NSERC-SSHRC Sustainable agriculture initiative

Eligibility

Canadian university researchers in the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences or engineering fields collaborating with organizations from the private, public or not-for-profit sectors; college faculty can participate as co-applicants. 

NSERC Webinar slides

Summary

This initiative is a joint effort between the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

This initiative will fund multidisciplinary, collaborative networks of researchers to address specific research objectives by initiating or accelerating the development of truly transformative solutions, and by mobilizing expertise, technologies and research in  social sciences, natural sciences and engineering and in areas that broaden the traditional network of agriculture research partners. With the objective of amplifying long-term adoption, this funding will support both fundamental and applied research to accelerate the knowledge base for transformative alternative practices, technologies, and their adoptions, as well as to build reliable and consistent measurement tools and performance metrics. To significantly increase the speed at which proven technologies and practices are adopted within the sector, proposals should clearly define a plan for knowledge translation and transfer to the sector.

A) Preparatory funding

To facilitate partnerships and build successful multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral collaborations required to establish strong teams and relevant proposals, preparatory funds are available to NSERC- and SSHRC-eligible researchers. Up to $50,000 can be requested to support application-related expenses. Only one application for preparatory funding can be submitted per team and it is expected that ~20 awards will be available. The application due date for preparatory funding is May 8, 2023. The award start date for preparatory funds is expected to be June 1, 2023.

Preparatory funds may be used for application-related expenses, such as:

• Meetings costs (the use of conference calls is encouraged whenever possible)
• Travel and accommodation expenses of academic participants as well as local community advisors, such as Indigenous elders or agricultural producers, for any face-to-face meetings required to develop the proposal (partner organizations are expected to demonstrate commitment to the project by covering their own costs)
• Communication, secretarial, clerical and coordination services over and above what is available from the universities involved and the partner organizations; salaries of technical writers may be requested but only up to a maximum of $15,000

Preparatory funding applications are not LOIs. Applicants can apply directly to the full proposal stage without having applied to the Preparatory funding. 

B) Full Proposal

You can request $500,000 to $2,000,000 per year from NSERC and SSHRC for four years; applications for projects less than four years will not be accepted. Cash contributions from partner organizations are not required. You cannot use an Alliance grant or a SSHRC Partnership grant to support secret or contract research.

You and your co-applicants may receive funds from other sources to cover direct costs of your project. These sources of funds could include cash contributions provided by other funding agencies, and such funds would add to and complement those requested from NSERC and SSHRC. You must include all of the project's direct costs funded by sources other than NSERC or SSHRC in the budget table. All costs must be explained in your application and will be considered in the merit assessment stage.

In-kind contributions are important for the success of the project. All partner organizations participating in the project must play an active role in it and make in-kind contributions through such involvement (see the Alliance grants: Partner organizations page for more details). In-kind contributions are considered in the merit assessment of your proposal (see the Alliance grants: Review of your application).

Overhead

None

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Both the Preparatory funding and full application stages will be administered via RMS, each stage will require a separate RMS pre-award/application record.

A) Preparatory funding

1. Complete your application in the NSERC On-line system. Once the application is complete (including required attachments and your CCV), verify each section, and then press "Submit". Your application will be sent to the Research Services Office. Please ensure your application is final and complete; Research Services will not review drafts, and, once received, your application may be submitted to NSERC without further notice. 

2. Complete the Pre-Award record in RMS (login at https://research.ucalgary.ca/rms) and “Submit for academic approvals” (Under Save & Progress) in good time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the Research Services deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines.  

B) Full proposal 

1. Complete your application in the NSERC On-line system. Once the application is complete (including required attachments and your CCV), verify each section, and then press "Submit". Your application will be sent to the Research Services Office. Please ensure your application is final and complete; Research Services will not review drafts, and, once received, your application may be submitted to NSERC without further notice. 

2. Complete a new Pre-Award record in RMS (login at https://research.ucalgary.ca/rms) and “Submit for academic approvals” (Under Save & Progress) in good time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the Research Services deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines.  

• Please note, your application will not be considered submitted and will not be reviewed until both the application is submitted in the Research Portal (a paper copy is not required) and the RMS Approvals have been received. As Alliance is a rolling intake, once we have received both the completed RMS record and the NSERC application in the NSERC portal, please indicate if you would like a basic (allowable turnaround time is 3 days) review or a detailed (allowable turnaround time is 2 weeks) review.

• The detailed review includes a detailed review of the application, checking for eligibility and UofC commitments and risk, compliance with program guidelines, completeness of application, and the opportunity for feedback to improve the application.

• The basic administrative review involves a minimal check of the application for eligibility and any UofC commitment or risk.

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NSERC Webinars

English sessions (Webex):

1) Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm Eastern Time (ET)

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Meeting number: 2774 406 3944

Password: ALLRP2023!

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Access code: 277 440 63944



2) Tuesday, May 02, 2023, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm (ET)

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Meeting number: 2774 003 3620

Password: ALLRP2023!

Join by phone:

1-613-714-9906 Canada Toll (Ottawa)

1-844-426-4405 Canada Toll Free

Access code: 277 400 33620

French sessions (Webex):



1) Thursday, April 13, 2023, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm (ET)

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Meeting number: 2771 116 7581

Password: ALLRP2023!

Join by phone:

1-613-714-9906 Canada Toll (Ottawa)

1-844-426-4405 Canada Toll Free

Access code: 277 111 67581

2) Wednesday, May 03, 2023, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm (ET)

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting number: 2772 990 2968

Password: ALLRP2023!

Join by phone:

1-613-714-9906 Canada Toll (Ottawa)

1-844-426-4405 Canada Toll Free

Access code: 277 299 02968