IVADO and Connected Minds Open RISE Seed Grants for Responsible AI Research
IVADO and Connected Minds have launched RISE, a seed grant competition that will fund up to three joint research projects at the intersection of artificial intelligence, neuroscience and society. Each project can receive up to $125,000 for one year.
- IVADO and Connected Minds launched the RISE seed grant competition on 5 October 2026.
- Up to three projects will be funded, each with up to $125,000 for one year.
- Two streams: Neuro-AI and AI Ethics, plus one project with a substantial Indigenous focus or Indigenous leadership.
- Proposals must include researchers from both IVADO and Connected Minds.
- Letters of intent are due 9 November 2026, with funding decisions on 15 March 2027.
What the RISE competition offers
RISE stands for "Intelligence Responsable pour l'Éthique et la Société" (Responsible Intelligence for Ethics and Society). According to IVADO, the competition is a new funding opportunity meant to support research collaborations between institutions. The announcement was made in Montréal on 5 October 2026.
IVADO and Connected Minds are both flagship initiatives of the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (in the source, the Fonds d'excellence en recherche Apogée Canada). The two networks are combining their complementary expertise in this new partnership. Researchers from both networks are invited to propose projects under one of two streams.
- Neuro-AI: research at the intersection of neuroscience and AI, including biologically inspired AI, algorithms based on knowledge of the brain, modelling grounded in neural data, and intelligent systems able to learn from and interact with human cognition.
- AI Ethics: research on the ethical, societal and governance dimensions of AI, including algorithmic fairness, transparency, accessibility, bias mitigation, and the responsible development and deployment of AI technologies.
Funding and eligibility
Up to three projects will be funded. One will come from each of the two streams. A third project can fall under either stream, provided it substantially addresses Indigenous realities or is led or co-led by an Indigenous principal investigator or co-principal investigator.
Every project can receive up to $125,000 over a one-year funding period. Proposals must bring together researchers from both IVADO and Connected Minds.
Lead applicants from Connected Minds must be full-time faculty members at York University or Queen's University, and members of Connected Minds. On the IVADO side, applicants must hold an academic or research position at one of the U5 institutions: Université de Montréal, HEC Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal, McGill University or Université Laval.
Key dates and finding a partner
The schedule is as follows:
- Letter of intent deadline: 9 November 2026
- Invitation to submit a full application: 14 December 2026
- Full application deadline: 18 February 2027
- Funding decisions announced: 15 March 2027
For researchers still looking for a collaborator, IVADO points to the member listings of Connected Minds and the researchers in the IVADO ecosystem, which can be explored to find matching research interests. The full call is available on the IVADO website. Questions can be sent to Audrée Janelle-Montcalm, research advisor at IVADO, at [email protected].
What it means for researchers
The competition is aimed at researchers who already belong to, or can connect with, the two networks. Because proposals must include members of both, it is built to create new cross-institution partnerships rather than fund work within a single team. With letters of intent due on 9 November 2026, the first step is close for anyone planning to apply.
The dedicated place for projects centred on Indigenous realities or led by Indigenous researchers is a notable feature of the call, alongside the two thematic streams.
