NSERC - NSF Call for proposals: Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF)

Eligibility

If you are a Canadian university researcher eligible to receive NSERC funds, you can apply independently or as a team. If you apply as a team, your co-applicants must meet NSERC’s eligibility requirements. To be a Canadian applicant or co-applicant on a DMREF proposal, you must be working in a research area supported by NSERC. As an applicant to this initiative, you must collaborate with at least two US-based researchers who meet the NSF eligibility requirements; the US researcher will be the PI on the NSF DMREF proposal.

Summary

Upcoming webinar

NSERC’s Alliance Communications Team will be offering a webinar for research grant officers (RGOs), university faculty members and researchers on the new National Science Foundation-NSERC Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) funding opportunity, on December 3rd. This session will focus on the program requirements and how Canadian researchers can apply

Please consult the Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) Program Solicitation on the National Science Foundation’s website for complete details on this initiative and guidelines for the preparation, submission and review of proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation.

This is a joint initiative between the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the US National Science Foundation (NSF).The DMREF program offers a unique opportunity for Canadian academic researchers to team up with their US colleagues to build interdisciplinary teams of researchers working synergistically to build the fundamental knowledge base needed to advance the design and development of materials in pursuit of the following goals:

• Unify the Materials Innovation Infrastructure (MII), a framework of integrating advanced modelling, computational and experimental tools, and quantitative data
• Harness the power of materials data
• Educate, train, and connect the materials research and development workforce

Through a lead agency model, the US Principal Investigator (PI) will submit a single collaborative proposal on behalf of the research team, which will undergo a review process by NSF, the lead agency. In parallel, the eligible participating Canadian researchers on the team must submit one simplified application to NSERC. Please refer to the Apply section for more details.

How to apply:

Important: The US Principal Investigator (PI) for your partnership is responsible for submitting the complete application package (including the research proposal) to NSF, following their instructions.

Canadian researchers involved in a DMREF project must be identified in the NSF application.

To be a Canadian applicant or co-applicant on a DMREF application, you must be working in a research area supported by NSERC and meet NSERC’s eligibility requirements at the time of application.

As the Canadian applicant, you must submit a simplified application package to NSERC, and on behalf of any additional Canadian co-applicant if applicable, at the same time that the US PI submits the full application to NSF.

NSERC Online System instructions:

• Log in to NSERC’s online system and select 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-DMREF from the drop-down menu.
• To complete each section of the form 101, follow NSERC's instructions here. 

This competition will be run through Research Management System (RMS) internally. RMS Instructions below:

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.  

• Please note, your application will not be considered submitted and will not be reviewed until both the application is submitted in the NSERC Portal and the RMS Approvals have been received. 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.

Research Security considerations

If either of the following forms are needed for your application, please reach out directly to researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca for additional information and help. 

• Attestation forms from each researcher with a named role if your application aims to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area (STRA)
• A Risk Assessment Form must be completed as part of the Partnerships module in the application, if applicable.

Overhead

None

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.