NSERC Bridge

The NSERC Bridge grant provides financial support for engineering and natural sciences researchers who:

• Have held at least one grant as a principal applicant from one of the three federal funding councils or (new) from a national sponsor outside of Canada;
• Are not currently holding Tri-Council funding as a principal investigator (PI) (if in an automatic extension year, can no longer be receiving instalments); and
• Have been unsuccessful as a PI in an NSERC Discovery or Alliance funding competition within the last year (excludes NSERC Discovery Horizon Letter of Intent).

It is expected that the NSERC Bridge will lead to a competitive application to NSERC as a PI within a year of the end date of the grant. 

Guidelines

Terms and Conditions

Eligibility

Principal Investigator

• Holds a full-time tenured or tenure-track position (Assistant, Associate, Full) at Carleton at the time of application (i.e., appointment date on or before the applicant submission deadline).
• The researcher:
  • Has held at least one grant as a PI from one of the three federal funding councils or (new) from a national sponsor outside of Canada;
  • Is not currently holding Tri-Council funding as a PI (if in an automatic extension year, can no longer be receiving instalments);
  • Has been unsuccessful as a PI in an NSERC Discovery or Alliance funding competition within the last year (excludes NSERC Discovery Horizon Letter of Intent);
  • May only submit one application in a given gate as PI or co-PI to the Research Development Grant (SSHRC Explore, NSERC or CIHR); and
  • Cannot have been awarded as a PI or co-PI a Research Development Grant (SSHRC Explore, NSERC or CIHR) in the past three years.
• A Research Development Grant (SSHRC Explore, NSERC or CIHR) may not be held in conjunction with a SSHRC Exchange Grant: Knowledge Mobilization.
• Previous recipients of a Research Development Grant (SSHRC Explore, NSERC or CIHR) must demonstrate that the proposed single defined research project involves different objectives than their past grant(s) and that there is no duplication of funding for any of the proposed activities.
• NEW: the final report for the previous award must have been submitted.

Co-Principal Investigator

• Holds a full-time tenured or tenure-track position at Carleton at the time of application (i.e., appointment date on or before the applicant submission deadline).
• Has not been awarded a Research Development Grant (SSHRC Explore, NSERC or CIHR) within the past three years. Previous recipients of a Research Development Grant proposing a similar research project must clearly explain how they are planning to respond to committee comments. 
• NEW: the final report for the previous award must have been submitted.
• Does not hold a SSHRC Exchange Grant: Knowledge Mobilization.
• A professor may only submit one application in a given gate to the Research Development Grant (SSHRC Explore, NSERC or CIHR).

Team Member

• Anyone is eligible, no CV submission is required.

Budget

Expenses must be eligible under the Tri-Agency Guidelines for Use of Grant Funds.

Eligible Expenses

• Stipends to students and postdoctoral fellows;
• Salaries of technical and professional staff;
• Materials, supplies and services;
• Research travel (e.g., field work); and
• Knowledge dissemination (e.g., travel to present papers at technical conferences).

Note: small equipment (i.e., computers) cannot account for more than one third of the total budget.

Ineligible Expenses

• Professional development activities;
• Partnership-building activities;
• Large equipment and renovations; and
• Teaching release.

Note: transfers of funds to other institutions are not permitted.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Scientific or engineering excellence of the researcher (20%)
   • Knowledge, expertise and experience of the researcher in the natural sciences and engineering (NSE);
   • Quality and impact of contributions to the proposed research and/or other areas of research in NSE; and
   • Importance of contributions to, and use by, other researchers and end-users.
2. Merit of the proposal (50%)
   • Originality and innovation;
   • Significance of expected contributions to NSE research, potential for policy and/or technology-related impact;
   • Clarity and scope of objectives;
   • Clarity and appropriateness of methodology;
   • Feasibility;
   • Extent to which the scope of the proposal addresses all relevant issues, including the need for varied expertise within or across disciplines;
   • Consideration of sex, gender and other identity factors in the research design, if applicable;
   • Consideration of interdisciplinary methods or practices in research, if applicable; and
   • Appropriateness of, and justification for, the budget.
3. Contributions to the training of highly qualified personnel (HQP) (30%)
   • Past contributions to the training of HQP (training environment, HQP awards and research contributions, outcomes and skills by HQP); and
   • Training plan, including training philosophy.

Contact Us

Christine Rivas: christinerivas@cunet.carleton.ca