NFRF

The Government of Canada is leading the International Initiative for Research on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, with several international research funding organizations responding to Canada’s call for interest. Research funders from Brazil, Germany, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others, have joined as partners. The initiative will leverage international expertise to tackle global challenges caused by climate change.

Set to be launched in January 2023, the initiative will fund transformative research with the potential to deliver game-changing impacts. Funded international projects will further the design and implementation of adaptation and mitigation strategies for vulnerable groups—those currently most affected by climate change impacts, owing to both their physical and socioeconomic vulnerability. Focusing on co-production, researchers will work with vulnerable groups to address their most pressing needs.

The Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) has committed $60 million to this call, which will be administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, through the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF). International partners in the consortium will contribute more than C$30 million to this call, for a current total competition budget of more than C$90 million.

This funding opportunity will require that projects address at least two of the eight representative key risks identified in the Sixth Assessment Report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report highlights the unprecedented changes in Earth’s climate that are being observed in every region, impacting all ecosystems and societies, and will continue to intensify with further warming.

The 2021 Exploration stream competition of the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) has been launched.  All competition documents are available on the NFRF website, and the Convergence Portal is open. 

Exploration stream 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. 

Please note the following key points: 

• Proposals must be submitted by research teams composed of at least two individuals. In addition to a nominated principal investigator (NPI), the team must include either a co-principal investigator (co-PI) or a co-applicant.  
• Individuals can participate in only one Exploration stream application or grant at one time as either an NPI, co-PI or co-applicant. These restrictions do not apply to collaborators.  
• A proportion of awards equal to the proportion of applications received from early career researchers will be reserved for them. For a proposal to be considered led by early career researchers (ECRs), both the NPI and co-PI (if applicable) must be ECRs. An ECR is a researcher within five years from the start date of their first research-related appointment, minus the length of any eligible delays in research, as of June 1, 2021. 

 The competition has 2 stages: 

1) Notification of Intent to Apply (NOI) stage with a deadline of August 10, 2021  

2) Full Application stage with a deadline of October 19, 2021  

Each stage must be submitted by the Office of Research Services; therefore, applicants must follow the UPEI process below. 

UPEI Application Process: 

Stage 1 (NOI) 

Applicants must submit their NOI using the UPEI Romeo Researcher Portal for internal review and approval by August 3, 2021 and ensure that it reaches Research Services for review by August 5, 2021. 

Deadline for applicants to submit the NOI in the Convergence Portal: August 9, 2021. 

Stage 2 (Full Application) 

Applicants must submit their application using the UPEI Romeo Researcher Portal for internal review and approval by October 12, 2021 and ensure that it reaches Research Services for review by October 14, 2021. 

Deadline for applicants to submit the application in the Convergence Portal: October 18, 2021. 

NOI Stage Webinars 

French session: 

Date: July 13, 2021 

Time: 11:00am – 1:00 PM (Atlantic Time) 

Meeting link – Event password: GpBTpRMB572 

English session: 

Date: July 13, 2021 

Time: 2:00 – 4:00 PM (Atlantic Time) 

Meeting link – Event password: KcwdeVSs354 

Webinars will be recorded and distributed to Research Offices after the session.  If you would like a copy of the recording and presentation slides, please email lcudmore@upei.ca.