Research Partnerships Program (RPP) 2026

Eligibility

• Submitting organizations are limited to school authorities and faculties at post-secondary institutions. The submitting organization must be a member of the Alberta Research Network, as per the ARN Member Organizations List.
• If multiple individuals in the partnership are from a post-secondary institution, at least one of the individuals must be from an Alberta Research Network member faculty.
• The primary investigator must be a faculty member at an Alberta post-secondary institution that conducts educational research.
• The research team must include appropriate school authority representatives.
• The research project must be directly relevant to one or more of the Research Priorities.
• It is expected that the duration of a study and its budget will be positively correlated.

Summary

The Research Partnerships Program (RPP) facilitates opportunities for research connections between post-secondary research institutions and school authorities. This program is intended to support collaborative research projects that focus on research questions most relevant to Alberta’s education system.

Funds provided by the program will support research priorities that have the potential to impact the ECS to Grade 12 education system and improve outcomes for students.

Research priorities

1. Impact of Violent Incidents on Teacher Retention and Recruitment
2. Quantifying Instructional Time Lost to Behavioural Management
3. Long term Remediation Rates of K-3 Literacy Screening
4. Efficacy of Disciplinary Policies on Recidivism
5. Quantifiable Benefits of Mobile Device Restrictions

Program Resources

• RPP 2026 Call for Proposals
• RPP 2026 Fact Sheet
• program contact: edc.rpp@gov.ab.ca

Submission Process

This competition will be part of the Research Management System (RMS), and approvals will be obtained electronically. Research Funding Application Approvals (RFAA) forms are not required as approvals are collected electronically in RMS.

Full Proposal

The Full Proposal, plus approval in the Research Management System (RMS) using a Pre-Award/Application record, must be submitted to RSO by February 27, 2026, at 12:00 pm. Please be sure to select 'Submitted for approval' (under Save & Progress) in RMS in good time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the RSO internal deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines.

Do not submit to the agency until RSO's approval has been granted in RMS. Once this institutional approval has been obtained, the Principal Investigator will receive an automated message from RMS to their @ucalgary email address. You can then proceed with submitting your application via email to EDC.RPP@gov.ab.ca by the deadline of March 4, 2026 at 4:30 pm.

This application also requires a signed signature page from the RSO prior to submission (this document will be available for download in RMS).

Overhead

10%

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.

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