Building a better Saskatoon through research

Research Junction is a collaboration between the City of Saskatoon and Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives to support the development of joint research projects that address contemporary urban issues for the benefit of Saskatoon residents. As the City and university continue to grow together, combining the expertise of City staff with the aspirations of USask's students and researchers will help shape a vibrant culture of discovery and innovation. 

This is a major initiative under the USask-City of Saskatoon Memorandum of Understanding. Research Junction builds bridges between City of Saskatoon staff and USask students and researchers by supporting partnership development, navigating administrative processes, and promoting opportunities.

Research Junction Workshop 2024

Research Junction Workshop 2024 Planning Committee:
Phani Adapa, Director, Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives, University of Saskatchewan
Dan Willems, Director of Technical Services, Transportation and Construction, City of Saskatoon
Galen Heinrichs, Regional Services Manager, Saskatoon Water, City of Saskatoon
Stryker Calvez, Director of Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI), Strategy and Transformation, City of Saskatoon
Sarah Rutley, Data, GIS, and Maps Librarian, University Library, University of Saskatchewan and Academic Director, SKY-RDC
Morgana Machea, Programs Officer, Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives, University of Saskatchewan
Leah Houseman, Programs Officer, Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives, University of Saskatchewan
Meaghan Risling, Programs Coordinator, Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives, University of Saskatchewan

Celebrating research partnerships between the City of Saskatoon and University of Saskatchewan

In 2019, USask and the City of Saskatoon funded their first projects through the 2019 Research Junction Development Grant. This joint initiative supported five research partnerships focused on urban issues with the 2019 Research Junction Development Grant. Since then, four projects were funded by the 2020 Research Junction Development Grant, an additional four projects by the 2021 Research Junction Development Grant, and three projects by the 2022 Research Junction Development Grant.

 

If you've had a successful research partnership between the City of Saskatoon and USask, whether part of an internship program, data sharing, funded or unfunded research, tell us about it. We are always looking for new stories and partnerships to capture and highlight!

Research Stories and Impact

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Funding Opportunities

Research Junction Seed Grants will support the University of Saskatchewan (USask) and City of Saskatoon in their efforts to kickstart new research partnerships in response to the 2024 Research Junction Workshop. Individual seed grants of up to $5000 will be awarded to up to 8 new projects, carried out by USask faculty in partnership with City of Saskatoon staff.

These projects will explore and develop capacity, new partnerships and promising new ideas that lead to an application to fund a future research project. The projects should create a new collaborative partnership or broaden the scope of an existing partnership. This one-time seed grant supports small-scale activities intended to explore and develop future research projects.

Competition details can be found here.

The application form can be found here.

Submit applications to UnivRS by 06 December 2024 at 4:00pm. All submissions are subject to UnivRS approvals and compliance checks over the following five business days.

The City of Saskatoon and University of Saskatchewan have launched a request for proposals for the 2024 Research Junction Development Grant to support research projects carried out by USask researchers in partnership with City of Saskatoon staff. The Research Junction Development Grant will provide a total of $100,000 in funding. Individual grants may range from $10,000 to $30,000. 

This year's competition has added new criteria which emphasizes the importance of a strong knowledge mobilization or transfer plan to move the research outcomes beyond the academic sphere.

Competition details can be found here.

The application form can be found here.

Submit applications to UnivRS by 17 May 2024 at 4:00pm. All submissions are subject to UnivRS approvals and compliance checks over the following five business days.

If you have an idea for a research poject and need help finding a partner, please contact research.junction@usask.ca and we can facilitate the process. Please note, partnership identification and facilitation can take up to a month before work begins on proposal development. 

USask and City research partnerships can look for other funding opportunities to apply to. Please work with your college research facilitator to identify an opportunity, or consider any of the following: 

Contact research.junction@usask.ca to let us know if you are applying to a funding opportunity so that we can provide support when needed. If you are successful, let us know so that we can help celebrate and highlight your success!

Research Project Support

Research Junction can support City staff and USask researchers who are interested in developing a research partnership. We can work with you to identify the best person at the City or university for you to partner with, while supporting you through the partnership development stage and navigating administrative processes at both organizations.

Step 1: Contact research.junction@usask.ca to share your idea for a research project. If you need help finding a City expert or USask researcher to work with, we can help you identify a partner.

Step 2: Develop a research project with your partner. Research Junction can help facilitate this process.

Step 3: Sign a project agreement under the Master Research Agreement to enable collaboration.

Step 4: Showcase your research project with Research Junction 

We support a range of research projects, including:

  • Research projects supported by in-kind contributions.
  • Externally funded grants and projects on which the City and USask partner.
  • City-driven research with ear-marked funding for research purposes.
  • City data for research purposes.
  • Research Junction Development Grants.
  • Work placements through internships or co-op placements.
  • Course-based research projects, First Year Research Experience, or 4th year capstone projects.
  • Paid employment through Undergraduate Summer Research Assistantships, Mitacs, or others.
  • Masters or PhD thesis work.

The City of Saskatoon and the University of Saskatchewan have a data licensing agreement that enables USask researchers to request and access City data via the University Library. Interested students, faculty, and staff can find out more by contacting the library.

City of Saskatoon employees are invited to contact the Data & GIS Librarian with questions about access to Library services, and for general research support.

Contact:

Sarah Rutley
Data & GIS Librarian
sarah.rutley@usask.ca

UrbanFYRE is an approach to hosting a First Year Research Experience course with a focus on local, urban issues. Capitalizing on the data licensing agreement between the City of Saskatoon and University of Saskatchewan, UrbanFYRE courses explore research topics of local relevance and may incorporate City data.

Faculty interested in adapting their FYRE course to an UrbanFYRE course can contact Mandy Fehr at undergraduate.research@usask.ca. Mandy can connect faculty with the best library resource to help identify your data needs.

Contact

USask researchers can contact:
Meaghan Risling
Programs Coordinator, Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives
306-966-7295


City of Saskatoon staff can contact:
Galen Heinrichs
Strategy and Transformation, City of Saskatoon
306-975-7522