News

The Office of Research Services is inviting all eligible Faculty in the Natural Sciences and Engineering to participate in NSERC’s Discovery Grants and Alliance Grants Programs.

As a reminder, the deadline for NSERC Discovery Grant applications is November 1st. However, a Notification of Intent to Apply must be submitted by August 1st, to request permission to apply. A valid Canadian Common CV must be provided with the application. For tips on how to prepare it, contact the Office of Research Services at research@concordia.ab.ca.

Any application for external funding must be accompanied by an External Grant Signature page, which must be supplied in electronic version with a copy of the full application at least seven working days prior to the sponsor deadline. For instruction on how to prepare this document, consult our website. Important note: submissions of Notifications of Intent to Apply do not require an external grant signature page; only full, complete applications require the document. A list of deadlines can be found here.

NSERC Subject Matter Eligibility

Research funded under NSERC must abide by their mandate, which is “…to promote and assist research in the natural sciences and engineering, other than health. The objectives of the research program must be to advance knowledge in the natural sciences or in engineering.” For further information on eligible topics for applications, please consult NSERC’s website, or contact the Office of Research Services at research@concordia.ab.ca.

Discovery Grants

Discovery Grants are personal awards from NSERC that last up to five years. These grants are awarded on a merit basis through a competitive process. To submit an application, consult their guidelines and instructions here.

From the NSERC website: “…The Discovery Grants Program supports ongoing programs of research with long-term goals rather than a single short-term project or collection of projects. These grants recognize the creativity and innovation that are at the heart of all research advances. Discovery Grants are considered “grants in aid” of research, as they provide long term operating funds and can facilitate access to funding from other programs, but are not meant to support the full costs of a research program.”

A major difference in the process this year is the enhanced scrutiny of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion part of the Highly Qualified Personnel training section of the application. For useful tips, please consult the following document, made available by the University of Alberta ERA.

For information on the Discovery Grant Program, please see the attach Presentation, made available by NSERC and the University of Alberta, or contact the Office of Research Services at research@concordia.ab.ca.

Alliance Grants

Launched in May 2019, the Alliance Grant Program takes over all preexisting partnerships at NSERC. Alliance Grants allow for partnerships between eligible partners and NSERC, under the scheme of matched-funding. In-kind funding is allowed, but not considered for NSERC matched funding.

Alliance Grants are awarded under two Options, which have different allocations in NSERC fund-matching. Additional information can be found in this presentation, made available by NSERC and the University of Alberta ERA.

For information on the Alliance Grant program, please contact the Office of Research Services at research@concordia.ab.ca.