For Professors – Overview – Grants Programs

Discovery Grants (DG)
(Individual, Group and Subatomic Physics [SAP] Project)

Duration	Application Deadline	How to Apply
Up to five years	August 1 (Notification of Intent)	Form 180
	November 1 (Application)	Forms 101 and 100
	October 1 (SAP Project Applications requesting $500,000 or more per year)
Program Contacts		Apply On-line

Important Information

• Grants Information Sessions
• How to Prepare a Winning Proposal
• List of Grant Selection Committees (GSC)
• Memo to Potential Applicants – Important Notice From NSERC Regarding Your Form 180
• Peer Review Manual
• Reallocations Exercise: 2000-2002

Objective

Discovery Grants assist in:

• promoting and maintaining a diversified base of high-quality research capability in the natural sciences and engineering in Canadian universities;
• fostering research excellence; and
• providing a stimulating environment for research training.

Description

Discovery Grants support ongoing programs of research (with long-term goals) rather than a single short-term project or collection of projects. These grants recognize the creativity and innovation that are at the heart of all research advances, whether made individually or in groups. Researchers are free to work in the mode most appropriate for the research area.

Recipients of Discovery Grants (except SAP Project Grants) are not restricted to the specific activities described in the application, but may pursue new research interests, provided they are within NSERC’s mandate.

Researchers can apply for only one Discovery Grant at a time, either individually or as part of a group but not both. Researchers can hold only one Discovery Grant at any given time. This restriction does not apply to SAP Project Grants, which may be held concurrently with an individual or group grant. If you are currently the sole holder of a Discovery Grant, you may participate in an application for a Discovery Grant with other researchers on the understanding that the Discovery Grant you currently hold will be cancelled if the new application is successful and a grant is awarded. If you currently hold a group grant and wish to apply individually, consult NSERC. Researchers who hold an individual Discovery Grant cannot reapply for another individual Discovery Grant until the last year of their current award.

Researchers who apply individually can use their grants to participate in collaborative efforts and should describe these in their proposal. Researchers who see advantages in working together in a long-range collaborative program are encouraged to combine their efforts and apply as a group. The added benefits and costs associated with the collaboration are taken into account in the assessment.

NSERC does not consider requests for supplements to existing Discovery Grants, except from Steacie Fellows and Northern Research Supplement holders. Recipients may, however, apply for all other types of NSERC grants.

Discovery Grants are awarded for one to five years, the normal duration being five years. A shorter duration can be requested, at the time of application, by researchers phasing out their research program. Applicants requesting a shorter duration for other reasons must provide a strong justification for this request. NSERC may award a grant of the normal duration, even if a shorter period is requested in the budget provided.

Application Procedures

To apply for a Discovery Grant, first submit a Notification of Intent to Apply for a Discovery Grant (Form 180) and a list of your research contributions for the last six years. In May, most potential applicants receive an e-mail message providing instructions for the preparation of these documents. If you are not contacted directly by NSERC in May, consult NSERC's Web site for instructions or contact your university research grants office. NSERC must receive the required material by August 1.

You must then submit the following by November 1 (October 1 for SAP Project Grants requesting $500,000 or more per year):

• An Application for a Grant (Form 101) and a Personal Data Form (Form 100) for the applicant and each co-applicant
• Samples of contributions such as reprints, preprints and/or manuscripts, excerpts from your thesis, technical reports, etc., to be used by reviewers to assess the quality of your work. These documents should be chosen to represent your most significant recent contributions, or those most relevant to the proposed work, in the last six years
• A list of the samples of contributions you are submitting with your application

Review Procedures and Selection Criteria

Applications are reviewed by Grant Selection Committees (GSCs). There may also be input from external referees.

NSERC assigns applications to GSCs on the basis of the research field, the objectives of the proposed research program, and input from applicants and committees. You may suggest which committee you believe to be the most appropriate to review your application on Form 180, but NSERC will make the final decision.

If your research is interdisciplinary, a process will be used to ensure an appropriate review of all aspects of your application. For instance, if the application is reviewed by a discipline GSC, input from other disciplines will be gathered, as needed, through an appropriate selection of external referees or through consultation with other discipline GSCs. Alternatively, your application will be reviewed by the interdisciplinary GSC. Please see the Guidelines for the Preparation and Review of Applications in Interdisciplinary Research.

Applicants cannot submit the same proposal concurrently to both NSERC and SSHRC or CIHR (see Selecting the Appropriate Federal Granting Agency and Addressing Other Sources of Funding).

Applications are judged according to the following criteria. The onus is on applicants to address these explicitly in their proposal.

• Scientific or Engineering Excellence of the Researcher(s) (see Policy and Guidelines on the Assessment of Contributions to Research and Training)
• Knowledge, expertise and experience
• Quality of past or potential contributions to, and impact on, the proposed and other areas of research
• Importance of contributions to, and use by, other researchers and end-users
• Complementarity of expertise of the members of the group and synergy (where applicable)
• Merit of the Proposal
• Originality and innovation
• Significance and expected contributions to research
• Clarity and scope of objectives
• Clarity and appropriateness of methodology
• Feasibility
• Extent to which the scope of the proposal addresses all relevant issues, including the need for varied expertise within or across disciplines
• Contribution to the Training of Highly Qualified Personnel (see Policy and Guidelines on the Assessment of Contributions to Research and Training)
• Quality and extent of past and potential contributions to the training of highly qualified personnel (e.g., postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students, technicians)
• Appropriateness of the proposal for the training of highly qualified personnel
• Enhancement of training arising from a collaborative or interdisciplinary environment (where applicable)
• Need for Funds
• Appropriateness of, and justification for, the budget
• Availability of other sources of funding and their relationship to the current proposal
• Special needs related to the nature of collaborative activities or infrastructure costs such as user fees