New Trebek Interdisciplinary Research Hubs competition

The Alex Trebek Forum for Dialogue is launching a call for proposals to support the establishment of interdisciplinary research hubs in strategic areas to shape Canada’s future. This investment will strengthen researchers’ capacity to generate and mobilize knowledge that will help Canada navigate the major transformations and upheavals of the 21st century. The competition will foster new communities of practice that can unite University of Ottawa researchers in tackling priority public policy issues, cultivate lasting interdisciplinary collaborations and strengthen ties between researchers and policymakers.

Funded initiatives must have the potential to inform public policy, support evidence-based decision-making and strengthen uOttawa’s position as a leader on issues of national and international importance.

• Position uOttawa as a leader in strategic areas to shape Canada’s future
• Develop and engage a critical mass of interdisciplinary expertise
• Promote collaborations between researchers from a range of fields
• Strengthen ties between researchers and policymakers
• Foster lasting platforms for collaboration 

A maximum of two research hubs will be funded for two years each. The Alex Trebek Forum for Dialogue will contribute $50,000 per year for each hub. 

• Call for proposals: November 9, 2026
• Submission deadline: January 15, 2027
• Announcement of decisions: March 1, 2027
• Grant start date: March 30, 2027

Economic resilience

Canada’s economic sovereignty and strategic resilience

How can we better equip Canada to thrive amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty?

• Canada–U.S. relations
• Trade wars and geopolitics
• Supply chains
• Critical minerals
• Economic security
• The Arctic and sovereignty
• Strategic technologies
• International trade

Democratic resilience

Democracy, governance and public trust in the digital age

How can we better equip democratic institutions to respond to challenges posed by a complex digital environment?

• Governance and AI
• Disinformation
• Electoral integrity
• Cybersecurity
• Privacy
• Digital regulation
• Trust in institutions

Community resilience

Healthy, equitable, resilient communities

How can we better equip Canada to respond to the health, social and demographic challenges affecting populations and communities?

• Public health and health system resilience
• Social determinants of health and social inequalities
• Indigenous health
• Black and racialized people’s health
• Immigrant integration
• Aging
• Mental health and well-being
• Food security
• Preparedness for health crises

Eligibility

To be eligible, projects must be submitted by a principal investigator and two or more co-applicants, at least one of whom must work in a different field. The principal investigator and co-applicants must be regular professors at uOttawa. These include APUO professors, affiliated scientists and clinician-scientists with an academic appointment at uOttawa at the rank of assistant, associate or full professor.

Application submission

Applications must include the following:

• A letter from the dean of the faculty with which the principal investigator is affiliated. This letter will present and justify the proposal (maximum two pages).
• The proposal (maximum 5 pages for applications submitted in English and 5.5 pages for applications submitted in French).
  • The name of the principal investigator and co-applicants, and their affiliations.
  • The name of the hub.
  • A summary in clear, concise and accessible language describing the unique and important aspects of the proposed research program (maximum 150 words).
  • A description of the proposed hub, including its vision, relevance and objectives related to the chosen theme; planned research and knowledge mobilization activities; and expected outcomes and impacts. This includes indicators (both qualitative and quantitative) for measuring the impact of the hub.
  • A timeline.

• The budget and budget justification, including other sources of funding, if applicable (maximum 1 page for applications submitted in English and 1.5 pages for applications submitted in French). This section must include a detailed explanation of how the funding from the Alex Trebek Forum for Dialogue will be used throughout the project, and reflect the activities outlined in the proposal.

  Any funds remaining at the end of the validity period indicated on the official notice of decision must be returned.

• The names of confirmed hub members, including their affiliations, as well as names of other stakeholders affiliated with the hub (research centres and institutes, government or community organizations, partners, etc.).
• An updated curriculum vitae for the principal investigator and each co-applicant, modelled on the sample CV issued by the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies (PDF, 95 KB) and covering the past eight years. Include any career gaps, such as those due to parental leave or illness, which may have affected your research trajectory. These will be taken into consideration during the selection process.
• The Request for Funds form (RE form) completed and signed by all parties.

General presentation of the application

Proposals, supporting documents and attachments must comply with the formatting and presentation standards generally accepted by funding councils:

• Single-spaced, with no more than six lines per inch
• Margins of at least 2 cm
• A sans serif font (such as Arial or other “sans” fonts), in black, 12 points, or any other comparable font — no smaller

Scholarly leadership and strategic positioning (35%)

• The relevance, quality and clarity of the hub’s vision, objectives and activities; their alignment with one of the intended strategic themes; and the added value of the hub compared to existing initiatives
• The team’s scholarly leadership and the credibility of the expertise engaged in the intended field
• The hub’s ability to position uOttawa as a local, national and/or international leader in a strategic area to shape Canada’s future 

Critical mass and interdisciplinarity (25%)

• The hub’s ability to engage a critical mass of expertise in tackling shared goals
• The diversity, complementarity and integration of expertise and fields involved, including input from early-career researchers
• The quality of the proposed model for interdisciplinary collaboration and its potential to promote lasting collaborations between researchers from a range of fields 

Partnerships, knowledge mobilization and public policy impact (25%)

• The quality and relevance of the proposed approach to knowledge mobilization, including engagement of knowledge users throughout hub activities
• The hub’s potential to promote knowledge use in order to inform public policy, practices and decision-making
• The hub’s ability to develop lasting strategic partnerships that promote knowledge mobilization and use locally, nationally and/or internationally 

Hub governance and long-term stability (15%)

• The quality of the proposed governance structure and operating model
• The hub’s potential to establish itself as a platform for lasting, transformative collaboration at uOttawa
• The credibility of the strategy to ensure the long-term stability of the hub, including by cultivating new collaborations, strategic partnerships and complementary funding sources 

Applications will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary selection committee whose members are appointed by the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation. Committee decisions are final and cannot be appealed. 

Principal investigators must submit their applications by 4 p.m. on January 15, 2027.

Email your application in a single PDF file to [email protected]. Use the subject line “Trebek hub 2027.” 

The grant recipient commits to writing a mid-term report at the end of Year 1 of the project as well as an end-of-project report on activities, results and dissemination of work carried out as a result of the funding. These two- to three-page reports must be submitted to the Office of Public Policy Research and Outreach as well as the vice-president, research and innovation, by the established deadline. The end-of-project report must be submitted no later than three months after the grant end date.

For more information, email the Office of Public Policy Research and Outreach at [email protected].