FY26 Innovative Awards

Eligibility

Proposals may be submitted by domestic and foreign non-profit or public organizations, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, and eligible agencies of the federal government. Applicants must hold an M.D., D.M.D., D.V.M., Ph.D., D.O. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or equivalent at a college, university, medical institution, or other research facility. There are no citizenship requirements for this program. To assure continued excellence and diversity among applicants and awardees, Breakthrough T1D welcomes proposals from all qualified individuals and especially encourages proposals from persons with disabilities, women, and members of minority groups underrepresented in the sciences.

Summary

Breakthrough T1D provides seed funding for highly innovative, high-risk-high-reward research with significant potential to accelerate the mission of Breakthrough T1D. Proposals should address key outstanding questions and have the potential to lead to a challenge or a change in the current paradigm or conventional wisdom and/or lead to a groundbreaking discovery. Preliminary data is not required in the proposal, but the underlying concept, premise or hypothesis must be plausible and testable, and the proposal must be focused with a well-defined goal that is achievable within the timeframe and amount of the award. 

• Specific information regarding Breakthrough T1D’s Research Strategy can be found HERE.
• The Innovative Grant Mechanism is not intended to support proposals aiming to incrementally advance existing hypotheses or ongoing areas of research, or proposals with the sole goal of generating novel reagents or resources. 
• The concept does not require preliminary evidence in T1D but must be applicable to T1D. 
• Central hypothesis should be justified in the proposed research plan, budget and timeline.

Applications must be submitted via the sponsor submission portal HERE.

Overhead

10% of direct costs, not to exceed total grant request amount.

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

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.

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.

RESOURCES

Reminder: The sooner the researcher engages with Research Services, the more help we can be!

Contact the following Research Service units for support with:

Projects Involving Indigenous Research:

Support with incorporating wise practices in Indigenous research, community engagement, and Indigenous data management is available 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.

Knowledge Mobilization, Research Impact Assessment, DORA:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, research impact, responsible research assessment (DORA), and open science, is available through the Knowledge to Impact team.

Applicants can reach out by email to the KI team at knowledge.impact@ucalgary.ca.

For more information and access to resource archives, please visit the KI team webpage.

Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.ca.

EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice.

Contact edi.rso@ucalgary.ca for more information.

Research Security:

The Research Security Division is available to ensure researchers adhere to research security guidelines and policies, including the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and the policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC).

Visit the Research Security website to learn more or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.

Pre-Award Submissions:

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application