Fellow;
• Whether you will be able to provide the Fellow with support for relocation and/or housing.
Guidelines for Participation: SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellows
For a list of CHCI-member organizations willing to host an SSHRC postdoctoral fellow, click here.
To be considered, applicants must first meet SSHRC's eligibility requirements.
SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellows interested in being in residence at a participating CHCI member organization should start by reviewing the list of participating host sites on the CHCI website and should contact any organization listed to inquire about a residency.
As indicated above, SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellows in residence at CHCI member organizations must commit to a residency of, at minimum, one formally defined academic term. Building on the network structure of CHCI, Fellows may also choose to split their Fellowship term between multiple participating CHCI member organizations. Resident SSHRC Fellows are guaranteed a minimum level of support, as listed above.
SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellows in residence at CHCI member organizations must abide by the regulations governing awards during their CHCI residency in order to remain eligible to hold their award and, consequently, to partake in this collaboration.
CHCI and SSHRC are not serving as intermediaries. SSHRC Fellows should contact prospective CHCI host organizations directly. There is no standard application form, but Fellows should be prepared to provide to the prospective host-site a CV, work samples, or other materials as requested by the prospective host organization.
Additional Information and Inquiries
Participation does not guarantee a final match between a Fellow and a CHCI member, nor are participating CHCI members required to host a Fellow. We strongly encourage participating CHCI members to remain with the collaboration for multiple years: both CHCI and SSHRC believe that this partnership will take several cycles to achieve “critical mass,” and we need your help and participation in the long run to create a robust, long-running collaboration that can benefit both individual scholars and CHCI members for many years to come.
This partnership is being coordinated by CHCI. Please direct all general questions about the collaboration to info@chcinetwork.org.
For a list of CHCI-member organizations willing to host an SSHRC postdoctoral fellow, click here.