For Professors – Overview – Partnerships Programs

Strategic Project Grants (SPG)

Duration	Application Deadline	How to Apply
1 to 3 years	April 18, 2006	Forms 101, 100 and 183A(including letters of support)
Program Contacts		Apply on-line

Program Objective

The 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 Results

It is expected that this program will:

• generate new knowledge/technology with the strong potential to strengthen Canada’s industrial base, generate wealth, create employment, and/or influence Canadian public policy;
• increase the number of highly qualified personnel in the areas targeted by this program;
• foster the increased participation of Canadian-based companies and/or government organizations in academic research; and
• enable the transfer of knowledge/technology and expertise to Canadian-based companies that are well positioned to apply the results for economic gain or to government organizations to strengthen public policy.

Program Requirements

To be funded, a research project must meet the following requirements:

• The project must support the goal of the SPG program and fall within one of the targeted areas defined below.
• The objectives and scope of the project must be well defined. The duration may be from one to three years.
• At least one academic researcher and at least one supporting organization must collaborate in the project.
• The supporting organization must be actively involved in all stages of the project; therefore, in-kind contributions are required, but cash is not.

Supporting Organizations

Each project must have at least one supporting organization which:

• is a Canadian-based company that can apply the research results in a way that generates wealth or employment (organizations without Canadian R&D or manufacturing operations will not be considered), or is a government organization that can apply the results in a way that strengthens public policy;
• collaborates in all stages of the research project, i.e., helps to develop the proposal and, as the project unfolds, interacts regularly with the academic researchers, students and other research personnel and provides input on the project; and
• validates the results of the research and/or provides guidance concerning the exploitation of the results.

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

Advanced Communications and Management of Information
Biomedical Technologies
Competitive Manufacturing and Value-Added Products and Processes
Healthy Environment and Ecosystems
Quality Foods and Novel Bioproducts
Safety and Security
Sustainable Energy Systems (Production, Distribution and Utilization)

Competition Budget

NSERC 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 Procedures

NSERC must receive the application no later than April 18, 2006.

A complete application includes:

• an Application for a Grant (Form 101);
• a Personal Data Form (Form 100) for each applicant and co-applicant;
• an Information Required from Organizations Participating in Research Partnerships Programs Form (Form 183A) for each supporting organization (see Completing Form 183A for details).

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 Procedures

NSERC 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 Criteria

Applications 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.

• Originality of the Research – The project must promise to generate new knowledge or to apply existing knowledge in an innovative manner.
• Quality of the Research – The project must be scientifically sound and technically feasible. It must fall within a specific target area.
• Project Work Plan – The project must have a clear and coherent work plan that demonstrates a high probability of achieving the objectives in the proposed time frame.
• Quality of the Applicants as Researchers – The research team must have all the expertise to address the defined objectives competently and to complete the project successfully.
• Training Potential – The project must provide opportunities to train students and other highly qualified personnel with skills relevant to the needs of Canadian organizations.
• Interactions with the Supporting Organizations – The supporting organizations must have the capacity to apply the results of the research and must be actively involved in all stages of the project.
• Benefits to Canada and the Supporting Organizations – The proposal must identify how the work will benefit the supporting organization and must demonstrate that exploitation of the research results will benefit Canada within a ten-year time frame.

Reporting Requirements

During 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.