Research & Innovation

Deadline February 29, 2008 at 4pm

The Ryerson International Initiatives Fund (RIIF), created by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (VPRI), will provide financial support to Ryerson academic units that wish to undertake strategic academic initiatives in India, China, and other key economies around the world. This internal fund is the University's response to requests from the Ryerson community for support to undertake a broad range of international activities.

The first call for proposals garnered a total of 31 submissions - eight each involving India and China, and another 15 for projects elsewhere in the world. $105,000 of the total $300,000 was disbursed among seven proposals; $30,000 to initiatives in India, $45,000 for those in China and $30,000 for projects elsewhere. The amount remaining for proposals submitted under the second call is $195,000. $70,000 is available for initiatives targeting India, $55,000 for China and $70,000 for those elsewhere.

The objective of the RIIF is to strengthen the capacity of Ryerson's academic units to secure external funding for international collaborative projects with strategic partners in Canada and overseas, by providing seed funding to support the strengthening of the partnerships and development of the initiatives. The resulting partnerships should create innovative international learning opportunities for Ryerson students and international research activities for faculty and graduate students.

Project proposals will be approved for funding to a maximum of $15K, and Faculties with approved RIIF grants will be required to demonstrate commitment to the initiative. This must include a contribution of an additional $5K to the proposed project's budget. Funding from an approved RIIF grant will be available to the academic unit for an eighteen-month period following the award of the grant. An extension of up to an additional six months may be approved by the VPRI on a case-by-case basis, if there are unspent funds at the end of the eighteen months; all unspent funds are to be returned to the VPRI on completion of the initiative.

A completed online RIIF application form and proposal must be submitted by 4 pm February 29, 2008 to the Office of the VPRI. The Ryerson International Advisory Committee, which includes representation from all Faculties, the Chang School of Continuing Education, the Library and the Office of the Registrar, will review applications and recommend the award of grants to the VPRI.

The review panel will evaluate all applications and select the winning proposals through a competitive process.

Unsuccessful applicants from the first call are free to submit revised proposals.

This program will be administered by the Office of the Vice President, Research and Innovation (VPRI). Contact David Begg in the Office of International Affairs at 416-979-5000 ext. 4078 or dbegg@ryerson.ca.

This program is currently on hold.

Please note that the budgeting process at Ryerson is done on an annual basis and as these programs are multi-year programs, the commitments are therefore subject to annual approval.