Research Funding and Grants

Administrative support and oversight for grant applications and grant management at Red Deer Polytechnic is provided by the Office of Research and Scholarship. This work is supported in part by the Government of Canada's Research Support Fund.

Information about available funding opportunities, including deadlines and the application process, is available in the Research Funding section of the Research Common website.

RDP-SSHRC Internal Grants

The Office of Research and Scholarship is pleased to announce the inaugural recipients of the Red Deer Polytechnic - Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Internal Grants: Dr. Laura Davis and Dr. Anah-Jayne Samuelson.
 
Dr. Laura Davis, School of Arts and Culture, was awarded a $3,000 Explore Grant for a new research project examining noted Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s archival papers for correspondence with environmental organizations. In her project, “Margaret Atwood and Literatures of the Environment,” Dr. Davis will engage in original archival research at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto to discover how and to what extent Atwood’s environmental activism has enabled protections of the environment, and, by extension, what her contributions suggest about Canadian literature and its impact on environmental policies and social change.  
 
Dr. Anah-Jayne Samuelson, School of Arts and Culture, was awarded a $1,000.00 Exchange Grant to present her work on David A. Robertson’s (Norway House Cree) children’s novel The Barren Grounds (2020) at the International Research in Children’s Literature Congress in 2023. Her presentation, “Indigenous Resurgence through Wahkohtowin: David A. Robertson's Re-imagining of Canada's Foster Care System in The Barren Grounds” and the feedback she receives at this conference will inform the revision of her work for publication. 
 
What is an RDP-SSHRC Internal Grant? It is a one-year grant administered by the Office of Research and Scholarship to support research in all SSHRC disciplines, made possible by funding Red Deer Polytechnic receives through a SSHRC Intuitional Grant. If you have questions about the RDP-SSHRC Internal Grants, please email the researchscholarshipoffice [at] rdpolytech [dot] ca (Office of Research and Scholarship). Calls for the fall application cycle will be forthcoming. 

Stantec Research Fund

Red Deer Polytechnic received a donation from Stantec to establish the Stantec Research Fund, which supports faculty research projects developed and completed in partnership with community organizations or groups and specifically related to marginalized communities in central Alberta. Two grants were awarded for $1,250 each:

• Lois Maplethorpe, “Exploring Home Literacy and Language Practices Within the Context of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being”

• Dr. Krista Robson, “Post-Secondary Student Homelessness: Informing Prevention through Qualitative Analysis”

Funded Research at Red Deer Polytechnic

NSERC College & Communication Innovation Program — Technology Access Centre (TAC) Grant
Project Title: Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing — Technology Access Centre (CIM-TAC)
Principal Investigator: Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing (CIM)
External Partners: Central Alberta Access Prosperity, Catapult Entrepreneurs

NSERC College and Community Innovation Program — Build Innovation Enhancement (IE) Grant; Canda Foundation for Innovation (CFI) College – Industry Innovation Fund Stream 2; Alberta Jobs, Economy and Innovation Research Capacity Program
Project Title: Alternative Energy Management
Principal Investigator: Alternative Energy Lab (AEL)
External Partners: CBI Solar, EQUS, FortisAlberta Inc., Kuby Renewable Energy Ltd., Morgan Solar Inc., Stolz Williams Consulting, Suncor Energy Inc., Sunfind Solar Products Ltd.

College & Community Innovation – Engage Grants
Project Title: Increasing Machining Productivity of Inconel Components
Principal Investigator:CIM-TAC
External Partner: Lee Specialties

Project Title: Correlating Residual Stress to Tribology and Mechanical Testing in Quantitative Measurement of Deep Cryogenically Treated Parts
Principal Investigator: CIM-TAC
External Partner: Deep Cryogenics International

Project Title: Optimizing Battery Usage with Solar/Natural Gas Backup
Principal Investigator: AEL
External Partner: Cream Energy Group

College & Community Innovation – Engage Grants & Alberta Innovates – Campus Alberta Small Business Engagement Grants
Project Title: Optimizing Water Usage in a Mechanical Solar Panel Cleaning Device
Principal Investigator: CIM-TAC
External Partner: Wash-Bots Canada Ltd.

College & Community Innovation – Applied Research and Technology Partnerships Grant (ARTP) 
Project Title: Using Advanced Manufacturing to Lower the Cost of Customizable Assistive Health Care Devices 
Principal Investigator: CIM-TAC