U of M research projects net more than $4.1M for groundbreaking work

On May 28, the federal government announced more than $158 million in funding for over 800 research projects across Canada, including 12 at the University of Manitoba.

The funding across the country is being awarded through grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), one of the three federal granting councils responsible for supporting the researchers and scholars who are strengthening science and evidence-based decision-making, while cultivating a culture of curiosity in Canada.

The twelve U of M projects will receive $4,184,141 in support.

Derek Johnson.

The largest of the U of M projects receiving funding is led by Anthropology Professor Derek Johnson, receiving $2,492,020 for an international team research project entitled: Dried fish matters.

“For many of the most vulnerable peoples of South and Southeast Asia, dried fish is of vital nutritional, economic, social, and cultural importance. However, there are many growing threats to the dried fish economy: ecological changes, industrial competition, and problems such as contamination and labour exploitation,” says the project’s proposal.

The project aims to produce a comprehensive overview and put forward solutions.

“Dried Fish Matters, the only international partnership on the topic to date, will generate the first regional-scale, diversity sensitive, economic geography of the dried fish economy of South and Southeast Asia, ultimately improving the lives and well-being of some of South and Southeast Asia’s most marginalized people,” says the proposal.

The national SSHRC investments will fund research projects on education, immigration, youth, Indigenous arts leadership and climate change.

“Thanks to the work of the hundreds of researchers being recognized today, Canadians can gain a better understanding of the world we live in,” said Kirsty Duncan, minister of science and minister of sport and persons with disabilities, on May 28 in Regina at the annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

SSHRC has a list of projects receiving funding through the Partnership Development Grants, the Partnership Grants and the Insight Grants.

“Through these projects, SSHRC is helping to develop talent and to connect Canadian and international researchers and partners across disciplines and sectors to support world-class research that provides critical insights on the challenges of today and tomorrow,” said Ted Hewitt, president, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.