Turn a conference into a contribution
After a successful bid, the Leaders Circle Research Grant funds a project tied to your sector, up to $50,000, so your conference creates a lasting impact.
What it is
The Leaders Circle Research Grant supports a project aligned with your conference’s area of focus. It is the program’s way of making sure a global meeting in Toronto advances the sector that gathered for it.
A grant that sets Toronto apart
Ambassadors choose to host their congress in Toronto for its capacity, its venues and hotels, and strength of their sector. The Leaders Circle Research Grant may not be the reason they bid, but it is what the program adds once the bid is won, funding that turns the meeting into lasting work in their sector, long after the delegates leave.
What it has funded
The research grant has supported work across many sectors: life sciences, technology, finance, sustainability, and access:
- A lupus treatment database: after the 16th International Congress on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
- The Canadian Soil Thin Section Collection database: 24th World Congress of Soil Science.
- Access for the next generation. A research grant tied to the 25th Congress of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing supported early-career attendance, helping students and young scientists take part, and opening the field to voices too often left out.
- Sustainability work: initiated during the 21st YMCA World Council.
Who is eligible, and when
The research grant supports what comes after a successful bid.
Ambassadors who played a leading role in bringing a conference to Toronto may be eligible to apply. The research grant supports what comes after a successful bid; it is not a precondition of one, and it is separate from any support during the bid itself.
Where more than one ambassador led a successful bid, one grant is available per meeting. The ambassadors decide among themselves who will apply, and they may apply together on a joint project. The grant is not divided between ambassadors.
How it works, and how we work with you
The process is collaborative. After a successful bid, you work with the team to shape a proposal that fits both your project and the research grant’s terms of reference. A committee reviews it, and there is room to adapt as the proposal takes shape. Once the grant is approved, the funding follows in the months after, and the project is yours to carry out, its results becoming part of your conference’s legacy.
To start, or to learn more: contact the team at connect@theleaderscircle.ca.
In their own words
“Because of the Leaders Circle’s generosity, delegates from across our movement were able to participate, learn, build relationships, and discover new possibilities for their leadership journey. Your grant was more than financial support—it was an investment in the next generation of changemakers.”
In their own words
“The Leaders Circle Research grant is helping support our efforts to digitize the Canadian Soil Thin Section collection.”
Questions about the research grant
More than you might expect. The grant funds a project that carries your conference’s impact forward, and “project” is read broadly. Past grants have built a research database, supported early-career and student access to a congress, and funded sustainability work. What matters is not the category, but that the project aligns with your field’s focus and offers lasting value. The team helps you shape an idea that fits, so if you have something in mind, it is worth raising.
After a successful bid, you work with the team to shape a proposal that fits your project and the grant’s terms of reference. A committee then reviews it, with room to adapt the proposal as it takes shape. Approved projects receive their funding in the months that follow. If you would like to understand the criteria in more detail before applying, the team can walk you through them.
Applications open after a bid succeeds, so the timing follows your conference rather than a fixed annual date. Once your bid is won, the team will point you to the current application window and what to prepare. The best time to start the conversation is soon after a win, while the project is fresh.