Sponsor
Networks of Centres of Excellence
Program
Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) program competition
For More Information
Please review the following documentation prior to preparing the LOI Submission Package:
Description
The 2016 CECR competition is seeking to fund new centres that can build on Canada’s Research and Development (R&D) landscape by enabling the commercialization of research by matching clusters of academic research expertise with the needs of business, health practitioners and other end users. The emphasis of the CECR program is on commercialization, including new technologies, and goods and services. Centres seeking funding must be able to demonstrate a robust business plan and a feasible plan for sustainability.
Centres applying to the 2016 CECR competition must demonstrate how the proposed centre will address one or more of the following priority areas identified by the Government of Canada:
- Environmental science and technologies;
- Natural resources and energy;
- Health and related life sciences and technologies;
- Information and communications technologies; and
- Management, business or finance.
Eligibility
Organizations eligible to receive funds are not-for-profit corporations created by universities, colleges, not-for-profit research organizations, firms, and other interested non-government parties.
Funding Availability
The number of centres to be funded will be dependent upon the quality of the applications received and the budget available for the competition.
Maximum Project Value
The Centers will be reviewed based on the full lifecycle and total funding needed to achieve sustainability. A maximum of $15 million will be provided over a 5-year timeframe. Centres that submit applications in excess of 5 years will be subject to an international panel review in their fifth year of operation prior to being awarded the remaining funding.
Indirect Costs
No indirect costs are required on the amount requested from NCE; however, indirect costs may apply on amounts requested from partners.
Project Duration
The CECR Program does not specify an expected time frame for which centres can apply. The expert panel will assess the viability and the appropriateness of the time and funding requested to achieve sustainability. Each centre requesting funding will be assessed on the viability of the centre’s plan to become self-sufficient by the end of CECR funding.
Special Notes
Submission requirements:
- OR-5 Form
- Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission Package (see the Competition Guide for important information, including, page limits and formatting requirements):
- Letter from the intended host organization to support the centre’s application;
- LOI form ;
- Information to help assess the track record and potential of the applicants;
- Business Plan;
- Financial Plan Overview;
- Letters of Support;
- List of potential expert panelists (including contact information and area of expertise);
- Request for FAP funding.
Centres must provide a list of potential expert panel members who are not in conflict of interest for the review of their application. Please see Appendix A for the CECR Conflict of Interest Guidelines. Each expert panel will be comprised of five to seven experts in business, management, knowledge and technology transfer, commercialization, applied science and/or public policy.
Deadlines
If College-level review is required, your College will communicate its earlier internal deadlines.
| Type | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Internal Deadline | Please submit your LOI Submission Package, along with an OR-5 Form to research.services@uoguelph.ca | |
External Deadline | to sponsor. Applicants invited to submit a full application will be notified in May 2015. |
How to Apply
Application documents must be submitted via the NCE Secure Submission Site. One original hard copy of the letter of intent, postmarked by the submission deadline of March 6, 2015 must also be submitted.
The letter of intent should be submitted as a single Portable Document Format (PDF) document that combines all of the required sections. The PDF document cannot exceed 49 MB.
Late submissions will not be accepted.
The NCE Secretariat will send an email to the centre’s director to confirm receipt of the letter of intent within a week after the submission. If confirmation is not received within a week of the submission deadline, please contact the NCE Secretariat:
Tel.: 613-995-6010
E-mail: info@nce-rce.gc.ca