NSERC Partnership Funding Options
Learn about the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada‘s partnership funding opportunities:
Table of Contents
NSERC Alliance
NSERC Alliance supports research partnerships between post-secondary institutions and Canadian-based companies in the areas of natural sciences and engineering. Note that all Alliance proposals, including Alliance International, are reviewed by Industry and Partnership Services (IPS).
See details of the two types of Alliance support:
Alliance Advantage
- Purpose: designed for partner-driven projects
- Timeline: one to five years
- Maximum funds available: $1 million per year
- Leverage: 2:1
- Approximate review time: four to 16 weeks
- Visit the Alliance Advantage website for more information.
Alliance Society
- Purpose: designed for projects with societal impact as the main driver
- Timeline: one to five years
- Maximum funds available: $1 million per year
- Leverage: NSERC covers 100% of project costs
- Approximate review time: four to 16 weeks
- Visit the Alliance Society website for more information.
A greater range of partners can now be recognized for cost-sharing in Alliance grants. Potential partner organizations now include all registered charities, unions and registered companies.
Alliance Grants Updates
Alliance Grants Application Checklist
For additional information, please contact your Faculty Research Facilitator.
Idea to Innovation
NSERC Idea to Innovation grants (I2I) accelerate the pre-competitive development of university technology and promotes its transfer to a Canadian company.
- Timeline: market assessment, up to one year
- Phase I: up to one year
- Phase IIa: from six to 18 months
- Phase IIb: up to two years
- Maximum funds available: dependent upon the project phase
- Minimum leverage required: dependent upon the project phase
- Approximate review time: 11 weeks
- Internal Faculty Deadline: consult your Faculty Research Facilitator
- Internal Office of the Vice-President (Research, Innovation and International) (OVPRII) Deadline (approval form and application): contact Shoma Sinha at least three weeks prior to each NSERC deadline
Summary of application requirements by phase:
| Application requirement | Market Assessment | Phase I | Phase Ib | Phase IIa | Phase IIb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form 100A required | Principal applicant only | Principal applicant and co-applicants | |||
| Duration (non-renewable) | Up to 12 months | Up to 12 months | Up to 6 months | 6 to 18 months | Up to 24 months |
| Maximum amount requested from NSERC (% of project costs) | $15,000 (75%) | $125,000 (100%) | $60,000 (100%) | $125,000 (67%) | $350,000 (50%) |
| Technology transfer activities: additional funds needed from the industry liaison office (ILO) or its equivalent | $5,000 (25%) | Half the cost supported by NSERC up to a maximum of 10% of the award. Institution or partner must cover the other half. | |||
| Additional funds needed from partner (cost/risk sharing) | N/A | N/A | N/A | $62,500 (33%) | 50% of direct costs through in-kind and at least 40% cash |
Lab2Market
This is an extension of the NSERC I2I program. Lab2Market was developed to improve Canada’s research commercialization performance. It supports researchers in the early stages of development, providing the resources, training and guidance needed to take their innovations to market. Applicants will also have the opportunity for future funding through the NSERC I2I Phase I grant.
- Timeline: projects will be four months in duration
- Maximum funds available: $15,000
- Minimum leverage required: 1:3
- Approximate review time: four to 16 weeks to process jointly
- Eligibility: the program is funded through NSERC’s I2I Market Assessment program and requires a written letter of support from IPS. Complete the Intellectual Property Disclosure Form and submit it to CITO@carleton.ca.
Joint Programs
Collaborate 2 Commercialize-NSERC Alliance Program
In the Collaborate 2 Commercialize (C2C) program, NSERC and the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) jointly support research and development (R&D) between post-secondary institutions and Ontario companies to drive economic development and commercialization. It is expected that the projects will generate economic benefits for companies in Ontario, which may include job creation/retention, new revenue generation, investment attraction, cost savings and/or value chain development.
- Timeline: project funded for up to 12 months
- Maximum funds available: individual proposals can request $20,000 up to $30,000 from NSERC (Alliance grant) and $20,000 up to $30,000 from OCI Voucher for Innovation and Productivity (VIP), with a corresponding $20,000 to $30,000 contribution (cash + in-kind) from the industry partner (at least 50% must be cash provided to the academic institution)
- Minimum leverage required: 1:3
- Approximate review time: four to 16 weeks to process jointly
- Eligibility:
- Canadian university researchers eligible to receive NSERC funds may apply.
- Industry partners must be a for-profit small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) organization with Canadian R&D and/or manufacturing operations related directly to the project and the capability to exploit the research results to create economic benefits.
- Industry partner must have been in operation for at least two years.
NSERC Alliance-MITACS Accelerate Grants
Applicants seeking support from both an NSERC Alliance grant and Mitacs Accelerate can apply through a streamlined joint submission and review process. This joint funding opportunity allows applicants to leverage cash contributions from partners for funding from both NSERC and Mitacs.
- Timeline: project funded for up to 5 years
- Maximum funds available: $1,000,000 in accordance with the NSERC Alliance Advantage guidelines
- Minimum leverage required: 2:1 NSERC leveraging + 1:1 Mitacs leveraging (e.g., an individual proposal might request $60,000 through NSERC Alliance Advantage + $30,000 from Mitacs Accelerate, with a corresponding $30,000 cash contribution from the partner)
- Deadline: no deadline, apply anytime
- Approximate review time: the review time varies based on the size of the application
- Eligibility:
- Canadian university researchers eligible to receive NSERC funds can apply independently or as a team with co-applicants who are also eligible academic researchers. Applicants must meet both NSERC eligibility and Mitacs eligibility criteria when the application is submitted and when funding is released.
- As in all Mitacs internships, a cash contribution from an eligible partner is required. Applicants must have at least one partner organization (in the private, public or not-for-profit sector) whose cash contributions will be recognized for cost-sharing (see Role of Partner Organizations). Other partner organizations that play an important role in the research project may be included in the application, whether or not their cash contributions are recognized for cost-sharing.
- To take advantage of this opportunity, applicants must complete an Alliance application and request additional support through the Mitacs Accelerate program as a component of the training of highly qualified personnel (HQP). Mitacs internships cannot be the only mechanism for HQP training in the application; it should also be supported by NSERC funds.
- Information Session:
- How to apply:
- To apply, you must make a joint submission.
- Before starting your application, you must first contact your local Mitacs business development representative to obtain the Mitacs supplemental application form. In addition, you must complete the Alliance Advantage application forms, including the proposal template in accordance with the following instructions. Submit the completed documents, including the personal data form with CCV attachment for the applicant and all co-applicants, through NSERC’s online system.
- For this program, you are also required to complete a partner contributions form that indicates Mitacs as a joint call funding partner. Note that Mitacs should be invited to confirm its support of the application using the contributions form. Please contact a Mitacs business development representative for further guidance.
- Please note that submissions are limited based on Carleton’s Mitacs Accelerate allocation allowance.
Contact Us
Contact IPS to explore these public matching programs and other opportunities to leverage funding contributions.
