Sponsor

NSERC

For More Information

See NSERC’s website [1]

Description

NSERC Engage Grants are designed to give companies that operate from a Canadian base access to the unique knowledge and expertise available at Canadian universities.  These grants are to foster the development of new research partnerships between an academic researcher and a company that have never collaborated before, by supporting short-term research and development projects that aimed at addressing a company-specific problem in the natural sciences and engineering.

NSERC Engage Plus Grants – To further developments from an ongoing or recently completed Engage Grant project, or to continue the project while seeking longer-term support, applicants may apply for a subsequent Engage Plus Grant to support an additional six months, and it must be with the same partner. As was the case with the initial Engage Grant, intellectual property will belong to the company. To determine its commitment to furthering the project, the industrial partner must contribute cash to the direct project costs in an amount at least equal to the amount requested from NSERC.

Eligibility

Faculty with a minimum three-year appointment, and have been granted peer-reviewed research support in the natural sciences and/or engineering fields from NSERC within the last six years (see selection criteria [1]).  Companies must have a minimum of 2 full-time employees and be in operation for a minimum of two years in addition to meeting the other requirements outlined in the Industrial Participation [2] section. These changes were made effective January 15, 2016. Companies must demonstrate the ability to exploit the results. Applicants are limited to one new Engage award in each fiscal year (April 1 to March 31). This change will be made effective April 1, 2016. 

Funding Availability

• Engage - $25,000 per project for 6 months. Companies must provide an in-kind contribution.  A cash contribution is not required, but can be made in addition to in-kind contribution.
• Engage Plus – NSERC will match the cash contribution of the partner up to a maximum of $12,500

Indirect Costs

• Engage - Not applicable on NSERC cash.
• Engage Plus – Not applicable on NSERC or partner cash

Special Notes

• Engage – IP arising from the project will belong to the company. Decisions are communicated within four to six weeks.
• Engage Plus - Applications will only be accepted within the final month of the Engage Grant or within the six-month period following the end of the grant. The application procedures are the same but must also include a summary of the progress achieved within the original Engage project as well as a clear explanation of the goals of the Engage Plus Grant and their relationship with the results obtained to date.

Open Deadline

• Engage - applications should be received one week in advance of when the applicant wants to submit the final application to NSERC. Please submit a signed OR-5 and attach a copy of the complete application and submit to: Research.Services@uoguelph [3], and in addition, by clicking “submit to RGO” in the online system.
• Engage Plus, please submit in the final month of the Engage Grant and up to six months following the end of the grant period.

Based on the limitation of one NSERC Engage award per fiscal year per researcher, please note that the cut off for applying in the current fiscal year is February 1, 2018. See this Research Alert [4] for more information on upcoming deadlines.

How to Apply

Applicant submits Form 101, 100, Signed Company Letter (on letterhead), Form 183A along with attachments via the on-line system. Please click “Submit to RGO” at the same time as submitting the signed OR-5 and application. Office of Research Services submits on behalf of the University using the online system.