The Dimensions Canada program invites postsecondary institutions to carry out transformations to increase equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within their organizations and to contribute to deeper cultural change within the research ecosystem by identifying and eliminating obstacles and inequities. This program’s goals are to foster equitable access to funding opportunities, to promote equity and inclusion for the people who participate in them and to ensure that EDI issues are considered in research plans and practices.

Dimensions Canada grants are designed to strengthen institutions’ competencies in building EDI and to facilitate the creation of tools and resources to:

• build and cultivate a research community in which all members can thrive
• evaluate the impacts and sustainability of EDI initiatives
• encourage innovative collaborative projects that bring together colleges, organizations, industry partners, researchers, students and universities to address systemic problems related to EDI
• promote constructive partnerships with equity-deserving groups1 so that they support the initiatives taken to eliminate obstacles and fight discrimination
• provide training to institutions’ staff and management, including training on accessibility and anti-ableism
• build institutions’ capacities to effect organizational and systemic change.

Dimensions Canada grants are aligned with the three principles of the Dimensions Canada recognition program’s inclusive assessment framework:

1. centrality of voices of equity-deserving groups
2. mutuality and co-operation
3. context-specific evidence.

The objective of the Dimensions Canada program is to strengthen the Canadian research ecosystem by advancing EDI through collaboration and mobilization of resources to optimize the sharing of knowledge. This program is based on the premise that institutions’ EDI commitments extend beyond their own communities. Dimensions Canada grant applications must clearly show how the members of the project team will collaborate and co-create resources so as to maximize impact on the entire research community and contribute more broadly to transforming the culture of this ecosystem.

The project teams must develop projects that:

• are based on evidence (data collection, research, lived experiences, literature reviews, etc.)
• may benefit the entire postsecondary research ecosystem
• will create tools and resources to fill known gaps and meet known needs, or will develop and apply existing tools and resources
• involve multiple disciplines within the natural sciences and engineering, social sciences and humanities, or health sciences
• strengthen organizations’ and institutions’ EDI competencies.

To submit an application for a Dimensions Canada grant, postsecondary institutions must form a group composed of at least two institutions, at least one of which one of which must be or have been part of a Dimensions Canada recognition program cohort.

All member institutions of this group must:

• agree to the terms and conditions for applying (through their respective representatives)
• sign the Dimensions Charter, (if they have not already done so)
• collectively designate one (and only one) institution as the lead applicant (this institution must appear on the list of NSERC-eligible postsecondary institutions and cannot be the lead applicant for another Dimensions grant).

The co-applicant institutions in the group must appear on the list of eligible postsecondary institutions for at least one of the three federal granting agencies:

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Every grant application must have the support of the lead-applicant institution. A senior member of the administration of this institution, such as the Vice-President (Research), must therefore approve and sign the Terms and conditions for applying form on that institution’s behalf. A copy of this form must also be signed by a representative of every co-applicant institution in the group.

Note: The Dimensions Canada program encourages institutions that want to apply for a grant to select the members of their group so as to reflect the diversity and realities of the institutions in Canada’s postsecondary research ecosystem. The goal is to encourage greater consideration of the value added to the project by forming a diverse group of institutions among which equitable participation and shared decision-making are encouraged.

A wide range of activities are eligible, but all projects must be evidence-based and fill a gap or meet a need on the EDI landscape. Project teams may either innovate or develop existing activities. In the latter case, the activities to be developed must benefit a community broader than the individual institutions composing the group, have a regional or national scope and be fully accessible to all Canadian institutions, in both official languages.

Here are some examples of eligible activities:

• creating and delivering hybrid workshops for institutions participating in the Dimensions program
• developing, implementing and delivering an ongoing mentorship program
• creating, developing and managing a network that administers the communities of practice and a centralized inventory of resources
• creating and presenting webinars on various issues related to EDI culture, ableism in the research community, reconciliation and other subjects
• developing documents that supplement and enhance the Dimensions handbook.

Applications must demonstrate how the proposed projects will meet the objectives of the Dimensions Canada grants program. Regional or provincial projects must also identify the expected benefits at the national level.

The resources and tools developed in the funded projects will bear the Dimensions Canada brand, with credit lines identifying the project teams that developed them. These resources and tools must be produced in both official languages, in formats accessible to a wider audience, so that institutions do not have to create their own versions themselves.

All eligible applications will be reviewed by a committee of experts with various backgrounds. These committee members must respect the confidentiality of the review process and documents and must declare any real, potential or apparent conflicts of interest.

The committee will evaluate all applications according to the following selection criteria.

A. Potential impact (40%)

• The proposed project will eliminate obstacles, fill gaps or meet needs that have been demonstrated and have been reported by equity-deserving groups.
• The project team plans on finding constructive, appropriate ways of engaging experts, staff and equity-deserving groups in identifying gaps, planning and executing the project and then measuring its impacts.
• The project proposal describes how the tools and resources created or developed can be adapted to the various institutions in Canada, whatever their size or type.
• The proposal includes communication, networking and assessment plans that will maximize the project’s impacts on institutions, provinces and territories and on Canada as a whole.
• The proposal clearly articulates the appropriateness of the proposed budget in relation to the activities, expected outcomes and overall impacts of the project.

B. Collaboration (40%)

• The proposal shows that the project-team members are familiar with the Canadian postsecondary research ecosystem and aware of current EDI initiatives and that they will apply existing knowledge and practices to carry the project out successfully and meet its stated objectives.
• The proposal shows how the lead-applicant and co-applicant institutions, project-team members, associated equity-deserving individuals and groups and other participating organizations will collaboratively mobilize their communities, experience, knowledge and resources to achieve the desired outcomes, without overburdening these equity-deserving individuals and groups.
• The proposal shows how the members of equity-deserving groups will play a leading role in the project and work collaboratively to fill the gaps and meet the needs identified in the research ecosystem.

C. Commitment and knowledge (20%)

• The proposal shows how the commitments and the contributions in cash or in kind from the institutions submitting the application (which must total at least 20% of the grant amount) will contribute to the organization, smooth operation and success of the project.
• The proposal shows that the institutions submitting the application have a commitment to meeting the needs of equity-deserving groups within the Canadian postsecondary research ecosystem through evidence-based inquiry and practices.
• The proposal shows the extent and relevance of the applying institutions’ knowledge and experience in developing and supporting EDI initiatives within the research ecosystem and presents the lessons learned through their participation in such initiatives.

Successful institutions will be notified in March 2026.

Institutions that receive grants will have to implement their strategies rapidly and, at the end of their projects, submit reports to NSERC presenting all of the tools and resources that they have created or developed.

• Handbook for postsecondary institutions applying for recognition / Dimensions: equity, diversity and inclusion Canada
• Equity, diversity and inclusion (Dimensions pilot phase)
• Evaluation of the Dimensions Program (pilot phase)
• NSERC guide on integrating equity, diversity and inclusion considerations in research
• Best practices in equity, diversity and inclusion in research practice and design
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Post-Secondary Research System

• 1

  Equity-deserving groups include women, Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), persons with disabilities, members of visible minority or racialized groups, and members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities, as well as individuals who identify as or belong to more than one of these groups. The term “equity-deserving groups” was chosen when the Dimensions Canada recognition program was co-developed.