NSERC-National Science Foundation – Collaboration on quantum science and artificial intelligence

Eligibility

The eligibility requirements for university and college faculty to apply for or hold grant funds from NSERC university-based programs are detailed below and are approved by NSERC Council. Contact your institution’s research grants office or NSERC if you have questions regarding your eligibility.

• Definitions of roles
• Eligibility requirements for applicants and co-applicants
  • Appointment and faculty position
  • Research and student supervision
  • Sources of salary/support
  • Note on adjunct professors
• During the tenure of the grant
• Terms and conditions

Summary

NSERC and the US National Science Foundation (NSF) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on research cooperation. The MOU provides an overarching framework to encourage collaboration between Canadian and US research communities and sets out the principles for developing jointly supported activities. This new NSERC-NSF collaborative research opportunity focuses specifically on discoveries and innovations in the areas of artificial intelligence and quantum science.

Through a lead agency model, US and Canadian research teams will submit a single collaborative proposal that will undergo a single review process at the NSF, which will be the lead agency. Canadian academic researchers may receive funding from NSERC, and US researchers may receive funding from the NSF. NSERC funding will be provided as an Alliance grant. For this collaborative call there is no requirement for partner organizations or contributions in the Canadian component, and they should not be included in the proposal.

The collaborative opportunity is fully described in the Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) available on the NSF website. The DCL provides the complete guidelines for the preparation, submission, review and award of NSERC-NSF collaborative research proposals.

Overhead

None

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.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

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.

How to apply

Collaborative research proposals will be accepted to the NSF programs listed in the DCL. Deadlines and application windows vary by program. Detailed information regarding the NSF programs, application requirements and submission process are described in the DCL and outlined below.

Step 1 - Letter of intent

The Canadian researcher or team of researchers must submit a letter of intent (LOI) to NSERC using the NSERC online system at least eight weeks prior to the planned submission of the full proposal to the NSF. The NSERC eligibility criteria for faculty and the national security guidelines apply. The LOI must not exceed three pages, excluding references, and must respect NSERC online presentation and attachment standards.

The LOI must outline the research proposed, research teams involved from both countries and annual estimates of funding to be requested from both the NSF and NSERC ($CAD). You must also indicate the NSF program to which you are applying.

The LOI must also include

• a brief summary of the main objectives and research challenges of the proposed research and the expected outcomes and benefits
• a plan to foster equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the research and training environment

The LOI and the eligibility of the Canadian researchers will be reviewed internally by NSERC. The plan to foster EDI within the research and training environment is a screening criterion, and only those LOIs that provide a satisfactory EDI training plan will be invited to submit full proposals to the NSF. For guidance, consult the Equity, diversity and inclusion in your training plan web page as well as Alliance grants’ Merit indicator 4.2.

No changes in the Canadian research team composition are permitted after a LOI is reviewed and approved by NSERC.

NSERC Portal Instructions

To start your LOI

• log in to the online system and choose Create a new form 101
• select Research partnerships programs, then Alliance Grants
• for the Proposal type field, select Letter of intent
• for the Type of call field, select NSF Quantum Technologies/AI from the drop-down menu

RMS Instructions

Complete the Pre-Award/Letter of Intent record in 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.

Step 2 - Full proposal (by invitation only)

Based on the review of your LOI, you may be invited to proceed with a full proposal to the NSF. NSERC will provide an Invitation to submit letter to Canadian applicants, which must be appended to the full proposal as a supplementary document. Only proposals that have been invited to submit will be accepted. The NSERC eligibility criteria for faculty apply. The collaborative proposals must be submitted by US principal investigators to a participating NSF program using the appropriate NSF submission process. Full applications are not submitted to NSERC.

If you submit a proposal under this call, you agree that information contained in your proposal will be shared between NSERC and the NSF for purposes consistent with the program objectives. Participants are responsible for ensuring that they are aware of the NSF rules concerning the disclosure of information contained in the proposal. Participants should also ensure they are aware of the policies surrounding NSF programs and post award policies.

The information you provide in your application is collected under the authority of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Act. NSERC is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. The information you provide is stored in a series of NSERC data banks as described in Information about programs and information holdings. You must ensure that others listed in the application have agreed to be included.