About the Federation

An influential national voice

*NEW* Read our Annual report 2014

The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences is the national voice and public policy advocate for Canada’s scholars, students and practitioners in the humanities and social sciences.

We are a not-for-profit charitable organization with a mandate to:

  • Promote the value of research and learning in the humanities and social sciences
  • Support the dissemination of knowledge to the public and the public policy community
  • Provide a range of services to individual members and member institutions

Created in 1996, we represent a long tradition of academic excellence in Canadian universities across a rich spectrum of disciplines. Our membership comprises over 80 scholarly associations, 79 institutions and six affiliate organizations, representing 85,000 researchers, educators and students across Canada.

We work closely with many partners, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, other federal research-granting agencies, postsecondary groups and organizations with a stake in Canadian R&D and innovation.

As the voice of our country’s learned societies, academic institutions and other organizations with a direct interest in social sciences and humanities scholarship, the Federation aims to:

  • Organizes Canada’s largest annual gathering of academics, the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Brings leading scholars to Parliament Hill at regular intervals to discuss public policy and public relevance in our Big Thinking lecture series
  • Supports the publication and sharing of new ideas through our Awards to Scholarly Publications Program
  • Provides policy analysis on issues that affect Canada’s scholarly community
  • Offers membership benefits ranging from help with association membership renewal to insurance programs

Vision

In advancing equity, diversity, knowledge, excellence and innovation, the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences contributes tangibly to a free and democratic society.

Mission

The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences promotes research, scholarship, creative activity and learning, and works to foster understanding of the contributions made by the humanities and the social sciences to Canada and the world.

Publications

Annual reports

Financial statements

Click here to read our advocacy principles.

Strategic Directions – Renewal of the Federation’s Strategic Plan

The Board of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences has initiated a strategic planning process that is taking place over the next year. As we want this planning process to be as inclusive as possible, we are reaching out to Federation members, key partners and other interested parties to solicit their input. The goal is to develop a strategic plan that benefits from a high degree of buy-in from all parties and will be implemented with energy and focus.

As part of this process we want to make sure the Federation maintains its relevance to our members and builds on the successes of the current strategic framework while strengthens the Federation’s focus and ability to allocate resources lined to key activities.

This consultation is linked to the Federation’s vision and mandate: by advancing equity, diversity, knowledge, excellence and innovation, the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences contributes tangibly to a free and democratic society. The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences promotes research, scholarship, creative activity and learning in these disciplines, and works to foster society's understanding of these contributions for Canada and the world.  

We greatly value your input in this process and invite you to fill out this short questionnaire to provide us with feedback to help us better shape our future strategic directions.

In order to help you to better reflect on your answers, please feel free to consult the documents below: