Exploration
The objective of the Exploration stream is to support high-risk, high-reward and interdisciplinary research that pushes boundaries into exciting new areas.
Visit the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) website for more information on the Exploration grants.
Potential applicants are encouraged to discuss this funding opportunity with their Faculty Research Facilitator.
This program is currently closed. The details below reflect the previous call and are for general information purposes only. Updates will be posted as soon as the next round is announced.
Value and Duration
Up to $125,000 per year (including indirect costs) for up to two years.
Overview
The objective of the Exploration stream is to support high-risk, high-reward and interdisciplinary research that pushes boundaries into exciting new areas. Researchers are encouraged to think “outside of the box” and undertake research that defies current paradigms, brings disciplines together in unexpected ways and from bold, innovative perspectives, and has the potential to be disruptive or deliver game-changing impacts.
Exploration grants support projects that:
- bring disciplines together beyond traditional disciplinary or common interdisciplinary approaches;
- propose to explore something new, which might fail; and
- have the potential for significant impact.
Exploration grants support research with a range of impacts: economic, scientific, artistic, cultural, social, technological, environmental or health-related. This list is not exhaustive; other types of impacts are recognized. Diversity of perspectives is important, and the fund encourages research proposals led from any discipline, from those in the social sciences and humanities to health, natural sciences and engineering.
Eligibility
To encourage projects that push the boundaries in terms of interdisciplinarity, proposals must be submitted by research teams with at least two individuals.
Visit the NFRF website for more information on eligibility requirements.
Deadlines
- Faculty deadline: consult your Faculty Research Facilitator
- Notice of Intent (NOI): August 19, 2025 before 8 p.m. (eastern)
- Office of the Vice-President (Research, Innovation and International) (OVPRII) deadline: October 14, 2025
- Full application deadline: October 21, 2025 before 8 p.m. (eastern)
- Award results: by March 31, 2026
How to Apply
- Submit an internal Approval Form through our central awards management database cuResearch.
- Submit an external application to the New Frontiers in Research Fund.
Contact Us
Please contact your Faculty Research Facilitator to discuss this funding opportunity.