Synergy Awards for Innovation

Eligibility

For university partnerships:

• The nominated partnership must be for research in natural sciences or engineering. Up to 30% of the research can be in another field, such as social sciences, humanities or health. It must have also been supported, in whole or in part, by at least one NSERC research partnerships grant, such as Engage, Collaborative Research and Development, Strategic Partnerships (Projects or Networks), Industrial Research Chairs, Idea to Innovation, Alliance or Calls for Collaborative Research Projects. The grant must have contributed to establishing the partnership or contributed significantly to solidifying the partnership.
• In addition, the partnership must be between at least one Canadian university professor or group of professors and one or more partner organizations from the private, public (non-academic), or not-for-profit sectors. One member of the academic team must be designated as the nominee, and all other members, if applicable, as co-nominees. All academic team members must meet NSERC’s eligibility requirements for faculty to apply for or hold grant funds  (at the time of the nomination). Partner organizations must be recognized for cost-sharing based on the guidelines established for Alliance grants. Refer to the Role of partner organizations  section of the Alliance Advantage web page for more details. The partnership must comply with the conflict of interest policies of all participating institutions. Refer to the Conflict of interest guidelines for collaborations with partner organizations  for more details.

Summary

The annual Synergy Awards for Innovation recognize examples of collaboration that stand as models of effective partnership between partner organizations and colleges or universities. The awards honour the most outstanding achievements emerging from these collaborations. By working together, award-winning partner organizations and post-secondary institutions prove that effective partnerships and innovation are the foundation of achievement. Their successes enrich the academic and research programs at Canadian post-secondary institutions while providing concrete benefits to Canadians.

Nomination package

1. The Synergy Awards for Innovation form , completed and signed by the nominator (electronic signature accepted)
2. The Terms and conditions form for nominees , completed and signed
   1. For universities, it must be signed by the nominee and each co-nominee, if applicable (academic researchers only; one form per person)
   2. For colleges, it must be signed by the nominee only
3. The Terms and conditions form for nominators , completed and signed by the nominator
4. A letter of nomination, maximum one page if written in English and 1.2 pages if written in French, signed by the nominator. The letter should describe why the proposed partnership is being nominated for a Synergy Award for Innovation
5. The Nomination template . See the template for instructions
6. Partner organization letter(s), one per partner organization, maximum two pages per letter if written in English and 2.4 pages if written in French . Academic institutions are not considered partner organizations. If there is more than one partner, all letters combined must not exceed 20 pages if written in English and 24 pages if written in French. The letter(s) must be signed by the most relevant person designated as their authorized contact. Letters must not duplicate information provided in the nomination and should describe:
   1. how and why the partner organization was involved
   2. the resources (human, equipment, facilities, etc.) provided
   3. how the organization benefited from the outcomes of the partnership
7. Partner organization profile(s), one per partner organization, maximum one page if written in English and 1.2 pages if written in French. The profile must contain  a concise description of the organization, its mandate and the nature of its operations in Canada. A reference to the partner organization’s website is not acceptable as a substitute for the profile

You may use this checklist  to ensure the nomination package is complete.

Nominators are responsible for assembling the required documentation, which must follow NSERC’s general presentation guidelines . The nomination package must be submitted as a single Portable Document Format (PDF), in the order outlined above. Documents that do not meet the presentation standards may be rejected or at a disadvantage in comparison with those that meet the presentation standards. Only the requested documents will be made available to the selection committee. Any additional material will be removed.

Nominations must be submitted electronically via the Secure Submission for NSERC’s Synergy Awards for Innovation  site before 8:00 pm (ET) on the deadline date. Only submit a single PDF (do not upload PDF portfolios) using the provided template. Late nominations will not be accepted. Once you have submitted your nomination, you will not be able to update it.

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

No institutional approvals are required for this award nomination. 

The RSO Pre-Application deadline listed as noon, October 19, 2026 is for an optional review by the SUPPORT: Research Awards Committee.

SUPPORT: Research Awards Committee

The SUPPORT: Research Awards committee is available to review and provide feedback to strengthen nominations for this award. This committee is comprised of distinguished University of Calgary faculty who have won major national awards and sat on national award selection committees.

Your Faculty or Associate Dean (Research) must submit the request for review to researchawards@ucalgary.ca. Along with:

1. Summary section of the Synergy Awards for Innovation form (do not need to complete the full form for SUPPORT review) [see item 1, above]
2. A letter of nomination (see item 4, above)
3. The Nomination template . (see item 5, above)

If additional components of the nomination package are available by the SUPPORT deadline, the committee would be pleased to review all available materials.

SUPPORT Nomination Review Deadline (optional): October 19, 2026 by 12pm.

All feedback from the SUPPORT: Research Awards committee will be compiled and shared with the nominee and faculty by November 6, 2026.