Research Admin Offices:

• ROADS

Value:

Grants are for one to five years; the value of the NSERC grant will be determined in Canadian dollars at the time of application for the duration of the grant.

Disciplines:

• Health Sciences
• Natural Sciences and Engineering

Sponsors:

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)

Deadlines:

Additional Dates:

• ROADS Internal Deadline - NOI (ASAP) - January 27, 2022
• Sponsor Deadline - LOI (At least 8 weeks prior to submission) - March 31, 2022

Description:

NSERC and the US National Science Foundation (NSF) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on research cooperation. The MOU provides an overarching framework to encourage collaboration between Canadian and US research communities and sets out the principles for developing jointly supported activities. This new NSERC-NSF collaborative research opportunity focuses specifically on discoveries and innovations in the areas of artificial intelligence and quantum science. The work funded through this call is expected to push the boundaries of new knowledge and provide a rich training experience for young researchers.

The NSERC-NSF opportunity will support collaborations between members of the research community in both countries through a flexible, streamlined application process. Through a lead agency model, U.S. and Canadian research teams will submit a single collaborative proposal that will undergo a single review process at the NSF, which will be the lead agency. Canadian academic researchers may receive funding from NSERC and U.S. researchers may receive funding from the NSF.

The collaborative opportunity is fully described in the attached Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) (also available on the NSF website). The DCL provides the complete guidelines for the preparation, submission, review and award of NSERC-NSF collaborative research proposals.

Additional Program Information:

*Full applications are by invitation only*

Eligibility:

For Canada

One Canadian university researcher, or a team of Canadian university researchers, who is eligible to receive NSERC funds can apply.

For the US

Please refer to the DCL and to the NSF website.

 

Application/Nomination Process:

Step 1: Letter of Intent (LOI)

• The Canadian researcher or team of researchers must submit a letter of intent (LOI) to NSERC using the NSERC online system at least eight weeks prior to the planned submission of the full proposal to the NSF. The NSERC eligibility criteria for faculty and the national security guidelines apply.
• The LOI must not exceed three pages, excluding references, and must respect NSERC online presentation and attachment standards.
• The LOI must outline the research proposed, research teams involved from both countries and annual estimates of funding to be requested from both the NSF and NSERC ($CAD). The LOI must also include:
  • a brief summary of the main objectives and research challenges of the proposed research and the expected outcomes and benefits.
  • a plan to foster equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the research and training environment.
• The LOI and the eligibility of the Canadian researchers will be reviewed internally by NSERC. The plan to foster EDI within the research and training environment is a screening criterion, and only those LOIs that provide a satisfactory EDI training plan will be invited to submit full proposals to the NSF. For guidance, consult the Equity, diversity and inclusion in the training plan document as well as Alliance grants Merit indicator 4.2.
• No changes in the Canadian research team composition are permitted after a LOI is reviewed and approved by NSERC.
• Instructions to start your LOI:
  • log in to the online system and choose Create a new form 101.
  • select Research partnerships programs, then Alliance Grants.
  • for the Proposal type field, select Letter of intent.
  • for the Type of call field, select NSF Quantum Technologies/AI from the drop-down menu.

Step 2 – Full proposal (by invitation only)

• Based on the review of your LOI, you may be invited to proceed with a full proposal to the NSF

Resources:

• Program Website

Contact:

For support, please contact Nathan Coschi, ROADS.