Eligibility of expenses is governed by the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide

For financial questions regarding your awarded grant:

Contact rtahelp@ucalgary.ca

Visit: The Integrated Service Centre

For information about how to identify and assess risk associated with research partnerships for funding applications:0

Visit: Research Security Division - Safeguarding Your Research

As outlined in the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions, each of the three Councils funds only those applicants who fulfill the ongoing eligibility requirements established by the respective Council.

The Institution must:

• confirm the potential Grant Holder’s eligibility, at the time of application, in accordance with the Agency’s established eligibility requirements
• monitor the ongoing eligibility of Grant Holders throughout the term of their award
• advise the relevant Agency, in a timely manner, of any change in the eligibility status of Grant Holders throughout the tenure of the grant

Ongoing eligibility is verified through an annual coordinated exercise during which UCalgary informs the Councils of any changes in status and leaves for each Grant Holder. In addition to this annual coordinated exercise, Grant Holders are responsible for informing, without delay, the relevant Institution and Agency of any change in their eligibility status.

Research Services needs the cooperation of researchers, Department Heads and Deans to communicate any status changes to ensure UCalgary meets its obligation to the funding agencies.

When a Researcher is no longer eligible:

• the Agency will suspend current funding and future instalments pending confirmation that the researcher has obtained an eligible status
• confirmation must be received by the Agency within three (3) months of the grantee losing their eligible status (i.e. grace period) or the grant will be cancelled
• the researcher may not use their grant funds during this three (3) month grace period
• if eligible status is not attained during this timeframe the award will be terminated

Please visit the Research Opportunities Database for information on current competitions and internal submission processes.

CIHR offers the following research funding opportunities:

Project Grants: Designed to support ideas with the greatest potential for important advances in health-related knowledge, the health care system, and/or health outcomes. Supported projects will have a specific purposed and defined endpoint. There are two (2) Project Grant competitions per year, in spring and fall.

Catalyst Grant: Various opportunities throughout the year, often in strategic areas.

Team Grants: Various opportunities throughout the year, often in strategic areas.

Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRP): The CHRP program is a joint initiative between the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).  The program support innovative interdisciplinary collaborative research projects requiring participation from the natural sciences or engineering community together with the health sciences community.  LOI deadline is normally in May of each year.

Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) : Objective is to foster evidence-informed health care by bringing innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to the point of care, so as to ensure greater quality, accountability, and accessibility of care. For more information on both SPOR Networks and SPOR Units visit the CIHR website.

Foundation Scheme: CIHR has recently made the decision to sunset the Foundation Grant program. Awards will continue as planned, but no further competitions will be held. CIHR is working to help transition Foundation Grant Award Holders back into the Project Grant stream. 

For more information please see the Message from the President and Transition Planning Considerations for Foundation Grant Holders.

The CIHR University Delegate (UD) Network has been in place since 2001. This group meets once a month via teleconference, and its mandate is to keep the health research community, within the university and its affiliated institutions, informed of CIHR’s research directions, initiatives and decisions, and to solicit their active participation on awareness activities.

See: CIHR Review Notes (from these monthly meetings)

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) maintains a number of recurring granting programs. Please visit our Research Opportunities Database for information on current competitions and internal submission processes.

Discovery Grants: Promote and maintain a diversified base of high-quality research capability in Canadian universities, as well as provide a stimulating environment for research training. The annual fall Discovery Grant competition is the largest research funding competition in Canada.

Research Tools and Instruments (RTI): Provides funding to university researchers for the acquisition of research tools and instruments. As this competition is quota based, there is an internal faculty election of applications to go forward in each competition. Details are announced each summer.

Alliance Grants: Alliance grants encourage university researchers to collaborate with partner organizations, which can be from the private, public or not-for-profit sectors. These grants support research projects led by strong, complementary, collaborative teams that will generate new knowledge and accelerate the application of research results to create benefits for Canada.

Policy on Intellectual Property
Industry-facing NSERC Research Partnerships website
University of Calgary Development Office
NSERC Alliance

Please visit our Research Opportunities Database for information on current competitions and internal submission processes. SSHRC also occasionally runs other programs, such as Knowledge Synthesis, Digging into Data, and Aid to Scholarly Journals.

SSHRC offers the following recurring funding opportunities:

Insight Grants : Support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities.  Funding is available to both emerging and established scholars for long-term research initiatives of three to five years, up to $400,000.

Insight Development Grants : Support research in its initial stages. The grants enable the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and/or ideas. This competition has a separate budgetary envelope for Emerging Scholars. Insight Development Grants have a value of $7,000 to $75,000 over 1 to 2 years.

Partnership Grants : Provide support to new or existing formal partnerships for initiatives that advance research, research training and/or knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities. Partnership Grants are Institutional grants, led by a project director, with a maximum of $500,000 per year over four to seven years, up to a total of $2.5 million. A minimum 35% institutional and partner contributions are required above and beyond SSHRC funding during life of grant. This competition has a two-stage application process: Letter of Intent (LOI) and Formal Application (by invitation only). Contact the Institutional Programs Division for more information.

Partnership Development Grants : Provide support to foster new research and/or related activities with new or existing partners; and to design and test new partnership approaches for research and/or related activities. Partnership Development Grants have a value of $75,000 to $200,000 over 1 to 3 years. While there is no minimum contribution required from partners, applicants and partners are expected to demonstrate that a formal partnership exists or will be developed, in part through the financial and nonfinancial commitments made by partners. This competition has a one-stage application process. Contact the Institutional Programs Division for more information.

Partnership Engage Grants : Partnership Engage Grants are expected to respond to the objectives of the Insight program and the Connection program. They provide short-term and timely support for partnered research activities that will inform decision-making at a single partner organization from the public, private or not-for-profit sector. The small-scale, stakeholder-driven partnerships supported through the Partnership Engage Grants are meant to respond to immediate needs and time constraints facing organizations in non-academic sectors. In addressing an organization-specific need, challenge and/or opportunity, these partnerships let non-academic organizations and postsecondary researchers access each other’s unique knowledge, expertise and capabilities on topics of mutual interest.

Connection Grants : Support events and outreach activities geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives. Connection Grants have a value of $7,000 to $25,000 for events, and up to $50,000 for other outreach activities, over 1 year. SSHRC will not fund the full cost of any connection event or outreach activity. Additional support in the form of cash and/or in-kind contributions (excluding registration fees), equivalent to a minimum of 50% of the amount requested from SSHRC, must come from sponsoring organizations. This competition has a one-stage application process, with applications adjudicated 4 times per year.

SSHRC Leaders provide an ongoing channel of communication between their institutions and SSHRC. They relay information to their colleagues on new policy and program developments, and they gather information and ideas from the university community that feed into the development of SSHRC policies and programs. The SSHRC Leaders network meets twice a year (late Fall and Spring), with other meetings and consultations scheduled as necessary. 

See: Review Meeting Notes and Resources