Frequently Asked Questions

An overview of the ISI Fund’s adjudication process is provided in the figure below.

For Cycle 5 of the ISI Fund, the Call for Applications will run from October 13, 2026 to January 14, 2027 with adjudication to follow.

For cycle 5 of the ISI Fund, there will be three funding streams under which project proposals may be submitted: 

1. Stream 1: Innovative Projects. This stream is intended for new, sustainable initiatives to advance strategy, goals) led by faculty or staff.  

2. Stream 2: Transformative Projects. This stream is intended for projects supporting systemic or high-level change led by faculty or staff.  

3. Stream 3: Student-led Projects.  This stream is intended for student-led projects.  

Note: student-led projects will require a faculty or staff member to act as a co-sponsor.  

Eligible Expenses 

Funding can be used to cover costs associated with:  

• Project or contract positions to explore the development of projects, programs and curriculum enhancements and to integrate Indigenous perspectives and knowledges; 

• Improving access, transition and retention programs to better serve the needs of Indigenous students; 

• Development of education workshops and conferences; 

• Enrichment and outreach initiatives for K-12 youth to develop a connection to university experiences; 

• Expenses relating to the promotion and development of partnership strategies, including necessary travel expenses; 

• Research opportunities for students (expenses related to the participation of students in field research e.g. transportation costs, stipends, meals, etc.) that are not part of the project team; 

• Modest equipment expenditures given that rationale is provided that indicates: a) the expenditure is required for the success of the program and b) the project has significant in-kind funding from the associated unit/faculty. The ISI Fund is not an equipment fund; 

• Honoraria for community members, elders, leaders and knowledge keepers or brokers; 

• Proportionate and reasonable catering costs; 

• Salary, stipends or wages for student/community project team members who are not listed as a Principal Applicant or Co-Applicant; 

• Partial costs of teaching releases. The ISI Fund funds up to 50% of teaching releases provided that at least 50% of funding is provided by the faculty or unit. 

Ineligible Expenses 

• Major capital expenditures related to renovations or additions to the physical infrastructure, as the ISI Fund is not an equipment fund; 

• Salary, stipends or wages for Principal Applicant or Co-Applicants; 

• Living expenses; 

• Insurance cost of equipment; 

• Costs related to faculty and staff awards/recognition; 

• Teaching Assistant costs; 

• Tuition or fees for students; 

• Monthly parking fees for vehicles (unless for fieldwork); 

• Severance pay; 

• Operational costs of the delivery of programs. The ISI Fund focuses on the development and start-up of projects, not their long-term sustainment; 

• Staff or faculty salaries (that are not project or contract positions specific to the ISI proposal); 

• Any administrative or core costs/expenses for community organizations, e.g., salaries associated with an organization’s daily operations or programming or office equipment; 

• Academic research expenses that would be carried out in the normal course of work or study; i.e. any expenses that would normally be covered by Tri-Council or similar grants; 

• Direct costs of research; 

• Full costs of teaching releases. The ISI Fund funds up to 50% of teaching releases provided that at least 50% of funding is provided by the faculty or unit. 

Additionally, it is recommended that project teams and prospective applicants, review the Indigenous Finance Guidelines.  The Guideline were created to address a long unresolved issue at UBC – how to better support gift giving and compensation in reciprocal, respectful, relationship-based collaborations between Indigenous partners and UBC. 

The timeframe to complete your project will vary depending on the stream under which the project was applied for and more specifically defined within the application itself.  

Broadly,

• Innovative (Stream 1) or Faculty & Staff-led projects are expected to occur over a one to two year beginning in late Spring/early Summer.
• Transformative (Stream 2) projects are expected to occur over a term of up to two and a half years beginning in late Spring/early Summer.
• Student-led (Stream 3) projects are expected to occur over a 12 to 18-month term starting in mid-Summer/early Fall.

If you are seeing shifts in your project’s timeline it is expected that this will be relayed to the ISI Fund Administrator as soon as possible via. isp.funding@ubc.ca. Any extensions must be approved in advance.

Please note: the ISI Fund makes best efforts to be flexible and provide reasonable accommodations and support for projects as they move through their lifecycle, this may include limited timeline extensions when appropriate.

---

Multi-year projects will receive a transfer of the first year’s funding (as per the proposal budget), with a second transfer to occur upon the request of the project lead. Receipt of the second transfer of funds is contingent upon sufficient project progress.  

Funding received is intended to support the scope or work as defined within the project proposal and award letter.  

At the end of the project, any surplus or unspent funds must be reported and returned to the ISI Fund. 

The ISI Fund aims to be a low-barrier fund. ISI Fund projects are only required to provide interim reporting and final reporting as part of their receipt of funds.  

Interim reporting – Occurs every six months of the project’s lifecycle. Interim reporting requirements consists of an informal virtual check-in between ISI Fund administrator and project leads followed by a short reporting form to be submitted within 30-days of the check-in.  

Final reporting – Occurs at the end of a project’s lifecycle. Final reporting consists of a budget review form and a project reporting form to be submitted within 30-days of project wrap-up. 

Reasonable project extensions may be discussed on a case-by-case basis with the ISI Fund administrator. 

If you it looks like your project will not be completed within its proposed timeframe. Please contact the ISI Fund administrator at isp.funding@ubc.ca as soon as possible.  

Not all projects get the traction they hope for a number of reasons include receipt of new information, unforeseen challenges, changes in priorities etc. As a result, a project team may be required to re-evaluate and determine whether to proceed, and how, or wrap-up work early.  

The ISI Fund administrator is available to support those discussions and help project teams determine possible next steps. 

In the event that your project needs to be cancelled or modified or if you require related support from the ISI Fund administrator, please contact the ISI Fund administrator at isp.funding@ubc.ca as soon as possible. 

Projects that wrap-up early or need to be cancelled will be required to fill out final reporting forms and unspent funds will be returned to the ISI Fund.