Sponsor

Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC)

Program

New Frontiers in Research - Transformation

For More Information

Please see:  New Frontiers in Research - 2022 Transformation Competition [1]

Description

The objective of the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) Transformation stream is to support large-scale, Canadian-led interdisciplinary research projects that address a major challenge with the potential to realize real and lasting change. The challenge may be fundamental, leading to a scientific breakthrough, or applied, with a social, economic, environmental or health impact. Projects are expected to be world-leading, drawing on global research expertise, when relevant.

Transformation stream grants will support projects that:

1. tackle a well-defined problem or challenge;
2. propose a novel world-leading approach that is different from the current state-of-the-art approaches to the issue;
3. are interdisciplinary, bringing different perspectives to the defined problem; and
4. have the potential to be transformative, defined as the potential to create a significant and real change or impact—a noticeable leap or tangible breakthrough rather than an incremental advance.

Eligibility

Transformation grants support projects that propose a world-leading interdisciplinary approach with the potential to have a significant impact in addressing a well-defined challenge. Projects may involve any discipline, thematic areas, approaches or subject areas eligible for funding across the three federal research funding agencies (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC). Projects should engage the full range of disciplines required to achieve the project goals.

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 [2] based on the Canadian Research and Development Classification codes [3]. Projects that fall under the mandate of only one federal research funding agency [4] are not eligible.

Proposed projects may address fundamental or applied challenges.

Funding Availability

$144,000,000 over 6 years

Maximum Project Value

Minimum $2,000,000 per year (including indirect costs)

Maximum $4,000,000 per year (including indirect costs)

Indirect Costs

25%

Project Duration

Six years

Special Notes

COVID-19: Please note that research activities carried out in the context of COVID-19 need to adhere to the University of Guelph COVID-19 research principles, policies, guidelines and processes as they may be updated from time to time and communicated on the Office of Research web-page [5].

How to Apply

Program instructions:

• All applications must submit a notice of intent to apply (NOI) [7] and letter of intent to apply (LOI) [8]. Only successful LOIs are invited to submit a full application [9].
• Refer to the Best Practices in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research Guide [10] and evaluation matrices [11] for additional information on how to complete the application process.