Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Dear NSERC and SSHRC grant holders,

We’ve received instruction from NSERC and SSHRC agencies regarding additional COVID-19 no-cost extensions. Please ignore this email if you are not holding an active NSERC/SSHRC grant.

Given the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, NSERC and SSHRC will allow, on request, a one-year extension to grants in their final year including auto extension, regardless of whether they have received a previous time extension of any length for any reason. Please note that this extension does not apply to funds awarded as part of the three-month supplement for the support of trainees (students, postdoctoral fellows) and research support personnel.

This latest one-year COVID-19 no-cost extension applies only to grants awarded under the following funding opportunities having less than a year to go taking the auto-extension year into account:

SSHRC:

• Connection Grants
• Partnership Development Grants
• Partnership Grants
• Partnership Engage Grants
• Insight Development Grants
• Insight Grants

NSERC:

• University programs (with the exception of Advancing Climate Change Science in Canada; Canada-UK Artificial Intelligence Initiative; Joint Canada-Germany 2+2 call on Advanced Manufacturing-Industry 4.0; Joint Canada-UK projects on Quantum Technologies; Whale Science for Tomorrow; WaterWorks Joint Call; Ship Time Program; Belmont Forum; Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling Initiative, DND/NSERC Discovery Grant Supplements)
• College and Community Innovation program
• Networks of Centres of Excellence

Please send an email to ors@sfu.ca if you would like to request this additional COVID-19 extension. Please indicate the extension period (up to 12 months) and briefly describe the reason(s) for this additional extension request.

Kindly note that this additional COVID-19 no-cost extension is only to provide more time for completing your current research project and there is no extra funding awarded for the grant recipients.

For all funding opportunities not listed above, grant holders will continue to request an extension by submitting the Grant Amendment Form to ors@sfu.ca  with a justification.  Such extension requests, whether related to COVID-19 or not, will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

For further information, please consult the Tri-Agency message on COVID-19 on the NSERC and SSHRC’s websites.

The following responses were received from the Agencies in response to our questions:

Q1: Does this apply to those who have already received a COVID-19 extension?

Answer: This applies even to those who have already received a COVID-19 time extension.

Q2: Are universities expected to apply the 1-year automatic extension first before authorizing a COVID-19 no-cost extension for a grant?

Answer: You should only be authorizing an extension to those who are in the auto extension year. Example, original end date is May 31, 2020 plus the automatic extension year to May 31, 2021. COVID-19 extension applied, new end date is May 31, 2021 with auto extension year to May 31, 2022.

Q3: Is there a specific end date by which universities cannot authorize a COVID-19 no-cost extension for a grant?

Answer: One year at a time, there is no need to process grants that still have more than a year to go.