NFRF 2026 International Joint Initiative for Research Harnessing Disruptive Technologies to Address Global Challenges

Sponsor’s Website

Visit the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) website for more information on the 2026 International Joint Initiative for Research Harnessing Disruptive Technologies to Address Global Challenges.

Internal Contacts

Kate Swan: kate.swan@carleton.ca

Potential applicants are also encouraged to discuss this funding opportunity with their Faculty Research Facilitator (FRF).

Deadlines

Overview

The NFRF International stream aims to support international collaborations and position Canada and Canadian researchers as strategic partners at the international level.

This joint initiative represents a collaboration among research funders from the Åland Islands, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

It supports international, interdisciplinary and transformative research projects aimed at harnessing disruptive technology to address at least one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or another recognized global challenge.

For the purpose of this call, a disruptive technology is defined as “an innovation whose application replaces or radically alters systems, processes and/or behaviours to have transformative economic or societal impacts.”

Value and Duration

The total amount of funding available for each project will depend on the funding organizations supporting the project.  Up to $1.5 million CAD is available from NFRF for the Canadian portion of projects. The amount available from each international partner is detailed in the call for proposals and annexes.

Eligibility

Each project team must be eligible to receive funds from at least three funding organizations. To fulfil this requirement, the project team must include a minimum of three principal investigators (PIs), each eligible to receive funding from a different participating funding organization. At least one of the three PIs must be eligible to apply to the NFRF program (i.e., Canadian postsecondary researchers eligible to apply to one of the three federal research funding agencies). The three eligible PIs will be co-PIs on the proposal, but they must identify a project lead from among them. The project lead will be the primary contact point for the project as a whole.

Information Sessions

NFRF will host an information session on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Please contact Kate Swan for details. 

Submitting Your Application

Internal Process

Interested teams must submit a draft NOI to CORIS by February 27, 2026, as well as a final NOI to CORIS through the Convergence Portal by 3 p.m. on March 2, 2026. This will be forwarded to NFRF by their deadline of March 3, 2026. This is a mandatory step in the application process. The NOI is used for administrative purposes and is not assessed.

External Submission Steps

1. Submit an internal Approval Form through our central awards management database cuResearch. Consult the user’s manual for guidance.
2. Submit a Letter of Intent to NFRF through the Convergence Portal by June 9, 2026. Submitted LOIs will be evaluated for the purpose of identifying teams to be invited to the full application stage.