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Research Update
Funding Opportunities

NIST Funding for Civil Infrastructure, Advanced Materials

Deadline: June 23, 2009

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has unveiled a 2009 competition for research funding in civil infrastructure and advanced materials in manufacturing.

The NIST Technology Innovation Program (TIP) plans to provide cost-shared funding for approximately 25 new R&D projects. TIP co-funds multi-year (up to five) research projects that promote technological innovation in areas of critical national needs. The merit-based, competitive program is open to individual small and medium-sized businesses and to joint ventures, including institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations, and national laboratories.

Civil Infrastructure

Approximately $10 million in first-year funding is allocated for projects addressing two needs in civil infrastructure: 1) innovative, cost- effective sensor and sensor-network technologies to test and monitor the structural health of major infrastructure components and 2) new technologies to repair and retrofit existing structures.

The civil infrastructure competition emphasizes technologies to detect corrosion, cracking, delamination, and other structural damage in water and wastewater pipelines, dams, levees, and waterway locks as well as bridges and roadways.

Manufacturing

Approximately $15 million in first-year funding is allocated for R&D projects in manufacturing to enable better and more cost-effective use of advanced materials in innovative products. The competition is limited to technologies for nanomaterials, composites and superalloys or alloys, and smart materials.

TIP is seeking proposals for new technologies for predictive modeling to improve material properties and tool design and for improved methods to scale up advanced materials production and integrate advanced materials into products.

TIP awards are limited to $3 million over three years for a single company project and $9 million over five years for a joint venture.

More information about this competition can be found at:
www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/20090326_tip_2009_comp_announce.htm

Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRP) Program: Notification of Intent

Internal Deadline: April 27, 2009
NSERC LOI Deadline: May 1, 2009

The CHRP program supports focused collaborative research projects involving any field of the natural sciences or engineering and the health sciences. Proposed projects may range from fundamental knowledge creation to research on knowledge application relevant to industry or public policy.

Submission Instructions - New this Year

  1. Applicants must first complete a Notification of Intent using the Enterprise Award Management System (EAMS) https://eams-sego.gc.ca/eFormsWeb/web/nserc
  2. Co-applicants and collaborators included in NOIs must add their consent in EAMS before NOIs can be submitted to institutions
  3. Once co-applicants and collaborators have added their consent, applicants can submit their NOI to their institution
  4. Send a PDF or scanned copy of your NOI to Angie Agulto, Office of Research Services for review by Monday, April 27th. RIS forms are not required at this stage
  5. The Office of Research Services will indicate its approval of the NOI on EAMS and submit its response to NSERC before May 1, 2009

More information on the program is located at:

NSERC contact: chrp@nserc-crsng.gc.ca; telephone 613-947-6374
Research Services contact:  Angie Agulto, angie.agulto@utoronto.ca; telephone 416-946-7517

Major Resources Support (MRS) Program: Letter of Intent

Internal Deadline: Not applicable. Applicants send their LOIs directly to NSERC
NSERC LOI (Form 181) Deadlines: May 1, 2009; August 1, 2009 (Subatomic Physics Resources LOIs only)

The Major Resources Support (MRS) program aims to facilitate the effective access of Canadian researchers to major regional, national, or international (based in Canada) experimental or thematic research resources by financially assisting these resources to remain in a state of readiness for researchers to use. It also seeks to facilitate access by Canadian researchers to major international resources located outside Canada, excluding any direct financial support towards the operating and maintenance costs of such resources. Starting from fiscal year 2009-2010, the Major Resources Support program will only provide support to unique national or international (located in Canada) research resources. Ongoing grants to any type of resource will not be affected by the program’s new focus. At the time of renewal the resources will need to demonstrate that they fully satisfy the revised program’s objective and selection criteria. Submission of full applications is by invitation only.

Substruction Instructions:

  1. Send your Form 181 to NSERC by mail.
  2. Submit five (5) copies, including the original. Form 181 must be received at NSERC no later than the deadline date. Do not send any other correspondence in this mailing. NSERC does not accept packages sent COD.
  3. Mail the package to the following address:
    NSERC
    Research Grants Office
    Section 1051 (Major Resources Support)
    350 Albert Street
    Ottawa, ON K1A 1H5

Note: Once submitted to NSERC, your Form 181 will no longer be available for revision.

For more information before preparing your LOI, please review the updated program description and all documents found in: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Professors-Professeurs/RTII-OIRI/MRS-
ARM_eng.asp, especially the Memo to Potential Applicants.

NSERC contact:  resgrant@nserc-crsng.gc.ca; telephone 613-996-0456
Research Services contact:  Angie Agulto, angie.agulto@utoronto.ca; telephone 416-946-7517

Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program: Letter of Intent

Internal Deadline:  May 1, 2009
NSERC LOI (FORM 187) Deadline:  May 15, 2009
U of T LOI Quota: Six (6)

The CREATE Program supports the training of teams of outstanding students and postdoctoral fellows from Canada and abroad through the development of innovative training programs that encourage collaborative and integrative approaches, and address significant scientific challenges associated to Canada's research priorities, and facilitate the transition of new researchers from trainees to productive employees in the Canadian workforce.

Program Changes & Submission Instructions – New this Year

1. Program Changes: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Professors-Professeurs/Grants-
Subs/CREATE-FONCER-Summary-Sommaire_eng.asp

  • There will now be a Letter of Intent (LOI) stage and selection process instead of the Notification of Intent to Apply, which was only used for planning purposes.
  • Instead of a quota of four applications maximum from each eligible Canadian University, as was allowed in the 2009 competition, there will be a distinction based on the size of the University. This is in response to concerns from the University community. Large Universities will have a quota of six LOIs. Mid-size Universities will continue to have a quota of four LOIs. Smaller Universities will have a quota of two LOIs.
  • External peer review will be conducted by NSERC at the LOI stage.
  • Only one institutional letter of support from the applicant’s University Vice-President, Research, is required by NSERC.

2. Internal Application/Selection Procedures:

  • The internal selection process of the six LOIs from the University is being reviewed and will be confirmed shortly. It is expected that selection will be completed by May 8th.
  • To be considered, applicants should forward their Form 187 (LOI), including the principal applicant’s Form 100, to Research Services by Friday, May 1st.

3. The completed LOI (which consists of Form 187, Form 100 of the principal applicant and institutional letter of support) can be submitted electronically through the NSERC Online System or by paper. If by paper, the complete package must be mailed to:

Scholarships and Fellowships Division
CREATE Program
NSERC
350 Albert Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 1H5

More information on this program is available at:

NSERC contact: create@nserc-crsng.gc.ca; tel.: 613-943-1363
Research Services contact:  Angie Agulto, angie.agulto@utoronto.ca; tel. 416-946-7517

Automotive Partnership Canada – New Funding

Deadline: Not applicable. New proposal will be accepted on an ongoing basis

Automotive Partnership Canada (APC) is being established by five partnering agencies within the portfolio of Industry Canada. The objective of this five-year, $145 million initiative is to support significant, incremental, collaborative R&D activities of benefit to the Canadian automotive industry; partnerships between industry and academia and/or the NRC.

A key guiding principle of APC is that all projects (or programs of research) to be funded within this initiative must be driven by industry needs and must have active industrial participation and collaboration.

The program involves funding from the following agencies

  • NSERC ($85 million);
  • NRC ($30 million);
  • CFI ($15 million);
  • SSHRC ($5 million); and
  • CERC ($10 million).

The overriding goal of this initiative is that, at the end of the Automotive Partnership Canada’s five years, the Canadian automotive industry will have established, through the experience of successful collaborations with academic and NRC researchers, a long-term resource through which it may address many of its research and innovation challenges.

Research Areas

Automotive Partnership Canada will support research and development activities within the following sub-priority areas.

  • Improving the Automobile’s Environmental Performance and Impact: Lighter Weight and/or Sustainable Materials; Advanced Powertrain; Energy Storage; Application of Alternative Fuels
  • The Cognitive Car: Vehicular Software; Electronics and Mechatronics for Safety and Performance Enhancement • Wireline and Wireless Communications for Vehicular Application
  • Next Generation Manufacturing: Manufacturing Processes for Mass Reduction; Manufacturing Processes for Cost Reduction and Quality Improvement; Improving Manufacturing Flexibility and Efficiency

The importance of the social sciences and humanities within the research priorities is well recognized. There is significant social science research that correlates with the research themes, including, but not limited to, issues of: safety, cognition and behavioral issues; supply chain management; and social science aspects of cost reduction, e.g., organizational behavior, plant performance and productivity, worker interaction and empowerment.

Programming Mechanisms

There are two fundamental and underlying tenets to APC:

1. As noted above, any project (or program of research) funded by APC must be driven by industry needs, and must have active industrial participation and collaboration. Proposals must be able to demonstrate how the planned activities will be meeting the needs of industry; how industry has been integral in developing the proposed research; and how the support of the industrial partner is integral to the research.

2. A flexible approach to funding mechanisms is to be employed, so as to be able to meet the needs of industry. APC will not be taking a 'business as usual' approach, forcing researchers to fit their proposed activities to pre-existing program structures. Rather, NSERC and the partnering agencies will work with applicants and their industrial partners to develop proposals and funding mechanisms that will fit the research activities best suited to industrial needs (bearing in mind, of course, the overarching mandates of the agencies funding APC).

To facilitate this process, a Project Office, to act as a portal for APC, is being established. To increase flexibility and responsiveness, APC will not involve a specific 'call for proposals.' Rather, new proposals will be accepted on an ongoing basis.

Emphasis is being placed on proposals involving the participation and contributions of more than one agency within APC. This is to say, integrated research projects (or programs of research) involving universities and the NRC, NSERC researchers and SSHRC researchers, tackling multi-faceted and multidisciplinary research challenges.

Particular emphasis is being placed on transformative proposals valued in the range of $20-30 million. However APC will also fund small projects.

Open For Business

The Project Office will be located in Mississauga, Ontario. It is anticipated that the Project Office will become operational in May of 2009, and be led by an individual from the automotive industry.

In the interim, before the Project Office is established, Automotive Partnership Canada is open for business. NSERC is currently able to speak with researchers and industrial partners alike about the possibilities for the funding of research and development activities driven by industrial needs. NSERC will take the lead in the short term in providing advice and feedback on the development of proposals, and in coordinating the participation of the other agencies within the Partnership.

Review Processes

Excellence and competitive advantage are essential elements of APC. As a result, all funding requests will be evaluated through peer and/or merit review processes to ensure only meritorious activities are supported.

The review processes to be employed within APC, as with the approach to programming mechanisms, will involve flexibility, utilizing processes that are commensurate with the research proposals being prepared. For any given proposal, and where appropriate, a single, coordinated review process will be utilized to evaluate proposals as a whole, even when components of proposed activities may be funded by different agencies within APC.

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