NFRF 2024 NordForsk-led International Joint Initiative on Sustainable Development of the Arctic

Eligibility

*The NordForsk Sustainable Development of the Arctic competition is currently calling for pre-proposals. This posting may be updated as more information about the NordForsk competition and associated NFRF funding call becomes available.

Canadian researchers participating on project teams submitting proposals for the NordForsk Sustainable Development of the Arctic call are eligible to apply for funding for the Canada-based members on the team from the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF). To be eligible for NFRF funding, Canadian project teams must:

• Be participating on Indigenous co-developed co-led projects 
  • projects are required to partner with (a) participating community(-ies) in the co-creation, implementation and ownership of the research and outcomes, and to develop approaches related to knowledge mobilization and community uptake
• Comprise a minimum of the Principal Investigator (in NFRF terminology, the NPI) and a co-PI who is a representative of the community or region where the research will take place and/or the community that has requested and will benefit from the research findings
• Request $2.5 - $4.0 million (including indirect costs) NFRF funding to support research activities of the Canadian team members
• Have a project duration of 3-4 years

The NPI must be eligible for NFRF funding and be an independent researcher, but co-PIs and co-applicants on the proposal may be policy-makers, educators, decision-makers, health-care administrators, Indigenous Elders, Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, patients, community leaders, individuals working for a charity, and a range of other individuals whose research activities can be supported by NFRF funds.

Proposals for the NordForsk Sustainable Development of the Arctic call must meet the requirements as set out in the NordForsk call document (pre-proposal available here), and have a minimum of three Nordic countries represented on the research team. The deadline for pre-proposals for the NordForsk call is June 4, 2024.

Summary

NFRF will provide up to $20 million total over 4 years to support Canadian participants working on funded NordForsk Sustainable Development of the Arctic project teams. The NFRF application involves a two-stage application process: a mandatory Registration followed by a full application. Applicants must complete the registration form and application and submit using the Convergence Portal; registration forms are expected to be available in the portal by late April. Registration is only used for administrative purposes, to assess the eligibility of the team to hold an NFRF grant.

Contact ipd@ucalgary.ca as soon as possible if interested in this NFRF funding opportunity. Research Services can connect teams with UCalgary staff supporting international research partnerships, knowledge engagement/knowledge mobilization, Indigenous research, and expertise related to equity, diversity and inclusion. 

SUBMISSION PROCESS

Institutional and agency milestones associated with the Registration stage are listed below, additional information for the full application stage will be provided to teams that have submitted Registrations and will be proceeding in the competition.

Timeline

Optional funder webinar 

• Activity: NFRF information session for applicants
  • For details, see the “Additional Information” section below
• Date: April 24, 2024 (bilingual), 8am-10am MST 

Mandatory Registration

• Activity: Submit Registration to RSO via Convergence Portal
  • An RMS record is not required for the Registration stage
• Deadline: By 9:00 am May 27, 2024

• Activity: Review of Registration by Research Services
• Dates: May 27 - 30, 2024

• Activity: Research Services submits Registration to agency via Convergence Portal
• Deadline: By May 30, 2024

RESOURCES

For projects involving Indigenous Research:

Support with the development of your grant application is available internally through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST). Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

For assistance in identifying international partners, contact the International Research Team at UCIresearch@ucalgary.ca.

Support for community partnerships and knowledge mobilization: 

The Knowledge Engagement team in Research Services can consult on community partnerships, partnership principles, and knowledge mobilization plans. Applicants can reach out by email to Knowledge Engagement at Knowledge.Engagement@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. for more information, please visit the Knowledge Engagement webpage.

NordForsk Sustainable Development of the Arctic webinar

A recording of the webinar held by NordForsk on March 19, 2024, outlining the themes of the call and the NordForsk application process, can be found here.

RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

NordForsk Sustainable Development of the Arctic call for pre-proposals

Overhead

N/A

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

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 (for full application only).

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.

Webinar

NFRF will offer a bilingual informational webinar on the NFRF 2024 NordForsk-led International Joint Initiative on Sustainable Development of the Arctic competition and application process. Registration is not required, and the webinar will held on:

               April 24, 2024, 8–10am MST

               Link to join the webinar

Contact ipd@ucalgary.ca for the webinar recording and presentation following the session.

Interested applicants are asked to contact ipd@ucalgary.ca as soon as possible to connect with relevant internal resources to support the NFRF application. RMS is not required for registration but will be required for the full application stage.

For UCalgary researchers participating on applications elsewhere: If you have been asked by the submitting institutions to confirm we are aware of your involvement, please notify Research Services via email to ipd@ucalgary.ca.  At the full application stage, completion of the Pre-Award record in RMS (follow the instructions under Submission Process below) is required. Once all approvals are obtained in RMS, our Director will email the RSO of the lead institution to confirm. 

RMS Training

As the full application will run through RMS, we encourage applicants to view the step sheets available at the RMS Training page. 

For training or technical support, you can contact RMS at: rms@ucalgary.ca and 403.210.9309.

Selection criteria

The following criteria will be used to evaluate full applications:

• EDI in research practice and support of ECRs (pass/fail)
• high reward (pass/fail)
• feasibility (pass/fail)

Applications must pass all three criteria to be deemed eligible. Applications recommended for funding through the NordForsk-led process and deemed eligible for NFRF funding will be recommended to the steering committee.