McCAIS' IRD Awards encourage interdisciplinary research aimed at understanding and positively influencing the impact of AI on society across fields such as arts, decision-making, health, law, and policy.

Thank you for your interest! Submit your Intent to Apply below by March 22, 2026.

Overview

Exploratory Phase

Supports teams starting new collaborations who are in the initial stages of exploring a convergent theme. Emphasis is on encouraging and empowering new, unconventional, cross-disciplinary conversations to determine potential collaborative research directions and their feasibility.

The Exploratory Phase stream is eligible for up to $10,000 in funding.

Proof of Concept

Supports well-established, multidisciplinary teams working in a well-defined convergent theme to take their ideas to the next stage. Emphasis is on implementing a short program with a set of deliverables demonstrating the potential for a long-term research program.

The Proof of Concept stream is eligible for up to $20,000 in funding.

Selection Criteria

Only complete proposal packages submitted by the full application deadline will be reviewed.

Applications are evaluated based on: 

  • A clear demonstration of the IRD program objectives, including  

  1. the interdisciplinary nature of the research  

  2. understanding and positively influencing the impact of AI on society

  3. through a multi-domain team 

  • The quality, novelty, and feasibility of the research idea, interdisciplinary approach, and associated mechanisms
  • A high potential for an evolution into further collaborations and future impact through next steps
  • Team composition, both in terms of domains necessary to address identified challenges and diversity and inclusion 

Application Requirements

  • Lead applicants must be an active Principal Investigator (PI) at 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ (e.g. a tenure-track professor). Applications from students will not be considered.
  • Applications are open to members of all 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ faculties.
  • Teams must be comprised of primarily of active members of 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ.
  • Eligible costs are (i) HR compensation (stipends, salaries and benefits for students/post-docs) and (ii) research community engagement expenses (e.g. workshops, etc.). It is not intended for equipment purchases or course releases.

Application Process

  1.  Fill out the Intent to Apply form to inform the review process.

  2. Submit the application form before the established deadline.

Application Form Preparation

Intent to Apply Form

The  will ask for the following information:

  • The applicant's (Principal Investigator's (PI)) full name.
  • PI's Faculty & Department.
  • PI's 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ email address.
  • The research project's title.
  • A brief description of the intended research project. 

Official Application Forms

Both the and  will ask for the following information:

  • The applicant's (Principal Investigator's (PI)) full name.
  • PI's 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ ID.
  • PI's Faculty & Department.
  • PI's 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ email address.
  • The title of the research project.
  • The abstract of the research project.
  • What is your proposed topic for your research and why do you believe it should be selected for your research stage?
  • How is your project expected to have an impact on society?
  • What domains of research are represented in your project and why?
  • Briefly describe the goal(s) of your research project.
  • What challenges must be met to achieve this goal(s)?
  • Justify why this would be a successful proposal?
  • How does this proposal demonstrate interdisciplinary aspects of AI and Society?
  • What approach (i.e., research program) and/or mechanisms (i.e., organization strategy, workshops, etc.) do you propose to employ to meet these challenges?
  • Who are the initial members of your proposed team and what are their anticipated contributions to the project?
  • In what ways will principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion be integrated into (i) your research design, and (ii) development of your research team?
  • What are potential external funding programs (federal, private, and/or industry) that you can identify, if possible at this stage, to which a successful project would leave your team well-positioned to apply?
  • Please specify your proposed budget and budget justification.
  • Up to one page of supplementary material may be added to the application form.
  • The PI's CV and Qualifications in PDF format.

Note: the character limit for every answer is 4,000.

To discuss the alignment of ideas with the goals of this funding program or for any further information, lead applicants are strongly encouraged to contact McCAIS (mccais.science [at] mcgill.ca (mccais[dot]science[at]mcgill[dot]ca)) with an initial statement of interest as early as possible.