NSERC CRD | ChecklistUniversity of CalgaryPage 1 of 8

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

Collaborative Research and Development Grants | 2015

General Information

Objectives
Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) grants are intended to give companies that operate from a Canadian base access to unique knowledge, expertise, and educational resources available at Canadian postsecondary institutions and to train students in essential technical skills required by industry. The mutually beneficial collaborations are expected to result in industrial and/or economic benefits to Canada.

Award Amount and Duration

  • No minimum or maximum on the amount requested from NSERC, for 1 - 5years.
  • NSERC will match industry cash contributions at a ratio of 1:1, and will also match industry in-kind contributions, up to the value of the cash contribution. Total amount of funds requested from NSERC can therefore be up to double the industry cash contribution.

Overhead

  • The University of Calgary does not charge overhead on industry funds used in NSERC matching programs.

Eligibility

  • Applicant:general rules of NSERC eligibility apply; you must hold an academic appointment of at least 3 years.
  • Industry partner:
  • Canadian-based company that derives the majority of its revenues from the sale of good or services and not government aid.
  • Multinationals may be eligible if the project results will be exploited in Canada.
  • A single company or industry association.
  • Public utilities may be eligible.
  • See Guidelines for Organizations Participating in Research partnerships Programs.
  • Industry funds:industry funds received prior to the submission of the application may be used to start the project, but NSERC will only match industry funds that have been spent up to 3 months prior to the official application date.

Application Deadlines

  • NSERC will accept Collaborative Research and Development grant applications at anytime.
  • Applications requesting $150,000 or more per year, or in the first year, must receive final approval from the NSERC AdvisoryCommittee on University-Industry Grants (ACUIG), which meets four times a year: March; June; September; and December.
  • Applications requesting $200,000 or more per year, or in the first year, will be evaluated by a site visit committee, whose recommendations will be provided to the ACUIG.

Required Signatures

  • Research Funding Application Approval form: applicant, U of C co-applicant(s), the applicant’s Department Head, and the applicant’s Dean or Associate Dean (Research). Email to as part of your application package.
  • Form 183A: a representative of the supporting organization who is authorized to commit resources. A similar representative should also sign the Letter of Support. Send an original ink signature of this Form and the Letter of Support to the Research Services Office (address in letterhead above).

Submission Procedure:

  1. NSERC will accept Collaborative Research and Developmentgrant applications at anytime; prepare and submit the application electronically, via the NSERC On-line system.
  2. Submit the Research Funding Application Approvals formto the RSO ()with signatures of PI, Department Head, and Dean or Associate Dean (Research), at least two business days prior to the desired date of submission to NSERC.
  3. As an optional service, if you wish to receive a detailed administrative review, with the opportunity for feedback, please submit your complete and final application, and the Research Funding Application Approvals form, two weeks prior to the desired date of submission to NSERC.

The detailed administrative review includes a detailed review of the application, checking for eligibility and UofC commitments and risk, compliance with program guidelines, completeness of application, and the opportunity for feedback to improve the application.

The basic administrative review involves a minimal check of the application for eligibility and any UofC commitment or risk.

  1. After completing its review, RSO will forward your application to NSERC.

Additional Information:

  • Program Guidelines
  • Guidelines for Organizations Participating in Research partnerships Programs
  • Application Instructions
  • Instructions for the Personal Data Form (Form 100)
  • Instructions for the Organizations Participating in Research Partnerships Programs form (Form 183A)
  • NSERC On-line system

Application Checklist

Overview: Application Forms and Attachments
Form 101 (Application for a Grant)
Budget Justification (attachment)
Contributions from Supporting Organizations (attachment)
Proposal (attachment)
References (attachment)
Relationship to Other Research Support (attachment)
Quotations – optional (attachment)
Appendix A (Environmental Impact) – if required (attachment)
Appendix B (CEAA Pre-Screening Checklist) – if required (attachment)
Appendix C (Referee Suggestions)
Cover letter – optional (attachment)
Form 100 (Personal Data Form) – one for applicant
Contributions (attachment)
Appendix A (Personal Data)
Appendix B (Eligibility Questionnaire) – if required
Appendix C (Description of Applicant’s Activities) – if required
Form 183A (Information Required from Organizations Participating in Research Partnerships Programs)
Letter of Support from each supporting organization (attachment)
Company Profile (attachment)
Statement of Ownership – if applicable (attachment)
  1. Form 101 (Application for a Grant)

Application profile
Areas of research
Certification requirements
  • Environmental Impact: Appendix A must be completed if research will take place outdoors.
Co-applicants
  • To invite co-applicants to link their Personal Data Form (Form 100) to the application, enter the e-mail address of the co-applicant as it appears in the co-applicant’s Form 100, as well as the family name. When you select Save, an automated e-mail message will be sent to the person(s) to whom you have granted access to your application, informing them that they have been invited to participate in your application.
Collaborators
  • List each collaborator’s name, personal identification number (if known) and organization name, as well as the time (in hours per month) each collaborator will devote to the proposed research/activity or the use of equipment or facility.
  • A collaborator is a member of the research team that is applying for a group grant. The collaborator will not have access to the grant funds and must be qualified to undertake research independently. Collaborators are expected to contribute to the overall intellectual direction of the research project or program of research and to bring their own resources to the collaboration. Examples of collaborators are: government scientists, academic researchers, company staff members or research scientists.
Co-applicants and supporting organizations
  • Includes: co-applicant institutions (if different from the University of Calgary) and supporting organizations
  • Enter information about each co-applicant organization's signing officer. For supporting organizations such as an industrial partner or a government department, enter information about the authorized representative(s) (this should correspond to the representative signing the Form 183A and Letter of Support).
  • The applicant must ensure that the co-applicants from other institutions obtain the appropriate signature on pg. 2 of Form 101 from the authorized officer of their organization prior to submitting the application to NSERC.
  • Signature of the industry partnerson this page is not required if the named representative has also signed the Form 183A or Letter of Support.
  • IMPORTANT: The signed forms can be emailed to faxed to Research Services at (403) 289-0693.
Summary of proposal (text box)
  • The summary is intended to explain the proposal in language that the public can understand. Using simple terms, briefly describe the nature of the work to be done. Indicate why and to whom the research is important, the anticipated outcomes and the relevance to the company.
Activity schedule
  • List the activities/steps required to achieve the objectives for each year of the grant. A project planning chart (e.g., Gantt chart) may be included in the Budget Justification or Proposal attachments.
  • Indicate the start and end dates for the activities leading to the milestones, as well as the major results expected.
Proposed expenditures
  • Before completing this page, read the instructionsand consult the “Use of Grant Funds” in the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.
Contributions from supporting organization
  • List the resources the supporting organization will provide to support the proposed activities including:
  • the cash contribution to direct costs of research. This amount will be transferred to the appropriate line on the Proposed Expenditures page;
  • the in-kind contribution to direct costs of research (donations of services, materials and equipment). This amount will be transferred to the Proposed Expenditures page (if applicable);
  • the in-kind contributions to indirect costs. This amount is not transferred to the Proposed Expenditures page; and
  • the amount paid to the institution for overhead (0% for NSERC partnerships; see University of Calgary Policy & Procedures)
Formatting of all attachments meets NSERC presentation standards for free-form attachments
  • Margins must be a minimum of ¾”; text is single-spaced; font is 12 pt. Times New Roman; pages are numbered sequentially; the applicant’s name is in the top right-hand corner of each page; images are in black and white (colour images will be reproduced in black and white for reviewers).
Budget justification (attachment)
  • Before completing this page, read the instructionsand consult the “Use of Grant Funds” in the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.
  • Provide a detailed explanation and justification for each budget item identified in the Proposed Expenditures page.
  • Salaries and stipends:
  • Student funding rates should be consistent with the typical levels of funding in your Department;
  • The Postdoctoral Office advises that postdoctoral fellows should be paid $45,000 per year, plus $2,000 in Plan C benefits; NSERC will not fund a postdoctoral fellow for more than two years, except in the case of exceptional international candidates;
  • Human Resources advises that benefits for AUPE staff generally fall in the range of 20%-25% of salary.
  • Equipment or facility: provide details on models, manufacturers, prices, and applicable taxes. Justify the need for each item requested. Where applicable, user fees should be described.
  • Materials and supplies: equipment and material obtained from the industrial partner(s) must be provided as in-kind contributions.
  • Travel: the University of Calgary per diem rates are $45/day for domestic travel, $63/day for international travel.
  • Dissemination: expenditures related to the dissemination of research results, e.g., publication costs, workshops, etc.
  • Technology transfer activities:expenditure for field trials, building prototypes, scale-up costs, demonstration projects, workshops, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Quotations – optional (one attachment)
  • NOTE: NSERC no longer requires quotations for large equipment purchases on CRD applications. The inclusion of such quotations is optional.
  • For items or systems costing more than $25,000 before taxes, provide two (2) recent quotations. Provide justification if two (2) quotations are not available. For submission purposes, save all quotes as a single PDF document.
Contributions from supporting organizations (attachment)
  • Provide an explanation of the cash and/or eligible in-kind contributions committed by each supporting organization.
  • Salaries for scientific and technical staff: list the name of each staff member, their role at the company and their specific expertise, details as to what they will be providing to the project (link to milestones if possible), the number of hours they will devote to the project, and their hourly rate (NSERC will only recognize a maximum of $100/hour).
  • Donation of equipment, software: list each item of equipment and/or software being donated to the project, explaining how it will be used and its importance to the success of the project; provide details on how the cost of the equipment/software was calculated.
  • Donation of material: describe the materials to be provided, their importance to the project and how the cost of the materials was calculated.
  • Field work logistics: describe the importance of the proposed field work to the project and provide details on how the cost of the field work was calculated.
  • Provision of services: provide details on the services to be provided, the importance of these services to the success of the project and how the cost of providing these services was calculated.
  • Other: provide sufficient details on items listed in this category, their importance to the project and the calculation of associated costs.
  • Consult the Guidelines for Organizations Participating in Research Partnership Programs to determine the eligibility and value of in-kind contributions (e.g., for contributions of the time of staff, NSERC will recognize a maximum of $100/hour).
  • NSERC will not match in-kind contributions to indirect costs, such as managerial or administrative costs incurred by the supporting organization(s).
  • Contributions to University Overhead: $0 (the University of Calgary does not charge overhead on supporting organization funds used in NSERC programs; see University of Calgary Policy & Procedures)
Proposal (maximum of 10 pages) (attachment)
  • Additional pages may be requested from NSERC for large and complex projects.
  • Describe your proposal using the following headings:
  • Synopsis: provide a concise overview of the scientific or technical objectives, approach, and the new knowledge, expertise, or technology that could be transferred to Canadian industry. Indicate the benefits expected to accrue to Canadian industry, to the academic institution, and to the scientific or engineering discipline.
  • Background: relate the proposal to current scientific, technical and commercial developments in the field, referring to the current literature and market conditions. Describe the background research on which the project is built.
  • Detailed Proposal:discuss the scientific issues, research problems or technical complexities, and describe the research methodology and experimental design proposed to explain or resolve them.
  • Provide a work plan and relate it to the milestone schedule from the Activity Schedule section.
  • Describe the roles of any undergraduate or graduate students, or postdoctoral fellows who will be involved in the project. If applicable, clearly justify the need for any additional support staff such as research assistants, technicians or other professional staff who may be required to carry out the project.
  • Team expertise:explain how the knowledge and experience of each researcher relates to the expertise needed to accomplish the project objectives, and how the contributions of the team members (including, if applicable, industrial partner(s)’s) will be integrated. If the applicant or any co-applicant anticipates taking sabbatical or other leave during the grant period, describe the impact on the research.
  • Research management: provide a plan for how the project will be managed to provide both day-to-day direction and scientific leadership, as well as maintain good communication between the university research group(s) and the industrial partner(s). If applicable, please detail the project manager's qualifications, involvement, role and responsibilities.
  • Training of highly qualified personnel:the proposal must include a student training component. Describe how the knowledge and experience gained by graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research assistants or others, including industrial partner(s)’s personnel, is relevant to the advancement of the field, to developing practical applications of knowledge, or strengthening the industrial research base.
  • The number of undergraduate and graduate students trained is expected to be commensurate with the size of the project.
  • Students and postdoctoral fellows are expected to enhance their skills through interactions with the industrial partner(s) (e.g., participation in planning meetings, active exposure to industrial processes such as R&D, manufacturing, regulatory, IP, commercialization, etc.). Describe the nature of the proposed interactions where appropriate.
  • Value of the results and industrial relevance:describe the anticipated value of the project results, highlighting the industrial relevance of the scientific or technical advances, or the innovative techniques, processes or products that will be developed.
  • Clearly identify how the work will benefit the company by showing how the outcome will address a current or future industrial or market need.
  • To the extent possible, indicate the additional work the industrial partner(s) will have to do to exploit the results of the research for commercialization.
  • Describe how the exploitation of the project results will benefit the Canadian economy within a reasonable time.
  • Benefit to Canada:as well as the economic benefit to Canada described in the previous section, outline any additional economic, social, and/or environmental benefits that will or could be realized in Canada.
References (attachment)
Relationship to other research support (up to 2 pages per co-applicant) (attachment)
  • Explain any financial and conceptual overlap with the applicant’s and co-applicants’ other active or applied for sources of research funding (from NSERC or otherwise).
  • For each grant currently held or applied for, clearly describe the main objective, and provide a brief outline of the methodology, budget details and details on the support of highly qualified personnel. In addition, the relationships to the NSERC application must be explained. Such information may be provided, for example, in the form of a brief summary of the necessary details for each grant.
  • The funding sources discussed here should correspond exactly with each co-applicant’s Form 100 (Personal Data Form).
Intellectual Property – optional
  • Any CRD grant will be conditional upon NSERC’s review of a fully executed research/IP agreement between the University of Calgary and the supporting organization(s). This agreement must comply with both NSERC’s Policy on Intellectual Property and the University of Calgary’s policies.
  • Important: it is highly recommended that you use the following boilerplate language to indicate your intention to execute compliant agreements:
  • “Should this application be successful, the University of Calgary and [insert names of supporting organizations] will enter into research/IP agreement(s) that are fully compliant with the terms of NSERC’s Policy on Intellectual Property as well as the University of Calgary’s policies, including provisions for publication rights and to ensure that students are not delayed in the completion of their degree programs.”
Intellectual Property – optional (attachment)
  • If available, attach a copy of the research/IP agreement between the University of Calgary and the supporting organizations.
Appendix A (Environmental Impact) – if required (attachment)
Appendix B (CEAA Pre-Screening Checklist) – if required (attachment)
Appendix C (Referee Suggestions)
Cover letter – optional (attachment)