History
From 1995 to 2020, Aurora College ran a grant program that awarded funding for mostly external research projects taking place in the Northwest Territories (NWT). Grants were administered through two funding programs – the Research Assistantship and the Research Fellowship. These were intended to promote the development of research capacity in the NWT, research that was beneficial to the NWT and its residents, and research that supported the meaningful participation of northerners in research.
The Aurora College grant programs ran largely unchanged between 2011 and 2020; however, much changed at the College and across the NWT during this time. In 2014, the College achieved institutional eligibility to hold Tri-Agency funding. This accomplishment was followed by an expansion of research activity by Aurora College employees. The College increasingly partnered with community, Indigenous, and territorial organizations to lead and conduct northern-based research. In 2018, the Government of the NWT (GNWT) committed to transforming Aurora College into a polytechnic university which will increasingly lead, conduct, and participate in research as part of its mandate.
Program Review
In consideration of evolving institutional priorities, the Aurora College research grant programs were paused and an internal program review was launched in 2022. The program review evaluated its successes and shortfalls, and provided recommendations on how to revise the programs to better meet the needs of the College and NWT residents going forward. As a result of this program review, funding was redirected to support the creation of competitive grant programs that will directly benefit the College, its mission, and its mandate.
Revised Grants and Awards Program
Starting in the 2024-2025 academic year, new internal research grant and award programs and a new in-kind support program for external researchers were established. These grants and awards are reviewed by the Vice-President of Research, the Research Advisory Committee, and the College Board of Governors, and are subject to funding availability. They include four internal grant and award streams that provide research funding to Aurora College employees and students (the Start-up Grants, Strategic Grants, Research Assistant Grants, and Student Research Awards), and an external award stream which provides in-kind support to early career researchers from Canadian institutions who are working on research based in the NWT (the Visiting Early Career Researcher Awards).
These grant and award programs direct funding to research endeavours that directly benefit Aurora College, its mission, and its mandate. To learn more about any currently available funding opportunities, please email the Research Services Office at: research@auroracollege.ca.