Tri-Agency New Frontiers in Research Fund - Exploration Grant 2019

Sponsor

Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS),on behalf of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).  

Program

New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) - Exploration Grants 2019

For More Information

NFRF - 2019 Exploration Competition

2019 Exploration Competition - NOI Submission Guidelines

2019 Exploration Competition - LOI Submission Guidelines

2019 Exploration Competition - Full Application Submission Guidelines

Frequently Asked Questions

2018 Feedback for Applicants

2018 Co-Chairs Report

Current Review Merit Indicators 

Best Practices in EDI (Requirement for Full Application Stage)

Description

Program Description

The objective of the Exploration stream of the NFRF program is to support high risk, high reward and interdisciplinary research that is not easily supported through funding opportunities currently offered by the three agencies. It seeks to inspire projects that bring disciplines together beyond traditional disciplinary or common interdisciplinary approaches by research teams with the capacity to explore something new, which might fail but has the potential for significant impact. Exploration grants aim to have a variety of types of impacts, some of which might be social, economic, scientific, artistic or cultural. This is not an exhaustive list; other types of impacts are also recognized.   

Subject Matter (Fit to Program)

Exploration grants support projects that are high risk, high reward and interdisciplinary. They may involve any disciplines, thematic areas, approaches or subject areas eligible for funding across the tri-agencies.

To meet the minimum requirement to be considered interdisciplinary, the proposed research project must include elements from at least two different disciplines (as defined by a group-level classification based on the Canadian Research and Development Classification). Note that projects that incorporate two disciplines with a long and established tradition of working together (e.g., biology and chemistry or psychology and education) may satisfy the above requirement but not meet the expectations of the program. The onus is on the applicant to explain the novelty of the interdisciplinary approach to justify the fit to program.  

Proposed projects may range from basic research to development. Eligible projects include those with specific short- to medium-term objectives, as well as discrete phases in programs of longer-range research.

The following elements are considered to be indicative of projects that do not meet program expectations with regard to high risk, and are therefore discouraged: research that is the obvious next step; data collection without interpreting underlying mechanisms; professional practice or consulting services (contract research); the set-up and operational management of an institute or a formal or informal group of researchers (network); curriculum development; organization of a conference or workshop; digitization of a collection or creation of a database; the application of existing technology or the commercialization of a product/process; routine analyses; and/or the acquisition and maintenance of scientific equipment.

Applications for projects that are the same or similar, in whole or in part, to ones that have been funded by other agency programs should not be submitted to the NFRF program. Applications for the same or similar projects that have been unsuccessful in other agency programs may be submitted to the NFRF program in cases where the reason for the lack of success is the high risk and/or interdisciplinary nature of the project, rather than limited funds in a highly competitive pool. Exploration grants are intended to fund projects that are not easily funded through existing agency programs. Applications for the same or very similar research cannot be simultaneously submitted to two different funding opportunities, including to funding opportunities at different agencies.

Applications not meeting any of the requirements outlined above may be withdrawn at any point in the competition or have their NFRF grant terminated (with the NPI's primary affiliation being responsible for reimbursing the total amount of the grant) if terminated at a later date.  

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Feedback to Applicants and the Report from the Co-Chairs from the inaugural (2018) Exploration competition for additional tips regarding subject matter and preparation of submissions.

Eligibility

To encourage projects that push the boundaries in terms of interdisciplinarity, proposals must be submitted by research teams composed of at least two individuals. This minimum applies to all stages of the competition—Notice of Intent to Apply (NOI), Letter of Intent to Apply (LOI) and Full Application. In addition to the nominated principal investigator (NPI), the team must include either a co-principal investigator or a co-applicant. Teams may include up to one co-principal investigator and any number of co-applicants and/or collaborators. The NPI and team members can be from any discipline(s).  

To ensure that Exploration grants support high risk, high reward projects across the broadest spectrum of disciplines, individuals may participate in only one Exploration stream application or grant at one time. Individuals can participate in only one application as either an NPI, a co-principal investigator or a co-applicant. Individuals cannot participate in any of these roles if they are a grantee or co-grantee on an active Exploration grant. These restrictions do not apply to collaborators.

For a proposal to be considered to be led by Early Career Researchers (ECRs), both the NPI and co-principal investigator (if applicable) must be ECR. For competitions under the Exploration stream, ECRs are defined as individuals who have five years or less experience since their first academic appointment as of the first of the month in which the competition was launched (July 1, 2019, for this competition), with the exception of career interruptions (e.g., maternity or parental leave, extended sick leave, clinical training and family care) that occurred after their appointment. Part-time positions are also taken into consideration. For maternity or parental leave, the five-year window is extended by an amount equal to twice the time interruption taken. In the case of a first academic appointment having been a part-time appointment/position, the years of experience following it are counted at 50% until the time of an appointment to a full-time academic position.

Funding Availability

$25,000,000 over two years. A minimum of 100 grants will be awarded. A proportion of awards equal to the proportion of applications received from early career researchers (ECR's) will be reserved for ECR's.

Maximum Project Value

Up to $125,000 per year (including indirect costs). Maximum direct costs per year is $100,000 (with an additional $25,000 indirect costs). 

Indirect Costs

25%

Project Duration

Up to two years.

Special Notes

Research Team

Nominated Principal Investigator (NPI):

• is responsible for the direction of the project and coordinating proposed activities, in conjunction with the co-principal investigator (if applicable);

• completes and submits the NOI, LOI and application through the research administrator at their institution;

• assumes the administrative and financial responsibility for the grant; and

• receives all related correspondence from the agencies.

The NPI must be considered an independent researcher at their primary affiliation, defined as the primary organization where the individual is employed, is appointed or conducts research.

An independent researcher is an individual who:

• engages in research-related activities that are not under the direction of another individual; and

• has an academic or research appointment that:

  • commences by March 31, 2020;

  • allows the individual to pursue the proposed research project, to engage in independent research activities for the entire duration of the funding, to supervise trainees (if applicable, as per his or her institution’s policy) and to publish the research results; and

  • obliges the individual to comply with institutional policies concerning the conduct of research, the supervision of trainees (if applicable) and the employment conditions of staff paid with tri-agency funding.

Students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates, etc. are not eligible to apply as NPI's.

Co-principal Investigator

The co-principal investigator shares responsibility with the NPI for the direction of the proposed activities and may access grant funds.

The co-principal investigator must also be considered an independent researcher and may not be affiliated with a federal, provincial, territorial or municipal government department or a for-profit organization. Students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates, etc. are not eligible to participate as a co-principal investigator.

Co-applicants

Co-applicants contribute to the execution of the research project and may access grant funds. 

Co-applicants can be independent researchers or can be, but are not limited to, practitioners, policy-makers, educators, decision-makers, health care administrators, Indigenous elders, Indigenous knowledge keepers, community leaders or individuals working for a charity. To be eligible as a co-applicant, researchers and professors must be considered independent researchers. Co-applicants may not be affiliated with a federal, provincial, territorial or municipal government department or a for-profit organization. Students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates, etc. are not eligible to participate as a co-applicant.

Collaborators

Collaborators contribute to the execution of research activities but do not have access to grant funds.

Collaborators do not need to be affiliated with an eligible institution. Any individual who will contribute to the project is eligible to be a collaborator. Collaborators may include individuals affiliated with a federal, provincial, territorial or municipal government department or a for-profit organization. Any individual whose contributions to the project will be supervised by the NPI, co-principal investigator, co-applicant and/or another collaborator cannot be considered a collaborator.

How to Apply

Please see the Submission Guidelines for submitting an NOI, LOI, and Full Application, linked in the 'For More Information' section. 

Please see below for links to the recording of the NOI Webinar for Applicants:

English Recording - July 17        July 17th            Password: pVk8MpeC

French Recording - July 15        July 15th             Password: nNyZuJk3​

Please see below for links to the recording of the LOI Webinar for Applicants:

English Recording - Aug 14        August 14^th       Password: PqRkN9vY

French Recording - Aug 15        August 15^th         Password: eJQuvmn2

Please see below for links to the Full Application Webinar for Applicants/Research Administrators:
For applicants and research administrators:
English Recording     November 5^th     Password: mEEn7Hvf
French Recording     November 5^th     Password: 3iMnCnA4

Information For Co-applicants

If you are a formal Co-Principal Investigator or Co-Applicant on an NFRF Exploration Grant 2019 proposal led by a Nominated Principal Investigator at another institution, you are required to submit a copy of the Letter of Intent to Apply (LOI) and a signed OR-5 form to research.services@uoguelph.ca at the LOI Internal Deadline, August 27th, 2019.

Attachment(s)

Attachment	Size
NFRF Exploration 2019 - Webinar for Applicant	456.66 KB
Q&A Transcript - NFRF Webinar for Applicants	114.5 KB
NFRF_LOI_webinar_2019 August 14_EN.PDF	533.11 KB
NFRF_Full_Application_webinar_EN.pdf	520.35 KB