About Membership in the Federation

Comprehensive and cost-effective services

Members access a host of economical services through the Federation, including:

Associations at Congress

Unrivaled in scope and impact, the annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences is known simply as “Congress.” This singular, flagship event is much more than Canada’s largest gathering of scholars across disciplines. Organized by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Congress brings together academics, researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners to share findings, refine ideas, and build partnerships that will help shape the Canada of tomorrow.

What can your association benefit from at Congress?

  • Increased collaboration and networking opportunities with other associations and researchers in the broader humanities and social sciences community
  • Access to Federation funding to develop your meeting program
  • Free rooms and meeting space
  • A team of professionals to support the coordination of logistics before and during Congress
  • The convenience of financial accounts set up by the Federation to manage revenues and expenses
  • Online and onsite registration handled by the Federation
  • Access to Congress Expo, the largest multidisciplinary scholarly book fair in North America
  • Discounts on hotel, air and ground transportation and a variety of delegates services onsite
  • A comprehensive website that serves as a hub for Congress planning and promotion
  • Visibility in the Congress delegate’s guides and on the Congress website
  • Professional communications staff who promote the research presented at Congress to a wide audience

Representation and visibility

Federation members are assured that their interests are represented and promoted to the federal government, policy-makers and the media. Member achievements and concerns are regularly conveyed to key ministers and policy-makers, parliamentary committees, caucuses, granting agencies and PSE stakeholder organizations. Federation representation also gives our members first-hand intelligence and understanding of key issues such as the federal budget, copyright, and SSHRC program architecture. 

Big Thinking series

Formerly known as Breakfast on the Hill, the Federation's Big Thinking lecture series lets leading researchers offer fresh ideas to Canada’s parliamentarians—and the results are often as big as the thinking. Perhaps more than any other program or lecture series, this one demonstrates the critical link between publicly funded research and policy development. Members can deliver Big Thinking lectures to Canada's politicians and policy community. For more information about our Big Thinking speaker series and our upcoming Big Thinking Lectures, click here.

Media relations and publicity

In the public realm, the achievements of our scholars become known to people across Canada through our professional media outreach program mounted during Congress and at strategic moments year round.  Members also gain visibility through our website.

General Assembly 

Federation member associations and institutions each appoint a General Assembly Representative from within their organization. The “GA Rep” is the primary connection between the Federation and the association or institution. General Assembly representatives also meet at our Annual General Meeting. For more information, click here. 

Funding and awards

Our members are able to tap into a range of Federation funding and award opportunities, including the:

Awards to Scholarly Publications Program

The Awards to Scholarly Publications Program (ASPP) is a key activity of the Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences. The ASPP is a competitive funding program designed to assist with the publication of scholarly books on topics in the humanities and social sciences.  For more information, click here. 

Canada Prizes

The Canada Prizes are awarded annually to the best scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences that have received funding from the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program ( ASPP).
Celebrating the best Canadian scholarly books—not simply within a single academic discipline, but across all the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences—the Canada Prizes are awarded to books that make an exceptional contribution to scholarship, are engagingly written, and enrich the social, cultural and intellectual life of Canada. For more information, click here.

International Keynote Speaker fund

The International Keynote Speaker Support fund was established to encourage and support the participation of international scholars of distinction at Congress. Through a competitive process, associations receive funding to stage high-profile keynote events with international speakers.
Keynotes supported by the fund must be open to all registered attendees, should be fully integrated into the associations’ program and will be promoted by the Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences. For more information, contact [email protected].

Aid for Interdisciplinary Sessions program

The Aid for Interdisciplinary Sessions fund was established to encourage and support interdisciplinarity at Congress. Each year, associations can apply to receive funding which helps to defray costs associated with staging joint sessions. Associations are strongly encouraged to work together to facilitate dialogue and interchange of knowledge. For more information, contact [email protected].

Get involved

Members can contribute to the Federation's advocacy efforts to influence policy that affects research (e.g., blue ribbon panels, policy dialogues, committee appearances), volunteer as representatives on the General Assembly (which meets annually to review the Federation's strategic directions), or seek election to the national Board of Directors, a prestigious two-year not-for-profit governance appointment.

For more information about membership or becoming a member, please contact us at [email protected] or 613-238-6112 ext 309.