Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Please be advised that the Discovery Grant Research Portal is now open to accept full applications to the Discovery Grant program. You may proceed to create your application in the Research Portal. 

Deadline - Monday November 1, 2021 at 8:00 p.m. (ET)

The countdown indicator in the Research Portal refers to the time left to submit the application to NSERC. Please consult your research office for their internal deadline. Once an application has been submitted to NSERC, it cannot be updated or modified, either before or after the deadline.

Other deadlines

• Research Tools and Instruments (RTI): Monday October 25, 2021, 8:00 p.m. (ET)
• Subatomic Physics - Research Tools and Instruments: Monday October 25, 2021, 8:00 p.m. (ET)
• Subatomic Physics - MRS, RTI Cat. 2 & 3, Projects over $500,000: Friday October 1, 2021, 8:00 p.m. (ET)

Instructions

Read and follow the instructions for completing an application. Information that does not conform to the instructions will not be used for peer review and the application may be rejected.

Attachments uploaded into the Research Portal should not include bookmarks.

There was an issue with the NSERC CCV template during the NOI stage, specifically regarding the fields that have the 6-year window (should be 01/01/2015). Please verify your CCV to ensure that all fields are validated. You may be required to create a new version of your CCV before attaching it to your application. Reminder: you should always download a full version of your application and CCV before submitting to your RGO for approval.

COVID-19 impacts on research

NSERC has developed general guidelines for the consideration of COVID-19-related impacts on research aiming to provide direction on how to describe these impacts in an application and information on how to consider these impacts when reviewing contributions to research and training and/or research and training plans.

Leaves of absence and delays

Since the 2021 competition, applicants who have reported an eligible leave of absence or delay in their CCV are entitled to list contributions to research and to training beyond the last six years, for a period equivalent to the duration of the leave or delay and taken from the most recent active research period prior to the last six years. Applicants should refer to the full application instructions and the peer review manual for details on how to integrate these contributions into their application (i.e., Past contributions to the training of HQP, most significant contributions to research and Samples of research contributions) and in the new leaves of absence attachment.

Early Career Researcher (ECR) Applicant Category

The ECR eligibility window previously increased from 3 years to 5 years to harmonize with the other agencies. Since the 2021 competition, the five-year window for being considered an ECR is adjusted to take into account instances where a researcher has had an eligible delay in research. All eligible leaves (e.g. maternity, parental, personal illness, leave taken by applicants for family-related illness, bereavement) are now credited twice the amount of time taken and the window is adjusted accordingly. Delays in research activity related to the COVID-19 pandemic will also be considered eligible for adjusting the window and should be clearly described in the CCV. Applicants reporting a period of reduced research and training related to the COVID-19 pandemic must calculate and provide the full-time equivalent duration of the delay in the CCV.

Northern Research Supplement (NRS)

The application process is part of the Discovery Grants application within the research portal - no longer separate through the online system. The selection criteria have been updated, and weighting is applied to each criterion. The weighted scoring method will provide applicants with more detailed feedback on their proposals.

Discovery Accelerator Supplements (DAS) program

As of competition year 2022, NSERC’s DAS program is suspended until further notice. Although no new DAS awards will be made, ongoing DAS awards will continue to be honored. See the full announcement for more details.

Note: The DAS secondary consent questions still appear in the Research portal. You will be required to answer the two self-identification questions to submit your application. Please select “This does not apply to me”.

Discovery Development Grants Program (DDG)

This program reflects NSERC’s commitment to support researchers from small universities. Based on feedback on the pilot, the following changes have been made to the program:

• The award amount was increased from $10K to $15K per year for 2 years for a total of $30K.
• Researchers are now allowed to hold 2 DDG awards over the duration of their career (instead of only 1 award).

Note: no separate application is required for the Discovery Development Grants. Selection is made based on the Discovery Grants competition results each year.

Research Tools and Instruments (RTI)

Beginning next year (i.e. Competition 2023, with a deadline of October 2022) RTI applicants and co-applicants who were successful in the previous year’s RTI competition will be ineligible to apply for one year. Eligibility will be reinstated the following competition year. This change is being implemented to increase access to the RTI program to the largest number of eligible researchers. This decision, as well as the changes to the selection criterion for this year are informed by the recent Discovery Research Evaluation and the results of the GBA+ Analysis of the RTI program.

Webinars and pre-recorded videos

Due to COVID-19, NSERC is replacing live webinars with pre-recorded videos followed by live Q&A sessions. This series is meant to assist the research community on how to complete an application using the Research Portal and the NSERC Canadian Common CV (CCV). Consult the Webinars page for upcoming dates.

Technical Support

If you require technical assistance for the Research Portal, contact NSERC technical support by email at webapp@nserc-crsng.gc.ca or by telephone at 613-995-4273.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at resgrant@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.