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NSERC Alliance Grants

Alliance Advantage (formerly Alliance Option 1)

We would like to bring your attention to the Alliance Advantage resources webpage that has a number of resources that are available to support you in preparing an Alliance proposal, which are outlined below. In addition to the Frequently asked questions webpage, NSERC staff also remain available to answer any questions you may have.

Alliance Society (formerly Alliance Option 2)

 To support you in preparing an Alliance Society proposal, NSERC has a Alliance Society resource webpage that helps applicants and partner organizations determine whether the project they are envisioning meets the requirements. In addition, the Public Impact Value Proposition (PIVP) Selection Committee Review Instructions are now available online. This will help applicants understand how the committee determines whether Alliance Society applications meet the characteristics and whether they will proceed to the next step of the evaluation.

 Updates to Alliance Grants and literature

The Alliance literature was recently updated on December 5, 2023 to reflect program changes. It aims to streamline and clarify various points, as well as to provide access to additional resources based on feedback and questions from the community. Key changes are summarized below, but we strongly encourage you to review the updated literature before submitting an application.

Updates (see link for Latest news)

**This table displays the average annual request per section. The columns depict the sections, which are Background, Partnership, Research Plan, Team, Training Plan, and Impacts and Benefits to Canada.  The rows depict the suggested number of ages per section according to the average annual request. **

Section

Average annual request

 

Suggested number of pages per section

 

Up to $75,000/year*

$75,001 to $300,000/year

$300,001 to $1,000,000/year

Background

0.5

0.75

1

Partnership

1

2

5

Research plan

1.5

4

11

Team

1

1

4

Training plan**

2

2

4

Impacts and benefits to Canada

1

1.25

2

 

Maximum total number of pages

 

7

11

27

Public impact value proposition (PIVP): Alliance Society applications only

Add three pages to the maximum above for the PIVP (see proposal template)

*For Alliance Advantage applications, if there is no existing NSERC peer review for the applicant or one of the co-applicants (with the exception of co-applicants who are Early Career Researchers), external reviewers with expertise directly related to the proposal will be used, and you may submit a maximum of 11 pages.

**NSERC encourages you to dedicate approximately one page of your proposal to describe how equity, diversity and inclusion are considered in your training plan.

  • The Alliance grants (Advantage and Society) application checklist has been updated.
  • To reduce turnaround times, NSERC is changing the threshold at which it will consider an internal review for Alliance Advantage projects from an annual request of $20,000 to $75,000. Internal reviews are typically completed more quickly than external assessments. For more information, see Alliance Advantage – Review of your application.
  • The Alliance grants proposal template has changed to reflect the revised, streamlined merit criteria. However, applicants with a proposal under way may use the previous proposal template until March 31, 2024.
  • Extensions with funding - One of the barriers to continued collaborations is the time limit on grants. To date, NSERC has extended grants automatically for one year (and by request in extenuating circumstances), but these extensions did not involve additional funding. Now, Alliance Advantage grants may be extended for an additional year with funding, to allow universities and their partners to take advantage of new research directions that arise during a project. For more information, see Alliance Advantage – During your research project.
  • A greater range of partners can now be recognized for cost sharing in Alliance grants. Potential partner organizations now include:
    • all registered charities
    • unions
    • registered companies

Additionally, industrial associations and producer groups have been more clearly differentiated to better recognize the unique role that each type of organization plays in the research and innovation ecosystem.

The requirement that partner organizations must operate from their own offices or facilities has been relaxed in light of the expansion of virtual work. Provided the partner can exploit the research results and interact with highly qualified personnel, NSERC will consider a partner organization that works virtually. For more information, see Alliance Advantage – Partner organizations or Alliance Society – Partner organizations.

  • Conflict of interest guidelines - These guidelines have changed to provide flexible access to NSERC Alliance grants while ensuring that funds are used responsibly and that all research participants are protected. Institutions will now manage conflicts of interest and put mitigation plans in place according to their own policies. For more information, see Alliance Advantage – Partner organizations or Alliance Society – Partner organizations.
  • The merit criteria used to evaluate applications have been streamlined, with the number of sub-criteria reduced from 11 to 8. The changes will make assessment more clear-cut for both applicants and reviewers.
  • In support of early career researchers (ECRs), NSERC is launching a pilot initiative to offer 200 vouchers of $10,000 each to replace some or all of the required cash contributions from partner organizations in an Alliance Advantage grant. Since NSERC matches partner contributions in a 2:1 ratio, the $10,000 voucher will be matched with $20,000, for a total of $30,000. The deadline to signal interest for a voucher is February 22, 2024. If more than 200 ECRs express interest, NSERC will randomly select 200 recipients. For more information, see Alliance Advantage – Funding your research project.
  • To help more ECRs participate in Alliance Advantage grants, they will no longer be required to hold an active peer-reviewed grant from NSERC as a condition for internal review when they are co-applicants for small Alliance Advantage grants (now up to $75,000 annually). This will encourage established researchers to mentor ECRs as co-applicants and provide ECRs opportunities to build relationships with partners. For more information, see Alliance Advantage – Review of your application.
  • New modules have been added to the online system to streamline the application process. In the Partnership module, applicants will attest their compliance with the new conflict of interest guidelines and indicate if their partnership involves a private sector organization. For private sector partnerships, applicants must attach the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form to its dedicated upload module. These new modules are captured in the validation step to help ensure that submission requirements are met.

If you have any questions or comments about Alliance grants please contact your Grant Officer or Alliance@nserc-crsng.gc.ca and sign up on the Alliance webpage to be added to the mailing list so you can stay up to date on the latest information.