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Strategic Project Grants (SPG)
How NSERC Establishes New Target Areas and Research Topics
Program ObjectiveThe goal of the Strategic Project Grants program is to increase research and training in targeted areas that could strongly enhance Canada’s economy, society and/or environment within the next ten years. Expected ResultsIt is expected that this program will:
Program RequirementsTo be funded, a research project must meet the following requirements:
Supporting OrganizationsEach project must have at least one supporting organization which:
The project may also include other participants such as non-governmental organizations, government research laboratories, foreign research institutions, venture capitalists, implementation sites, or potential customers, but these participants do not qualify as supporting organizations. Given that interaction between personnel from academic institutions and other sectors contributes to knowledge sharing and the development of highly qualified personnel, NSERC encourages secondments, cross-appointments, co-supervision of students, internships, reciprocal laboratory visits and joint workshops. (For details, see the Policy and Guidelines on the Assessment of Contributions to Research and Training.) Target Areas
Competition BudgetNSERC will allocate an equal budget to each targeted area of research, i.e., approximately $2 million per year, which would fund about 15 new awards in each area. NSERC will allocate at least 80% of the target area budget to applications that directly address the priority research topics identified in each target area. NSERC will allocate no more than 20% of each target area’s budget to fund exceptional projects that make a compelling case for research within the general target area but outside the research topics. Application ProceduresNSERC must receive the application no later than April 18, 2006. A complete application includes:
Please refer to the instructions for completing an SPG application. Applicants who require equipment to conduct the research must incorporate their request for equipment into the research proposal and justify the need for the equipment to conduct the research. Separate equipment requests will not be accepted. Review ProceduresNSERC evaluates applications in an annual competition, applying a pre-selection process if the number of applications is very high. External reviewers evaluate the proposals that pass the pre-selection. In September, selection panels review the proposals and make recommendations to NSERC. The awards are announced in October. Selection CriteriaApplications are evaluated according to the following criteria. More details on each criterion, along with a rating scale, are provided in the application instructions. Each criterion is given equal weight in the evaluation.
Reporting RequirementsDuring the second year of the project, all grantees must submit a progress report and supporting organizations will be asked for their feedback. NSERC will pay the final instalment of the grant only if satisfactory progress and collaboration with the supporting organizations has been demonstrated. Three months after the project end date, all grantees must submit a final report on the project’s achievements with respect to its objectives. Each supporting organization in the project will be asked to evaluate the project. NSERC may use the supporting organization’s evaluation when reviewing subsequent Strategic Project Grant applications from the same applicants. During the five years after project completion, NSERC will collect information on the impacts of the funded research. Of particular interest is the fate of the trainees involved in the project; the benefits derived by users from outside the university sector; and tangible evidence of knowledge and/or technology exploitation resulting from the research. |
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