Sponsor

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

Program

Alliance Society

For More Information

General Grant Information

• Alliance Society program website [1]
• Alliance Society overview pamphlet [2]
• Revised Guidelines on assessment of contributions to research, training, and mentoring [3]
• NSERC Alliance Society - Frequently Asked Questions [4]
• NSERC Alliance Grant Application Checklist [5]
• Research Innovation Office NSERC Alliance Resources [6]

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Resources

• UofG Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Resource Document for Researchers  [7]
• Alliance Grants: Equity, diversity and inclusion in training plans [8]
• NSERC guide on integrating equity, diversity and inclusion considerations in research [9]

National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships Resources

• U of G Guide for Completing the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ Risk Assessment Form - NSERC Alliance [10]
• NSERC Alliance Grants - National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships [11]
• Safeguarding your Research Portal [12]

Description

Alliance grants encourage university researchers to collaborate with partner organizations, which can be from the private, public or not-for-profit sectors. These grants support research projects led by strong, complementary, collaborative teams that will generate new knowledge and accelerate the application of research results to create benefits for Canada. 

Alliance Society grants (formerly Alliance cost-sharing option 2) fund projects with societal impact as the main driver (see Alliance Society: Research topics [13]). Research supported by Alliance Society grants will:

• address a societal challenge that will result in new natural sciences and engineering knowledge and societal impact;
• bring together academic, partner organization and societal perspectives and skill sets throughout the collaboration;
• demonstrate how all interested individuals will learn about and use the products, services or policies that stem from this research;
• generate new knowledge and/or technology to address complex challenges;
• create economic, social and/or environmental benefits;
• contribute to Canada’s long-term competitiveness;
• support public policy;
• train new researchers in areas that are important to Canada and the partner organizations;
• draw on diverse perspectives and skill sets to accelerate the translation and application of research results.

Note: Research aims in bold distinguish the Alliance Society program from Alliance Advantage.

Eligibility

If you are a Canadian university researcher who is eligible [14] to receive NSERC funds, you can apply on your own or as a team with co-applicants who are also eligible [14] academic researchers. There are no limits on how many applications a faculty member can participate on as an applicant or co-applicant. 

Even though NSERC may cover 100% of the project’s cost, your project must involve at least one partner organization whose cash contributions would be recognized, had there been any (see Alliance Society: Partner organizations [15] and Partner Organization Self-Assessment Tool [16]to determine eligibility to participate). You may include other partner organizations who play an important role in your research project, whether or not they could be recognized for cost sharing.

In-kind contributions are important for the success of the project even though they are not taken into account in the cost-sharing calculations with NSERC. All partner organizations participating in the project must play an active role in it and make in-kind contributions through such involvement. In-kind contributions are considered in the merit assessment of your proposal (see Evaluation criteria [17] and Merit indicators [18]).

Cash contributions by partner organizations toward expenses other than the project’s direct costs (e.g., cash contribution toward an institutional research chair held by the applicant) may be described in the proposal to provide broader context about the depth of the partnership. Such contributions are not taken into account in the cost-sharing calculations with NSERC and must not be included in the total project cost.

Maximum Project Value

Over $20,000 to $1,000,000 per year request from NSERC. 

NSERC will contribute up to 100% of direct project costs for Alliance Society grants.

Project Duration

1 to 5 years

Special Notes

Public Impact Value Proposition (PIVP):

The Alliance proposal template includes an additional section for Society grant proposals in which applicants can provide up to three additional pages to describe:

• The issue the project aims to address and explain the societal impact the project results will have. 
• The current barriers impeding a solution and the proposed novel strategy for addressing the issue. 
• How the project is designed to take into account the needs of end-users and implementers.
• How the project outcomes will reach beyond the partner organizations to impact society. 

Applicants will also be required to provide justification as to why a higher level of investment of public funds is required for this project.

Projects supported under Alliance Society grants will:

• Address a societal challenge resulting in new NSE knowledge and societal impact
• Bring together academic, partner organization, and societal perspectives and skill sets
• Demonstrate how all interested individuals will learn about and use the products, services or policies that stem from the research

Evaluation:

• Administrative review
• PIVP selection committee determines if the project fits within Alliance Society characteristics
• If the outcome of the PIVP is positive, the application proceeds to the next step, otherwise it is considered not funded
• External peer review evaluation

The expected assessment time for Alliance Society grants is 14-24 weeks.

NSERC is committed to achieving these service standards for 80% of applications, recognizing that some proposals may require additional time.

How to Apply

Details for Alliance submissions are included below. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

• Follow the instructions for completing an Alliance grant application [20]  and complete the proposal template [21] and the supporting documents. Please ensure you review the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Training Plan [22] document and incorporate these principles into the proposal. 
• For application including Private Sector partners, please complete the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships' Risk Assessment form [23], and upload under 'Other Documents'.
  • For more information on completing this form, please contact the Research Security Team (safeguard@uoguelph.ca [24]).
  • See also: NSERC Alliance Grants - National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships [11] and U of G Guide for Completing the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ Risk Assessment Form [10].
• Ask each partner organization representative to complete a 1-page partner profile. Applicants can coordinate review and feedback of the partner profile as needed. Once the partner profile has been finalized, applicants must invite their partner organization representatives to complete the Partner Organization section and upload the partner profile online.
• Submit your completed application and supporting documents, including the personal data form with CCV attachment [25] for the applicant and all co-applicants, through NSERC’s online system [26]. 

The Research Services Office will review your submission, provide feedback, and work with you to finalize the application for submission to NSERC.  Capacity permitting, the Research Innovation Office may be able to support pre-reviews of your application prior to submission to RSO. Contact details for RIO and RSO can be found below.

For additional information, please see NSERC's full list of Resources [27] for Alliance Society grant proposals.

Information For Co-applicants

If you need to meet a deadline set by the lead institution for this opportunity, please ensure that you provide the Office of Research with at least five days in advance of the lead institution’s deadline to review the application, or your proposed component of the project. Please be in touch with the Office of Research (contact information below) ahead of the deadline if it looks like it will be difficult for you to submit all the required documentation on time (i.e. budget, proposal, OR-5 Form).

Attachment(s)

Attachment	Size
Proposal template [28]	244.34 KB