New Frontiers in Research Fund Exploration Grants Guide

The New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) program uses the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide (TAFAG) as the general guidelines for eligibility of expenses and use of funds related to the direct costs of research. Exceptions to those policies for Exploration grants, as well as clarification for situations where the granting agencies have different rules and policies, are noted in this guide. This document should be used in conjunction with the TAFAG; only exceptions or clarifications are noted here; additional information remains the same as in the TAFAG. If you are unsure about the eligibility of a particular expense, please contact the NFRF team. (Rules regarding the use of the indirect costs portion of the grant can be found on the Research Support Fund website.)

Extension Period for Use of Funds Beyond a Grant Period

The NFRF program provides an automatic one-year extension for Exploration grants.

Note on Adjunct Professors

There are no restrictions on how adjunct professors may use their funds.

Retroactive Expenses

Costs incurred between the date of the grant announcement on the agencies’ website and the effective funding start date of the grant, are eligible.

Compensation-Related Expenses

Eligible Compensation-Related Expenses

Salaries

• Salaries to postdoctoral fellows are limited to three years' support.
• The following are eligible salary expenses only for nominated principal investigators, co-principal investigators and co-applicants affiliated with an eligible Canadian college:
  • salary for research activities of a part-time faculty member holding a contract of less than three years with the institution; the total salary support (part-time salary plus NFRF grant salary support) cannot exceed that of a full-time faculty member (when calculated on an annual and hourly basis);
  • salaries and non-discretionary benefits for technical and professional staff carrying out research and technology and/or knowledge transfer personnel—note: salaries and non-discretionary benefits for research administrators and business development personnel are not eligible;
  • limited costs for course load reduction for the replacement of faculty to support their involvement in funded research projects (up to $9,000 per course load reduction per semester per faculty, or the equivalent of a 0.1 full-time equivalent position); and
  • college student salaries* including non-discretionary benefits or stipends* to support their involvement in research projects.

Stipends

• Stipends to postdoctoral fellows are limited to three years' support.
• Stipends to visiting researchers are up to a maximum of $2,000 per month for up to 125 days per year, not including travel and subsistence costs.

Other Types of Eligible Compensation-Related Expenses

• release time allowances;
• salary to project coordinators, up to a maximum of 10% of the value of the direct costs portion of the grant; and
• payments to patient partners in research, as outlined in Considerations when paying patient partners in research.

• when prescribed by cultural heritage/established traditions; or
• in the context of a formal courtesy.

Non-Eligible Expenses

• Payments to practising clinicians who wish to participate in the research on a part-time basis, or to individuals who wish to participate in the research as an investigator and who at the same time receive remuneration for teaching or service work, are not eligible.
• Release time allowance requests will not be considered for the following:
  • individuals with salaried academic research appointments;
  • the cost of teaching time to allow the individual to engage in research (see note above regarding exception for college researchers); and
  • supplementing or replacing part of the salary of researchers on sabbatical from their main appointment.

Deferral of Instalment/Annual Commitment Payments

Deferring an instalment/annual commitment extends the life of the grant and allows the grantee to re-organize activities. The length of the deferral must be either 12 or 24 months and the total of all deferral periods cannot exceed two years. The original grant end date will be adjusted accordingly.

No deferments of the start date of a grant from the start date indicated in the description of the funding opportunity will be allowed for Exploration grants. To request a deferral of an annual commitment, the grantee must submit a written request to NFRF-FNFR@chairs-chaires.gc.ca for consideration.

Termination of a Grant

The agencies will terminate a grant when the grantee no longer holds an eligible position at an eligible institution unless it is transferred to an eligible co-principal investigator. It is at the agencies’ sole discretion whether to allow such a transfer to take place.

Maternity, Parental, Medical or Family Medical Leave for Grantees

The general institutional policies relating to maternity, parental, medical or family medical leave apply.

The agencies recognize that extended leave granted to the grantee by the institution may have an impact on an individual's research program, and offer the following options:

• When an extended leave of absence has been taken by the grantee, he/she may request:
  • an extension of the term of the current grant up to two years;
• The grantee may compete for a grant in the usual way.

Requests for funds are subject to the availability of NFRF funds, if applicable, and NFRF approval.

Transfer of Funds Between Institutions

A transfer of funds normally occurs when a primary institution in direct receipt of agency funds transfers, upon the authorization of the grantee, some or all of those funds to a secondary institution in order to facilitate research collaboration between the grantee and the co-grantee at the secondary institution. Research funds can be transferred under two different scenarios. The first scenario deals with the transfer from an eligible primary institution to an eligible secondary institution. The second scenario deals with the transfer from an eligible primary institution to a non-eligible secondary institution. Grant transfers include transfers of both funds and responsibilities. Invoices, contracts or accountable advances are not considered to be grant transfers.

To be eligible, an institution must have met agency requirements for eligibility to receive funding and must have signed the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions.

An eligible primary institution is one that is in direct receipt of grant funds. A secondary institution is one to which funds are to be transferred, and may be either an eligible institution or a non-eligible institution.

NFRF grants cannot be transferred to collaborators. In the case of a transfer to an eligible secondary institution, the latter assumes the responsibilities of the primary institution in respect of the grant or award funds to be transferred. A primary institution that transfers funds to a non-eligible secondary institution retains all responsibilities and accountabilities for the funds. The primary institution must also review and consolidate the Form 300 and ensure that a letter of agreement with the secondary institution is in place before transferring funds.

Transfer of Funds from a Primary Institution to an Eligible Secondary Institution

At the request of the grantee, the primary institution wishing to transfers funds to an eligible secondary institution must obtain a letter of transfer of funds signed by the secondary institution in which both parties agree to comply with certain obligations. Information pertaining to the letter of transfer of funds and requirements to be addressed can be found on the Checklist for the Transfer of Funds from a Primary Institution to an Eligible Secondary Institution.

Transfer of Funds from a Primary Institution to a Non-eligible Secondary Institution

An increasing number of grantees are conducting research with researchers, students and/or research personnel affiliated with non-eligible secondary institutions. This transfer type recognizes the legitimacy of transferring funds from primary institutions to non-eligible secondary institutions, provided that all such transfers are conducted responsibly and follow good financial management practices, the minimum standards for which are set out in this policy.

The primary institution has principal responsibility for the use and monitoring of funds that are transferred to a non-eligible secondary institution. However, this responsibility is to be shared between the primary institution and the non-eligible secondary institution under the provisions of a letter of transfer of funds agreement.

The primary institution wishing to transfer funds to any non-eligible secondary institution must obtain a letter of transfer of funds signed by the non-eligible secondary institution, in which both parties agree to comply with certain obligations. Information pertaining to the letter of transfer of funds agreement can be found on the Checklist for the Transfer of Funds from a Primary Institution to a Non-eligible Secondary Institution (CIHR and SSHRC).

Residual Balances

All grants paid are deemed to have a primary holder, namely the grantee whose name appears on the award notice.

All grants that have not been renewed or extended, grants that have been terminated or project grants that have been completed may contain residual balances of funds allocated in prior years and/or issued in the current fiscal year. This would also include residual funds for the indirect costs associated with the project grant. The agencies will adjust their next payment to the institution or request a reimbursement in the case when no future payments are scheduled for any current-year funds not required for the purpose for which they were granted.

Any funds remaining at the end of the Authority to Use Funds period must be returned to SSHRC. When unspent funds are returned to SSHRC, the cheque must be accompanied by a signed Form 300, indicating an unspent balance in the same amount as the refund.