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NSERC-FRQ NOVA Program for Junior Researchers

Research Admin Offices:

  • ROADS

Funding Type:

Grant

Opportunity Type:

  • Grant

Value:

Successful teams may receive up to $75,000 per year for up to three years, including $45,000 from NSERC and $30,000 from the FRQ, to support collaborative research projects.

Disciplines:

  • DeGroote School of Business
  • Faculty of Engineering
  • Faculty of Humanities
  • Faculty of Science
  • Faculty of Social Sciences

Sponsors:

Deadlines:

Internal Deadline:

September 3, 2026

Sponsor Deadline:

September 10, 2026

Description:

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the FRQ Team are pleased to announce the launch of the sixth edition of the NSERC–FRQ NOVA program for junior researchers. The NOVA program supports research projects led by junior researchers at Quebec universities, in collaboration with researchers from other Canadian provinces and territories. By fostering new interprovincial research partnerships in the natural sciences and engineering, the program aims to strengthen research capacity, enhance the competitiveness of Canadian researchers, and generate new knowledge with social, environmental, technological and economic benefits for Quebec and Canada. These projects must fall within the fields of natural sciences, mathematics and engineering (NSE).
The NOVA program has the following specific objectives:
  • Increase and stimulate the research collaboration capacity of Quebec early-career researchers with other researchers from Canadian provinces and territories;
  • Strengthen the international competitiveness of researchers from Quebec and from other Canadian provinces and territories;
  • Generate new knowledge or applications of knowledge likely to produce social, environmental, technological or economic benefits, or to have an impact on public policy in Quebec and/or across Canada, on issues of importance to the community;
  • Create a plan for mobilizing knowledge and results both in Quebec and across Canada.

Eligibility:

The team must include, at a minimum, an early-career principal investigator from Quebec, at least one co-investigator from Quebec and at least one co-investigator from another Canadian province or territory outside Quebec. The complementarity of the expertise required to carry out the research project must be reflected in the composition of the team and must bring together the best expertise across Quebec and the other Canadian provinces and territories.
The PI for the application must:
  • Be a researcher at a Quebec university AND
  • Hold Status 1 according to definition i) only, as defined in the FRQ Common General Rules AND
  • Have accumulated more than 3 years and fewer than 6 years in a regular professor position, meaning having started between September 2, 2020 and September 1, 2023

Application/Nomination Process:

To apply, researchers must submit their application through the FRQNet Portal and a separate letter of intent (LOI) to NSERC through NSERC’s online system by September 10, 2026, before 4:00 pm (ET). Results will be announced by the end of April 2027.

Resources:

Additional details.

Contact:

For information on how to apply, contact Christine Cluney, Senior Advisor, ROADS.