How to Write a One-Page SSHRC Knowledge Mobilization Plan

You have one page. Ontario Tech University's guide for SSHRC Insight Grant applicants puts the problem bluntly: "publications and conference presentations are no longer sufficient on their own." Yet the most common knowledge mobilization plan still reads like a list of journals and conferences, written the night before the internal deadline.

This guide is for Insight Grant and Insight Development Grant applicants writing between September and February. It covers how the plan is scored, what SSHRC asks it to contain, the budget lines that have to match it, and a template you can paste in and fill. For the page limits across SSHRC programs, see our knowledge mobilization tools for SSHRC and CIHR, and for health research, our guide to the CIHR end-of-grant KT plan.

Where the Plan Is Scored

SSHRC's reviewers score the plan under Feasibility. For the October 2026 Insight Grant competition, the weights are Challenge 40%, Feasibility 20% and Capability 40%, and one Feasibility sub-criterion is the "quality and appropriateness of knowledge mobilization plans, including effective dissemination, exchange and engagement with stakeholders within and/or beyond the research community, where applicable." SSHRC's merit review manual confirms that committee members evaluate the plan "according to the related Feasibility subcriterion."

Twenty percent sounds small until you read the threshold: Insight Grant applications "must receive a score of 3.0 or higher for each of the three criteria to be recommended for funding." The plan also echoes in the other two criteria. Capability looks back at "evidence of past knowledge mobilization activities", and the expected outcomes you list sit under Challenge.

The Insight Development Grant works the same way with different numbers: Challenge 50%, Feasibility 20%, Capability 30%. Its scores run "from 1.00 to 6.00, with 1.00 being the highest," and each criterion must score in the "Moderate" range (5.16 to 4.34) or better to be recommended for funding. At the time of writing (October 2026), SSHRC's Insight Development Grants page lists the February 2027 competition with a November 2026 launch, so check the new instructions when they appear.

What the Page Has to Contain

The Insight Grant instructions ask for "a plan to increase knowledge uptake by target audiences, and anticipated outputs, outcomes and/or impacts", and name three things the plan must cover:

1. "methodologies and approaches to engage appropriate target audiences or participants"
2. "timeframes or a schedule for the intended knowledge mobilization activities"
3. "justifications for how the above points fit within the project's particular knowledge mobilization objectives"

Use those three as the skeleton of your page. Reviewers are reading against them.

Name Audiences From SSHRC's Own List

The instructions list who your work might reach: "diverse groups of researchers, policy-makers, business leaders, community groups, educators, media, international audiences, practitioners, decision-makers and the general public." Pick two to four, then make each one specific. "Policy-makers" becomes the branch of a named ministry that runs the program you studied.

Keep the plan consistent with the rest of the form. The Ontario Tech guide advises: "Ensure that each of the target audiences that you identify under 'Audiences' is accounted for in your Knowledge Mobilization Plan."

Put a Time Beside Every Activity

SSHRC asks for "timeframes or a schedule". Months or project stages beside each activity are enough, as long as a reviewer can see what happens in the first year and what waits for results. For an Insight Development Grant, there is also a separate one-page timelines attachment where "Charts and tables are strongly encouraged."

Justify Each Choice and Say How You Will Know It Worked

SSHRC's guidelines for effective knowledge mobilization say applicants "should develop indicators to gauge the success of their knowledge mobilization plan" at the outset. They give an example of an indicator of success: applicants "might indicate that, by the end of the first year, the researcher will have had a specific number of meetings with key stakeholders." They also ask "How will interactions be sustained beyond the life of the project?" SSHRC's August 2026 Insight Grant webinar adds three lines worth taking literally: "Be creative and original. Provide a clear rationale for your plan." "Reach the target populations or the general public, where appropriate." "Describe how you will maximize the impact of your research results and ensure their sustainability."

What Research Offices Flag

University research offices see the same weaknesses every round. Ontario Tech's October 2025 Insight Grant guide tells applicants to avoid lines like "we plan to mobilize the results of our research among an academic audience by presenting at international conferences and publishing in top-tier journals," to "specify which conferences you will present at, and where and when they will take place," and, for a website, to "explain who will develop and maintain it, what type of content will it feature, and how your targeted audiences will become aware of it."

The University of Ottawa's SSHRC knowledge mobilization checklist reads like a reviewer's notes: goals "clearly identified for each audience", evaluation "addressed", activities in the timeline, "the level of engagement of students" described, and the resources "included in the budget."

The Budget Lines That Have to Match

Every activity on the page needs a cost, or a reason it costs nothing. The Insight Grant instructions ask you to justify costs including those "for communicating results to audiences, stakeholders and the public", and list eligible costs that include "open access publishing activities", "dissemination in both official languages" and "promotion and support of official language minority communities." Travel "for communication purposes (e.g., conference travel)" is shown separately.

Know the limits before you write the plan:

• Insight Grant funds "cannot be used for remuneration and/or the travel and subsistence costs of presenters or guest speakers," and cannot be used to remunerate team members.
• Consulting fees are allowed for expert, professional and technical services that contribute directly to the research, as long as "the service is not being provided by a team member" or by anyone eligible to hold a SSHRC grant. Check with your research office how a contractor or service for video, design or translation should be listed.
• SSHRC's webinar says open access costs "are assessed in relation to the quality and relevance of the knowledge mobilization plan," and that applicants "must demonstrate and justify their choice of publication venues."
• Students can build these skills as part of their training. SSHRC's guidelines for effective research training list "knowledge mobilization and dissemination" among them.

The budget rules have teeth: under the Insight Grant instructions, if 30% or more of the budget is insufficiently justified, the project may fail Feasibility.

Formatting the One Page

For an Insight Grant, the plan is a one-page PDF attachment, and the instructions warn: "You must follow the specified requirements for margins and font size, or your application will be deemed ineligible." SSHRC's instructions do not restate the numbers. The University of Calgary's 2024 Insight Grant guide lists them as a minimum 12 pt Times New Roman font, no more than 6 lines of type per inch, and margins of at least 3/4 inch (1.87 cm). Check your own research office's current guide before you finalise. For an Insight Development Grant, the plan is a 2,000-character field, so the template below has a short version too.

A Paste-Ready Template

Start with the decision or use your research could inform, then name the people who can act on it. Replace the brackets, keep only relevant activities, and agree responsibilities and resources with partners before promising them. The Word download places the Insight Grant draft on its own page, with adaptation notes and a shorter Insight Development Grant version on page two.

Purpose and intended use. We will share findings on [topic] with [named audiences] to support [specific decision, practice or public discussion]. By [date], we aim to [realistic, measurable objective]. These audiences matter because [connection to the research and its use].

Academic audiences. [Owner] will prepare [number] open access articles for [journals] and present at [conference, date], chosen because [relevance to the field]. We will share [data or code, where appropriate] through [repository] and invite feedback through [channel].

Policy and practice audiences. [Owner and partner] will work with [named unit or professional group] on [decision or need]. At [project stage], we will provide [brief, workshop or other output] through [trusted channel]. We will request [specific feedback or follow-up] to understand how the findings could be used.

Community and public audiences. [Owner] will prepare [formats, such as a plain-language summary, video, audio or infographic] for [named community]. [Partner or channel] will distribute them at [stage]. We chose these formats because [audience preference or access need], and will invite responses through [method].

Timing and delivery. Months [x to y]: confirm audience priorities with [partners]. Months [x to y]: prepare and share findings as they become available. By [date]: review feedback and deliver [synthesis or final activity]. [Lead] coordinates delivery; [students] develop [skills and outputs] with [supervisor].

Costs and resources. The budget allocates $[amount] for [activity, quantity and unit cost], $[amount] for [translation or accessibility], and $[amount] for [distribution, events or hosting]. [Partner] contributes [confirmed in-kind support]. Each selected activity has a cost or named existing resource, an owner and a matching budget justification.

Evidence of reach and use. [Owner] will record [outputs delivered] and [audience reach, such as attendance or downloads] at [intervals]. To assess use, we will seek [feedback, requests for follow-up or documented uptake] from [audience] by [date]. We will compare results with [targets] and adjust [activities] where needed.

Access and sustainability. We will provide [languages and accessible formats] suited to [audiences], with [owner] checking accuracy and access. Dissemination will respect consent and confidentiality. [Unit] will maintain [materials and links] at [location] for [period], using [confirmed resource]. We will follow the applicable open access policy.

The 2,000-Character Version for an Insight Development Grant

This draft is 1,216 characters including spaces before you replace the brackets. Check the final character count after adding your details, and keep the timing consistent with your separate timelines attachment.

Plan. We will share findings on [topic] with [audiences] to support [decision or practice] by [date]. Researchers: [number] open access articles in [journals] and a presentation at [conference, date], led by [owner]. [Named policy or practice group]: [brief or workshop] at [stage], delivered with [partner] through [channel] because [audience need]. We will seek [feedback or follow-up]. [Community]: [plain-language summary, video, audio or infographic] through [trusted channel], in [languages and accessible formats]. Months [x to y]: confirm priorities; [x to y]: share emerging findings; by [date]: review feedback and deliver [final output]. The timelines attachment gives the schedule. [Lead] coordinates delivery; [students] produce [outputs] with [supervision]. The budget justifies [quantities and costs] for production, access and distribution; [partner] provides [confirmed in-kind support]. [Owner] will record outputs and [reach measure], and assess [evidence of use] against [target] at [intervals]. We will adapt [activities] in response. [Unit] will maintain materials at [location] for [period] using [resource]. Dissemination will respect consent, confidentiality and the applicable open access policy.

Download the editable Word template, with a one-page Insight Grant draft, the shorter version and a submission checklist.

Where Amplify Fits

If you choose video, audio or an infographic for a published paper, those production tasks can share one service. Amplify takes the PDF of each paper and generates a video abstract of about 3 minutes, a vertical short of 45 to 60 seconds, an audio brief in English (with 21 more languages on request, including French) and a one-page, print-ready infographic, from that file and nothing else. Every piece carries the title, the authors and a link back to the paper of record.

Each format arrives as three variants you can edit line by line, a person reviews every format before it is released, and nothing publishes until you approve it. The embeddable widget puts every format beside the paper on your project page, and its analytics record reads, listens, questions asked and languages, which can supply the reach measures in your plan. If you name it in your plan, list it as a per-paper production cost and confirm with your research office how to present it in the budget.

A reviewer should be able to read your page and picture who hears about the work, when, in what form, and what it costs. Write it that way and the one page earns its place in the Feasibility score.

See what Amplify makes from one paper