Alliance International Collaboration

Eligibility

Alliance International Collaboration is an opportunity for Canadian university researchers to receive NSERC funding to collaborate on international research projects involving university-based researchers (equivalent to assistant, associate or full professor) from other countries.

Canadian applicants and co-applicants must hold an active, NSERC peer-reviewed grant at the time of application.

Canadian researchers may apply for one Alliance International Collaboration grant (as either applicant or co-applicant) per 12 months period starting with the date of the latest submission.

Summary

Advance Information for Research Offices on the Reopening of the Alliance International Collaboration Program

We would like to inform you of the upcoming re-opening of the Alliance International Collaboration program. We expect to re-open this funding opportunity on September 2, 2026. We will offer information sessions to RGOs and researchers shortly after the program re-opens.

While the Catalyst program will remain on hold, discipline-specific Catalyst grant funding opportunities may be offered in future when/if specific funding is available (for example, 81 Catalyst Quantum grants were awarded in early 2026). However, a regular Catalyst funding opportunity is not part of the revised Alliance International program.

Overhead

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Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

Additional application deadlines

The Alliance International Collaboration stream is now a competitive process, with three submission deadlines per year. Funding decisions for the Nov 2026 deadline are expected in Jan/Feb 2027. Deadlines for 2027 will be disclosed early in the winter.

What remains unchanged:

• Alliance International Collaboration is an opportunity for Canadian university researchers to receive NSERC funding to collaborate on international research projects involving university-based researchers (equivalent to assistant, associate or full professor) from other countries.
• Canadian applicants and co-applicants must hold an active, NSERC peer-reviewed grant at the time of application.
• NSERC will leverage the results of the peer review conducted by the international funding agency as the scientific assessment of the project; the Canadian team and their role must be clearly defined in the proposals.
• The assessment of proposals submitted to NSERC will be conducted internally; NSERC will not duplicate the peer review process.
• NSERC funding will remain between $20,000 and $100,000 per year, for a maximum duration of three years.
• Where funding is awarded on both sides, the Canadian and international teams are expected to begin their work at approximately the same time and for a comparable duration.
• Canadian researchers may apply for one Alliance International Collaboration grant (as either applicant or co-applicant) per 12 months period starting with the date of the latest submission.

What has changed:

• Proposals submitted to NSERC will now be evaluated internally using two criteria:
  Impact and Benefit to Canada (60%) and Quality of training in Canada (40%),
  including considerations related to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in training
  opportunities.
• The Alliance International Collaboration stream will move to a competitive
  process, with three submission deadlines per year. In 2026, the deadline is
  November 25, 8pm ET, with funding decisions expected in January¿February 2027.
  Deadlines for 2027 will be disclosed early in the winter. Applications received for
  each deadline that are determined to be fundable will be ranked according to the
  two evaluation criteria outlined above, with funding awarded in rank order until the
  budget allocated to that competition round is fully committed. A random selection
  process may be used to break ties at the funding cutoff.
• Applications that are not funded at a given deadline will not be eligible for
  resubmission.
• In light of the competitive process, the maximum time allowed between the official
  award letter received by the international collaborator and the submission of the
  Canadian application to NSERC has been extended to 120 days.
• A copy of the international proposal and the official award letter must be included in
  the NSERC application. If these documents are not in English or French, applicants
  must provide a translation of the award letter and of all sections of the international
  proposal that describe at a minimum the Canadian team and its role in the global
  project.
• To ensure balanced participation, each party¿s budget (Canadian and international)
  must represent at least 25% of the total project budget¿for example, if the
  combined Canadian and international budget is CAD $200,000, the budget
  submitted to NSERC or to the international funding agency must be at least
  $50,000.

Important:

As a transitional measure intended to include Canadian researchers who were unable to
submit an application by the May 20, 2025 deadline, the requirement to submit an
application to NSERC within 120 days of the award date of the corresponding international
grant will not apply, provided that applications are submitted to NSERC no later than
November 25, 2026, 8pm ET. All such applications must meet the program requirements,
and the proposed collaborations must remain viable, particularly where the grant awarded
to the international collaborators was awarded more than 120 days earlier. Applications
submitted by the May 20, 2025 deadline that were not selected for funding are not eligible
for resubmission.

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 LOI
RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application