FullApplication Questions and Answers
Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR)
Stakeholder Letters
- What should be the content of letters from stakeholders
(Industry, governments, not-for-profit, or other)?
- What is the acceptable ratio of in-kind to cash with
respect to what CECR will match?
- If a stakeholder is not providing financial contributions,
can the applicants use their original letter from the LOI stage or do
they need to obtain new letters for the application stage?
- Are contribution confirmation letters required from
provincial or other granting organizations at the full application stage?
Application Content and Presentation
- Is there a specific format in which you want the application
to be bound (e.g. three-ring binder)? Or is this up to the groups submitting?
Does the original need to be bound as well?
- On the Excel form for Section E2, there is a section
not described in the CECR Full Application Guide: row 25 labeled "Section
C: Preliminary Budget Details (Use only space provided)" and rows
26 through 33 are the spaces. Is this section to be filled in along
with the requested detail pages?
The Expert Panel Meeting
- What will be the format of the Expert Panel Meeting?
- When will our Centre know the composition of the Expert
Panel and when will the identity of members of the Private Sector Advisory
Board (PSAB) become public?
- The NCE Secretariat has offered up to $15K per Centre
for the reimbursement of expenses related the preparation of the full
application. How much time do we have to spend these funds and how can
they be used?
Stakeholder Letters
1. What should be the content of letters from stakeholders
(Industry, governments, not-for-profit, or other)?
Letters must indicate the amount and nature of funding (cash or in-kind)
being offered to the centre, over the period of CECR funding.
2. What is the acceptable ratio of in-kind to cash with
respect to what CECR will match?
There is no established ratio of cash vs in-kind in the CECR Program.
What is important is the total value of the contributions, which must
cover the 50% of commercialization cost and 25% of the other eligible
costs.
3. If a stakeholder is not providing financial contributions,
can the applicants use their original letter from the LOI stage or do
they need to obtain new letters for the application stage?
The stakeholder letter must confirm a contribution. If the letter obtained
from the LOI stage confirmed a contribution, it can be included.
4. Are contribution confirmation letters required from
provincial or other granting organizations at the full application stage?
Such letters are not obligatory. When available, contribution confirmation
letters from key funding organizations, including any provincial governments,
should be included in Book 2 of the Full Application Package, as follows:
- For provincial or other government funding already in place and continuing
over the course of CECR funding, the letter must clearly specify the
terms of funding;
- For requests currently in front of a provincial or other government
funding agency, the letter from that agency must confirm that they have
received the proposal, explain the general terms of their funding program,
and indicate when they expect to make a decision on the proposal;
N.B.: such letters should not be requested from the federal granting
agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR and CFI) whose presidents are members of
the NCE Steering Committee. Where appropriate, CECR proposals will be
distributed to these granting agencies and other relevant organizations
for consultation and comment.
Application Content and Presentation
5. Is there a specific format in which you want the
application to be bound (e.g. three-ring binder)? Or is this up to the
groups submitting? Does the original need to be bound as well?
Format is up to the applicants to decide. The original does not have
to be bound, but if it is, this is also acceptable.
6. On the Excel form for Section E2, there is a section
not described in the CECR Full Application Guide: row 25 labeled "Section
C: Preliminary Budget Details (Use only space provided)" and rows
26 through 33 are the spaces. Is this section to be filled in along with
the requested detail pages?
“Section C” of the Excel sheet is where the applicant would
include brief notes on each of the line items listed (1 to 6), and specify
the nature of items entered under “other”. This space is meant
to be used in addition to the separate pages allowed per item.
The Expert Panel Meeting
7. What will be the format of the Expert Panel Meeting?
The meeting will last 3 and ½ hours, including presentations
by the Centre representatives and questions (at least 2/3 of the time)
from Expert Panel members. A pro-forma template of the agenda will be
included in a document titled “Advice to Applicants” which
will be sent to Centre Directors over the coming days.
8. When will our Centre know the composition of the
Expert Panel and when will the identity of members of the Private Sector
Advisory Board (PSAB) become public?
The names of Expert Panel members will be communicated to individual
centre applicants within the week preceding the meeting.
The names and affiliations of the members of the Private Sector Advisory
Board will be included in its final report. This report will be available
at www.nce.gc.ca after the new Centres
are announced.
9. The NCE Secretariat has offered up to $15K per Centre
for the reimbursement of expenses related the preparation of the full
application. How much time do we have to spend these funds and how can
they be used?
This reimbursement is valid between September 19 and November 16 or beginning
from the formal invitation to submit a Full Application until the Expert
Panel review. The funds can be used for application-related expenses such
as travel, communications and workshops, as well as for secretarial, clerical
and co-ordination services. Application-related expenses may include participation
in the Interdisciplinary Expert Review Panel meeting. Please note that
reimbursement will only take place when supported by appropriate receipts
and no new expenses or new commitments incurred after the Interdisciplinary
Expert Review Panel will be eligible for reimbursement.
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