Indigenous Research
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) defines Indigenous research as:
Research in any field or discipline that is conducted by, grounded in, or engaged with First Nations, Inuit, Métis or other Indigenous nations, communities, societies or individuals, and their wisdom, cultures, experiences, or knowledge systems, as expressed in their dynamic forms, past and present. Indigenous research can embrace the intellectual, physical, emotional and/or spiritual dimensions of knowledge in creative and interconnected relationships with people, places and the natural environment."
Planning for Indigenous Research
Guiding principles for Indigenous Research
Researchers planning to engage in Indigenous research are strongly advised to develop the project proposal and a Collaborative Research Agreement (CRA) in partnership with their community or organizational partner from the start. Both documents should focus on the nature of the collaboration/partnership and be grounded in the “6 Rs of Indigenous Research” : respect, relationship, relevance, reciprocity, responsibility, and representation.
There are many layers and depths to which these concepts are embodied within Indigenous research. Read the following guide before preparing or reviewing a research project proposal.
Indigenous community partners and collaborators should be involved in determining the direction of the research project prior to the inception. Community and organizational partnerships take time to develop. Due to the increased workload related to Indigenous community engagement, researchers should allocate a significant amount of time for relationship building or consider aiming for the subsequent cycle of yearly funding competitions.
Proposals should reflect appropriate methodologies, ontologies, and epistemologies, grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and doing, or as guided by their community or organization partner. Budget is an important consideration, particularly in cases where co-investigators and collaborators do not have salaried research positions.
Researchers should plan accordingly to ensure equity in how co-investigators and collaborators can be compensated appropriately for their participation. This should be done in accordance with the funder's guidelines, while also ensuring appropriate leadership and guidance is represented within the research team, representing the Indigenous community. Researchers will be asked to provide documentation of Indigenous community knowledge of the request to participate in the project at the time of application submission.
Resources can be provided if needed; please reach out to IndigenousResearch@dal.ca.
Requirements for funding involving Indigenous research
When research involves Indigenous communities, Dalhousie has an obligation to ensure that this engagement is conducted in a good way, and in accordance with the Tri-Council Policy Statement, Chapter 9, Articles 9.1 and 9.2: “Where the research is likely to affect the welfare of an Indigenous community, or communities, to which prospective participants belong, researchers shall seek engagement with the relevant community… [and] the nature and extent of community engagement in a project shall be determined jointly by the researcher and the relevant community and shall be appropriate to community characteristics and the nature of the research.”
For Principal Investigators whose grant applications have been successful but who are continuing to engage with Indigenous communities to finalize documentation of agreement/consent to participate, the Office of Research Services has implemented a partial Release of Funds process. This process will enable researchers to access partial funding needed to support activities related to preliminary or early engagement with communities (e.g. toward obtaining documentation that confirms agreement for participation in a project as described in a proposal), such as honoraria and gifts, travel to community, workshops and meetings, hiring personnel to support community engagement, etc.
To request a partial release of funds, please complete the below form and submit via ROMEO. In addition, researchers can request partial release of funding for aspects of the project that do not involve Indigenous communities.
The request for a partial Release of Funds Agreement will be reviewed and the Principal Investigator will be notified by email of the result. Financial Services will be provided with the related information when all requirements for authorizing account opening have been met.