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The 2022 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. 

The goal of the Exploration stream is to inspire high-risk, high-reward and interdisciplinary research. 

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. Teams may include one co-PI and any number of co-applicants and/or collaborators. 
• Individuals can participate in only one application of the NFRF Exploration grants stream at a 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 submitted that are led by early career researchers will be reserved for these researchers.  

The maximum budget for the direct costs of the research project is $100,000 per year, for up to two years. Indirect costs must be included in the requested budget at the maximum allowable rate, which is 25% of the direct costs for a given year (e.g., if the direct cost in a year is $100,000, then the indirect cost is $25,000 for that year). 

The competition has 2 stages: 

1) Notification of Intent to Apply (NOI) stage with a deadline of June 28, 2022  

2) Full Application stage with a deadline of September 13, 2022  

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

UPEI Application Process 

Stage 1 (NOI) 

Applicants must submit their NOI using the Researcher Portal for internal review and approval by June 21, 2022 and ensure that it reaches Research Services for review by June 23, 2022. 

Deadline for applicants to submit the NOI in the Convergence Portal: June 27, 2022. 

Stage 2 (Full Application) 

Applicants must submit their application using the Researcher Portal for internal review and approval by September 6, 2022 and ensure that it reaches Research Services for review by September 8, 2022. 

Deadline for applicants to submit the application in the Convergence Portal: September 12, 2022. 

Instructions for using the Researcher Portal can be found here.  

NOI Stage Webinars 

French session: 

May 27th – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Atlantic Time)   

Meeting link – Event password: gF3dQ3q3RCS  

English session:  

May 27th – 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Atlantic Time) 

Meeting link – Event password: u5pU3FvkBV4  

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

Call for Expressions of Interest: OGEN Studentships related to ‘Marine Conservation Targets’ and Oceans and Climate Change Science

About this opportunity

The Ocean Graduate Excellence Network (OGEN) has applied for an envelope of funding in the recent Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) science funding opportunity call. If successful, the funds will be used to support up to potentially seven OGEN PhD Studentships on projects related to the DFO priority research area of ‘Marine Conservation Targets’ and connected to oceans and climate change science. Projects must also fit with OFI’s mission.

If successful, DFO funding would be available as early as September 1, 2022; DFO funding ends March 31, 2025. Funding will be pro-rated for students starting after September 2022.

Expressions of interest are due June 10^th to Tracey Woodhouse (Tracey.Woodhouse@Dal.ca). Please review the attached call and EOI form for full details and do not hesitate to each out to Tracey with any questions.

Final project funding is contingent on a successful outcome from the DFO call and fit with OFI’s and OGEN’s missions. EOIs will not be selected until the DFO application outcome is known. OGEN student funding cannot be communicated to students until projects are selected and confirmed.

The Mitacs Elevate Spring 2022 call for proposals is now open for two-year research projects in key priority sectors. 

Mitacs Elevate is a postdoctoral fellowship with an exclusive professional development curriculum component. Fellows address complex challenges through: 

- A two-year research project with a partner organization in need of high-level expertise 

- A professional development curriculum that prepares Elevate fellows for success as leaders in research and industry 

The Spring 2022 thematic call will accept applications addressing at least one of the key priority areas.  

• Partner organizations contribute $40,000 per year for a total research grant of $80,000 per year for projects addressing at least one of the following key priority sectors:  
  • agriculture and food 
  • artificial intelligence 
  • biomanufacturing 
  • clean technology 
  • entertainment and media 
  • quantum science 
  • social innovation 
      
• This includes stipend support for fellows and up to $10,000 per year in research costs for equipment, additional research personnel, conference travel and publishing costs 

Key deadlines: 

June 10, 2022 — If applicable, deadline to submit not-for-profit eligibility check or conflict of interest declaration to Mitacs 

July 6, 2022 — Deadline to submit full application  

For more information, please consult the Mitacs website or contact elevate@mitacs.ca. 

UPEI application process: 

1) Complete the application using the Mitacs Portal. Details on how to apply can be found on the Mitacs website here. 

2) The supervisor must submit the application and supporting documents for UPEI approval using the Researcher Portal (instructions can be found here). Applicants are requested to submit by June 28, 2022, ensuring that the application is received by Research Services by June 30, 2022.   

Note: the supervisor is responsible for obtaining approvals from each university for which there is an academic supervisor on the project. 

3) Upon receipt of UPEI approvals, the application may then be submitted to Mitacs.  The deadline for submission is July 6, 2022. 

NSERC Discovery Horizons grants support investigator-initiated individual and team projects that broadly integrate or transcend disciplines to advance knowledge in the natural sciences and engineering (NSE). 

The Discovery Horizons (pilot) program provides NSERC’s entry-point to the tri-agency interdisciplinary peer-review mechanism. It supports Discovery research projects that would significantly benefit from being assessed by a tri-agency interdisciplinary peer review committee, and aims to 

1. answer NSE research questions that are best addressed through interdisciplinary approaches 
2. advance NSE disciplines through cross fertilization and new ways of thinking about research questions; ideas and frameworks; approaches and methods; platforms, tools and infrastructure; people, partners and trainees 
3. provide leading-edge NSE training for highly qualified personnel (HQP) in interdisciplinary research environments 

Discovery Horizons grants are expected to be valued from $50K–$100K per year for up to five years and will be commensurate to the size of the research team. For this pilot year, NSERC is expecting to award approximately 10–20 grants. 

The applicant and any co-applicants must all be eligible to hold NSERC funding. Individuals are only allowed to hold or apply for one Discovery Horizons grant as either an applicant or co-applicant. 

The Discovery Horizons application process has two stages: the letter of intent (LOI) stage (deadline: June 16, 2022) and the full application stage (deadline: October 18, 2022). A limited number of applicants will be invited to submit a full application. 

For more information: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Professors-Professeurs/Grants-Subs/DH-HD_eng.asp 

UPEI Application Process for Letter of Intent (LOI) stage: 

1) Complete your LOI using the Convergence Portal (see instructions here).   

2) Generate a PDF view of the LOI and submit it for UPEI approval using the Researcher Portal (instructions for using the Researcher Portal can be found here).  Applicants are requested to submit by June 9, 2022, ensuring that the application is received by Research Services by June 13, 2022. 

3) Upon receipt of UPEI approvals, you will be notified to proceed with the submission of your LOI in the Convergence Portal.  The deadline for submission is June 16, 2022. 

The Ocean Frontier Institute has issued a new call for Seed Fund project applications (https://www.ofi.ca/funding/seed-fund).   

OFI's Seed Fund supports innovative projects that have the potential to advance research, commercial or social concepts relating to the ocean.
 

OFI is pleased to partner once again with Innovacorp, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Net Zero Atlantic, and Mitacs and welcomes Ocean Technology Council of Nova Scotia. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2022.

Key points:  

• Awards will typically range from $10,000 to $15,000 with particularly compelling ideas considered up to a maximum of $30,000.  
• Funding is intended for projects to be undertaken and completed within a 12-month time frame.  
• Projects must be in line with OFI’s research priorities  

UPEI Application process 
 

Complete your application according to the instructions here:  https://www.ofi.ca/funding/seed-funds/application

Submit your application for UPEI approval using the Researcher Portal (instructions for using the Researcher Portal can be found here).  Applicants are requested to submit by June 23, 2021, ensuring that the application is received by Research Services by June 27, 2022. 

Upon receipt of UPEI approvals, you will be notified to proceed with the submission of your application by emailing it to ofi@dal.ca and ofi@mun.ca.  The deadline for submission is June 30, 2022.    

Take your idea from lab to market with $15,000 in support from the L2M NSERC program. 

The Lab2Market Program is a 16-week program to help researchers validate their ideas with the purpose of finding business/commercial value.  

Lab2Market has partnered with NSERC to pilot an adaptation of their Idea to Innovation (I2I) Market Assessment Grant. 

The program offers participants the tools and support needed to complete their own market assessment and with their findings, also help them prepare for the NSERC I2I Phase I proposal. 

If you're a Primary Investigator, Post-Doc, or Graduate student looking to learn about the entrepreneurial potential of your research please reach out to the Office of Commercialization, Industry, and Innovation for assistance with assessment of your idea and proposal, prior to starting the application. Email OCII@upei.ca or Call 902-566-6095  

More information on the L2M NSERC program is available here: https://t.co/oT0L9L9VBn  

If you would like additional information, register here for an info session: https://bit.ly/3usYkoe  

UPEI deadlines: 

Submission of all application documents in the Romeo Researcher Portal: June 20, 2022 

Submission via NSERC’s online system: June 23, 2022 

Call for Expressions of Interest: OGEN Studentships related to ‘Marine Conservation Targets’ and Oceans and Climate Change Science

About this opportunity

The Ocean Graduate Excellence Network (OGEN) has applied for an envelope of funding in the recent Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) science funding opportunity call. If successful, the funds will be used to support up to potentially seven OGEN PhD Studentships on projects related to the DFO priority research area of ‘Marine Conservation Targets’ and connected to oceans and climate change science. Projects must also fit with OFI’s mission.

If successful, DFO funding would be available as early as September 1, 2022; DFO funding ends March 31, 2025. Funding will be pro-rated for students starting after September 2022.

Expressions of interest are due June 10^th to Tracey Woodhouse (Tracey.Woodhouse@Dal.ca). Please review the attached call and EOI form for full details and do not hesitate to each out to Tracey with any questions.

Final project funding is contingent on a successful outcome from the DFO call and fit with OFI’s and OGEN’s missions. EOIs will not be selected until the DFO application outcome is known. OGEN student funding cannot be communicated to students until projects are selected and confirmed.