Canadian Research Funding

1
Canadian Research Funding
Sciences, Engineering Health

• Canadian High Commission
• Canberra, Australia

2
Canada Research Chairs

• In 2000, the Government of Canada created a new
  permanent program to establish 2000 research
  professorshipsCanada Research Chairsin
  universities across the country by 2008. The
  Canada Research Chairs Program invests C300
  million a year to attract and retain some of the
  world's most accomplished and promising minds
• www.chairs.gc.ca/web/home_e.asp

3
Overview

• Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
  S T Program
• Funding Guide for International Science and
  Technology Cooperation
• Going Global Science and Technology Program
• Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (UK and NZ
  only)
• Research Councils in Science, Engineering and
  Health
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
  (NSERC)
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• National Research Council (NRC)
• Provincial Funding Programs
• Ontario International Strategic Opportunities
  Fund
• Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research
• Alberta Ingenuity
• iCORE (Alberta)

4
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
www.infoexport.gc.ca/science/
5
Funding Guide for International Science and
Technology Cooperation

• On-line database of international funding
  opportunities in science and technology
• Designed as a resource for Canadian researchers
  and scientists
• Includes more than 225 Canadian programs
• Not all programs are available to foreign
  researchers

http//fgic-gfci.scitech.gc.ca
6
Going Global Program

• Aims to build on targeted relationships between
  Canadian researchers and key players in other
  countries
• Funds face-to-face encounters to initiate and
  solidify collaboration
• Aims to move the partnership forward to the point
  where researchers can begin the RD phase
• Eligible beneficiaries are Canadian researchers
  from private companies, universities and
  non-government research centres
• Contributes up to 50 of eligible expenses
  includes travel and other non-research expenses
  (e.g. workshop or seminar expenses, translation
  services, photocopies, or hospitality).

www.infoexport.gc.ca/science/gglobal-en.htm
7
Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships

• Aims to provide research opportunities to
  promising recent doctoral graduates in
  humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and
  engineering
• Eligibility United Kingdom and New Zealand
• Completed a PhD within the last 4 years
• Priority to candidates who have not previously
  studied in Canada
• 1 year postdoctoral research fellowship
• Tenable at recognized public Canadian
  universities and affiliated research institutes
• Value C32,000

www.scholarships.gc.ca
Foreign Affairs and Affaires
étrangères et International Trade
Canada Commerce international Canada
8
Research Councils in Sciences, Engineering and
Health

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
  (NSERC)
• Invests in people, discovery and innovation to
  advance knowledge in the natural sciences and
  engineering
• Funds more than 10,000 university professors
  every year
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Funds research that improves Canadians' health,
  health care system and quality of life
• Supports up to 10,000 researchers and trainees in
  universities, teaching hospitals, and research
  institutes across Canada
• National Research Council (NRC)
• Government of Canada's premier organization for
  research and development, since 1916
• Research areas aerospace, biotechnology,
  engineering and construction, fundamental
  sciences, industry, information and
  communications and manufacturing

9
Overview of Eligibility by Research Council

• NSERC programs
• Foreign researchers may be collaborators on a
  Canada-based research team/project
• Foreign applicants may apply for specific
  postdoctoral fellowships
• CIHR programs
• Foreign researchers may be co-applicants on a
  Canada-based research team/project
• Foreign applicants may apply for specific
  postdoctoral fellowships
• NRC programs
• Foreign applicants are eligible for postdoctoral
  fellowships only

10
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
(NSERC)
www.nserc.ca
11
Definitions and Eligibility

• Principal applicant and co-applicant(s)
• Must hold an academic appointment at an eligible
  Canadian university or college
• Collaborators
• May be a foreign researcher
• Must be qualified to undertake research
  independently
• Will be expected to contribute to the overall
  intellectual direction of the research project or
  program of research
• Will be expected to bring your own resources to
  the collaboration (i.e. self-funded)
• Foreign applicants may apply for the postdoctoral
  fellowship
• Visiting Fellowships in Canadian Government
  Laboratories

12
Tools to find a Canadian Researcher

• NSERC Awards Search Engine
• Information on NSERC funded projects since 1991
• Allows foreign researchers to identify Canadian
  researchers that received NSERC funds in specific
  fields of research
• www.nserc.gc.ca/programs/result/database.htm
• NSERC Chairholder Database
• Connect with Canadas leading scientists and
  engineers
• Profiles of chairholders activities, keyword
  search, contact information
• www.nserc.gc.ca/partners/chairs_e.asp
• Canada Research Chairs
• Profiles of each of the Canada Research Chairs
• www.chairs.gc.ca/web/chairholders/index_e.asp

13
What do NSERC Grants Fund?

• Direct cost of research (general principle)
• NSERC does not fund indirect or overhead costs
• NSERC also allows
• Salaries and stipends for research personnel
  (e.g. students, research associates, technicians,
  postdoctoral fellows, etc.)
• Visiting researchers stipends limited to a
  maximum of 2,000 per month for up to 125 days
  per year
• Travel and subsistence costs for field work,
  research conferences, collaborative trips,
  archival work and historical research (for any
  research personnel associated with the grant)
• Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) Grants
• Buying and developing research equipment and
  installations

14
Evaluating NSERC Grants

• Scientific or engineering excellence of the
  researcher(s)
• Knowledge, expertise and experience
• Past or potential impact on the proposed area of
  research
• Group synergy (where applicable)
• Merit of the proposal
• Originality and innovation
• Significance and expected contributions to
  research
• Clarity of objectives and methodology
• Feasibility
• Contribution to the training of highly qualified
  personnel
• E.g. postdoctoral fellows, graduate and
  undergraduate students, technicians
• Need for funds
• Appropriateness of, and justification for, the
  budget
• Availability of other sources of funding

15
Discovery Grants (DG) - Group Projects

• Ongoing programs of research with long-term goals
• Recognise the creativity and innovation at the
  heart of research advances
• Recipients may use the grant for new research
  activities, not covered in original application
  (within NSERCs mandate)
• Around 3000 applicants each year (1/3 are first
  time applicants)
• Success rate as high as 73
• Grants are awarded for 1 to 5 years
• Average size of grant is 32,000 per year (some
  as high as 200,000 per year)
• Total funding in 2005-06 was 320 million

16
Special Research Opportunities (SRO)

• Unique, emerging, timely or urgent opportunities
• Must be novel, high-risk or have a strong
  potential for breakthrough
• SRO grants do not support
• Ongoing research and collaboration
• Research projects eligible for other NSERC
  programs (e.g. DG)
• Also pre-research activities involving
  researchers in Canada and abroad
• To investigate and develop potential new
  collaborative projects
• Typically for a workshop or short series of
  meetings
• Must have defined milestones and objectives
• Grants are for up to 3 years

17
Collaborative Health Research Projects

• Jointly funded by NSERC and the Canadian
  Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Collaborative research projects in any field of
  the natural sciences and engineering and the
  health sciences
• Program objectives
• Advance knowledge and technologies to improve the
  health of Canadians
• Encourage collaboration and integration of
  expertise between natural sciences or engineering
  and health researchers
• Awards are for up to 3 years

18
Visiting Fellowships in Canadian Government
Laboratories

• Recent doctoral graduates of any nationality
• Opportunity for emerging scientists and engineers
• Work with research groups in Canadian government
  departments and agencies, including
• Agriculture, Conservation, Environment, Fisheries
  and Oceans, Food Inspection, Health, Industry,
  Defence, Natural Resources, Parks, etc.
• Value is C42,761 per year
• Term is 1 year, renewable for up to 2 more years
• 450-500 applications made each year
• 150 fellowships offered each year (varies)
• 1/3 of fellowships awarded to foreign applicants

19
NSERC Grants Deadlines
Guidelines and Application Forms Online
At www.nserc.gc.ca/intnew.htm
20
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
www.cihr.ca
21
Definitions and Eligibility

• Principal applicant
• Must be employed by an eligible Canadian
  institution for the entire duration of the grant
• Must be an independent researcher (i.e. not under
  the supervision of another person who is
  directing the research)
• Co-applicants
• May be an independent researcher, a research
  associate, a trainee, or a foreign researcher
• Collaborators
• Provide a special service (e.g. technicians) and
  do not contribute to the intellectual direction
  of research
• Foreign applicants may apply for the postdoctoral
  fellowship
• CIHR Fellowships

22
What do CIHR grants fund?

• Direct cost of research (general principle)
• CIHR does not fund indirect or overhead costs
• CIHR also allows
• Salaries for research associates, research
  assistants and technicians
• Honoraria for guest lecturers
• Travel and subsistence costs for field work,
  research conferences, collaborative trips,
  archival work and historical research (for any
  research personnel associated with the grant)
• Research equipment and supplies, including staff
  training for specialized equipment
• Computers and electronic equipment essential to
  the research

23
Overview of CIHR Grants

• Open Grants Competition
• E.g. Operating Grants, Team Grants
• Applications in March and September
• 3800 new applications each year
• Strategic Initiatives Competitions
• Calls for applications in specific areas of
  research
• Check CIHR website for current opportunities
• Includes International Collaborative Partnerships
• Overall 900 new awards each year
• Most grants are funded for up to 5 years
• Currently more than 10,000 researchers hold CIHR
  grants
• In 2005-2006 the total grant expenditure was 650
  million

24
CIHR Operating Grants

• All areas of health research
• Research projects conducted by individuals or
  groups of researchers
• Foreign researchers may only apply as
  co-applicants in a group project
• Grants awarded for 2 to 5 years
• Shorter grants may be awarded for pilot projects
  and feasibility studies
• Average grant is 122,000 per year for 4-5 years

25
CIHR Team Grants

• Health research best approached through a
  collaborative team, in all areas of health
  research
• Teams of at least three independent
  investigators, each with proven track record in
  collaborative projects
• Foreign researchers may be included as additional
  team members (i.e. co-applicants)
• Up to C 1 million per grant for a maximum of 5
  years

26
Meetings Planning and Dissemination Grants

• Activities eligible for funding may include
• Scientific meetings (workshops, symposia,
  conferences, colloquia, etc.)
• Gatherings of health researchers and/or users of
  health research to facilitate collaboration
• Knowledge translation activities to disseminate
  the results of research
• Eligible costs may include
• Travel and accommodation for participants
• Meeting costs (e.g. room hire, audio-visual,
  hospitality)
• Modest honoraria (up to 500 CAD) for guest
  experts

27
International Collaborative Indigenous Health
Research Partnership on Resilience

• EXAMPLE ONLY Applications are not currently open
• Collaborative funding program offered by CIHR,
  HRC New Zealand and NHMRC Australia
• Supports research in the area of indigenous
  health
• 5 year program (2002-2007)
• 7 full applications were received
• 3 teams were funded
• CIHRs contribution was 5.5 Million

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CIHR Fellowships

• Open to Canadians and citizens of other countries
• Must hold a PhD or professional health degree (or
  equivalent)
• Candidates with more than 3 years post-PhD
  research training will not be considered
• Fellowships are awarded for
• Up to 3 years (for PhD holders)
• Up to 4 years (for professional degree holders)
• Up to 5 years (for professional degree holders
  who intend to complete their PhD as part of the
  fellowship)
• Annual stipend is C21,000 to 50,000 depending
  on applicants experience and qualifications

29
CIHR Grants Deadlines
Guidelines and Application Forms www.cihr-irsc.gc.
ca
30
National Research Council (NRC)

• NRC awards and fellowships generally recognise
  excellence by Canadian scientists and innovators
• Foreign applicants may only apply for NRC
  Research Associateships (postdoctoral fellowship)

www.nrc.ca
31
NRC Research Associateships

• Open to Canadian citizens and foreign nationals
• Recent PhD graduates in science or engineering or
  Masters in engineering and 5 years experience
• Salaried position from C49,489 (PhD recruiting
  rate)
• Appointments are for 2 years, extendable to a
  maximum of 5 years

32
NRC Grant Deadlines
Guidelines and Application Forms Online
At http//hia-iha.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/ra_e.html
33
Quebec Ministry of Economic Development,Innovatio
n and Export Trade

• Aims to support research by encouraging
  coordinated and concerted action among the
  various players in the scientific area in order
  to promote job creation, economic prosperity,
  scientific development and sustainable
  development.
• Research assistance program (Assistance for
  international research and innovation
  initiatives)
• www.mdeie.gouv.qc.ca

34
Assistance for international research and
innovation initiatives

• Eligible Projects
• the linkage and visibility of Québec research and
  innovation
• large-scale, international bilateral and
  multilateral research and innovation projects
• participation of researchers in projects of
  strategic importance, with a view to
  strengthening Québec networks and centres of
  excellence
• attraction of, and exchanges with, international
  researchers working in strategic sectors in
  conjunction with large-scale projects or
  participation in international networks
• assistance for student researchers wishing to
  take part in international internship programs in
  strategic sectors projects that stem from
  Québec's international agreements and that
  include all or some of the aforementioned
  objectives

35
Ontario International Strategic Opportunities
Program

• Facilitates research of scientific importance
• Funds strategic international collaboration
  between Ontario research institutions and the
  global research community
• Lead organization must be an Ontario institution
  (e.g. research hospital, university, college,
  etc.)
• Up to C150,000 over 3 years
• Provides 50 of eligible costs balance from
  other sources
• Funds must be used to facilitate collaboration
  e.g. consortia project management, research
  exchanges/links, workshops/conferences/seminars,
  publications, etc.
• Funds are not to be used for research
• No formal deadlines reviewed quarterly

www.mri.gov.on.ca
36
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research

• Supports biomedical and health research in
  Alberta
• Training programs (e.g. postdoctoral fellowships,
  graduate scholarships and undergraduate summer
  programs)
• Visiting researchers (including visiting
  lectureships/ professorships, visiting scientists
  and experts for conferences/symposia)
• Interdisciplinary Team Research Grants
• Provides opportunities for high-quality,
  internationally recognized teams of investigators
  to complete research initiatives with defined
  health outcomes
• Polaris Award
• To help Alberta universities recruit outstanding
  mid-career health researchers of exceptional
  international calibre to the province

www.ahfmr.ab.ca
37
Alberta Ingenuity Fund

• Provides leadership and strategic investments in
  research and science and technology initiatives
• Priority areas energy, ICT, nanotechnology, and
  the life sciences
• Graduate student scholarships
• Supports top masters or doctoral students in the
  natural sciences or engineering at an Alberta
  university
• New faculty awards
• To independent investigators who are in their
  first academic career appointment at an Alberta
  university or college
• Scholars Program
• To attract to Alberta the world's best
  researchers and innovators in areas of strategic
  importance to the province

www.albertaingenuity.ca
38
iCORE - Informatics

• Provides financial support for university chairs
  to attract world-class researchers in the areas
  of computer science, electrical and computer
  engineering, physics, mathematics and other
  disciplines related to ICT
• Chair Establishment Grants
• To establish research positions in ICT at Alberta
  universities
• Visiting Professor Grant Program
• To support visiting professors in information
  science and engineering at Alberta universities
  for 6 months to 2 years
• Graduate Student Scholarships
• For graduate students studying in Information and
  Communications Technology (ICT) or Nanotechnology
  (ICT) at Alberta universities

www.icore.ca
39
Contact Us

• Academic Relations/
• Canadian Education Centre
• Canadian High Commission, Canberra
• Phone [phone] Fax [phone]
• Email
• tony.mckittrick_at_international.gc.ca
• prue.torrance_at_international.gc.ca
• Website www.canada.org.au