Funding, News and Announcements

We are pleased to announce the launch of the first “Human Dimensions - Open Data Challenge.”

On January 14^th, 2016, SSHRC will be launching a national open data challenge, organized as part of SSHRC’s Imagining Canada’s Future initiative, and with a focus on the future challenge area of: “How will the quest for natural resources and energy impact Canada’s position on the world stage”. The initiative is led in partnership by SSHRC, Compute Canada, the Ontario Centres of Excellence, and ThinkData Works.

The challenge is focused on identifying solutions (systems, processes as well as use of new technologies) to human dimension issues in the natural resources and energy.  It is open to teams led by a social sciences and humanities researcher in a postsecondary institution in Canada (and may also include non-SSH researchers, graduate students, international researchers or other experts).

Building on the goal of SSHRC’s Imagining Canada’s Future initiative, the objectives for the challenge are to:

• Build awareness and use of social sciences and humanities research and talent to enabling innovation, sustaining prosperity and improving quality of life;
• Engage students and researchers in social sciences and humanities in the use of open data; and
• Facilitate collaboration among academic, business, public and not-for-profit sectors.

The following question will be addressed:

What data, technology or process initiatives will mitigate or address critical business, policy, and social challenges in Canada’s natural resources and energy sectors through 2035?

Submissions will address one or more of the following issues, which were deemed as most critical through consultations with stakeholders in the natural resource and energy sector:

• Community engagement, particularly with Aboriginal communities
• Human resources, skills and competencies and mobility gaps
• Sustainability

This first Human Dimensions – Open Data Challenge also aligns with SSHRC’s strategic priority in the area of digital scholarship, by promoting the effective use of open data (note, this project has enabled new data sources to be more effectively accessible) and leverages the current focus on the future challenge area of Energy and Natural Resources.

The challenge will close on March 31, 2016.  In mid-April, five teams will be selected as finalists by a jury.  The top winning team will be selected and featured at the Imagining Canada’s Future Spring Forum, taking place in Calgary, in June.

All details for the challenge may be found on Compute Canada’s website. We encourage you to forward the following URL (WWW.SSHRC-CRSH.GC.CA/HDODC) to all researchers and stakeholder organizations this may be of interest to in terms of the challenge itself and/or the results.

Any questions about the challenge and/or to indicate whom you have disseminated the URL information to may be sent to the Manager, Stakeholder Engagement, Future Challenges, Chantal.Barton@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca.