2026 International Joint Initiative for Research Harnessing Disruptive Technologies to Address Global Challenges: Additional Information

Eligibility

The project team must include a minimum of three principal investigators (PIs), each eligible to receive funding from a different participating funding organization. At least one of the three PIs must be eligible to apply to the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) program. The PIs eligible for the three funding organizations will be co-PIs on the proposal. The project team will be able to identify a project lead from among the co-PIs, who will be the primary contact point for the project as a whole.

NFRF-eligible co-principal investigator

The NFRF-eligible co-PI (NPI) is responsible for:

• directing the project, in conjunction with their fellow co-PIs;
• initiating the notice of intent to apply (NOI), letter of intent to apply (LOI), and full application in the Convergence Portal, and submitting them through the research administrator at their institution;
• assuming administrative and financial responsibility for the NFRF grant; and
• coordinating proposed research activities of all team members (co-PIs or co-applicants) whose research activities will be supported by the NFRF grant.

The NPI must be considered an independent researcher at their primary affiliation. A primary affiliation is defined as the primary organization at which an individual is employed or appointed or conducts research.

An independent researcher is an individual who:

• engages in research-related activities that are not under the direction of another individual; and
• has an academic or research appointment that:
  • commences by the full application deadline;
  • allows the individual to pursue the proposed research project, engage in independent research activities for the entire duration of the funding, supervise trainees (if applicable, as per the institution’s policy), and publish the research results; and
  • obliges the individual to comply with institutional policies on the conduct of research, supervision of trainees (if applicable) and employment conditions of staff who are paid using tri-agency funding.

Individuals who are full- or part-time students, postdoctoral fellows or research associates are not eligible to apply as NPIs, regardless of whether they also meet the definition of an independent researcher.

The NPI’s primary affiliation must be with a Canadian institution currently holding full institutional eligibility with one of the federal research funding agencies. See the list of eligible institutions for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) or Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) (the agencies).

If the NPI’s primary affiliation is not on SSHRC’s list of eligible institutions, the institution may be required to sign the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions with SSHRC, for this program only, before receiving agency funds. Agency staff will contact applicants’ institutions to initiate this process, as appropriate.

Co-principal investigators and co-applicants

Co-PIs share responsibility with the NPI for directing the proposed project. The research activities of co-PIs who are not eligible to receive funding from another participating funding organization may be supported by NFRF funds.

Co-applicants contribute to executing the research project. NFRF funds may also be used to support their research activities, if they are ineligible to receive support from a participating funding organization.

Co-PIs must meet the eligibility criteria of a participating funding organization. The rules that follow apply only to those members of the project team who are not eligible to receive funds from, or be supported by, another participating funding organization.

Co-PIs and co-applicants whose research activities will be supported by NFRF funds can be practitioners, policy-makers, educators, decision-makers, health-care administrators, Indigenous Elders, Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, patients, community leaders, individuals working for a charity, and a range of other individuals. Researchers and professors must be considered independent researchers to be eligible as an NFRF-supported co-PI or a co-applicant.

The NFRF-supported co-PIs’ and co-applicants’ affiliation may be with a Canadian postsecondary institution, a Canadian institution or organization that does not have full institutional eligibility with one of the three federal funding agencies, or an international institution outside of Canada. However, it may not be a federal, provincial, territorial or municipal government department or a for-profit organization. For all team members, eligible expenses are limited to those related to the execution of the project that are not within the mandate of the individual’s organization of employment.

As per the tri-agency policy on the use of funds for federal government employees applying to funding agency programs, a federal government employee who is formally affiliated with a Canadian academic institution as an adjunct professor is eligible to be a collaborator. In cases where students registered at the academic institution and formally supervised by the adjunct professor will be participating in the research project, the adjunct professor is eligible to be a co-applicant. In such cases, the use of funds is limited to salaries or stipends and travel costs for the students under the adjunct professor’s supervision. Adjunct professors are also eligible to be co-PIs or co-applicants in exceptional cases where their planned contributions to the project do not fall within the mandate of their federal organization and will not be performed within their employer’s facilities or with their employer’s resources.

Individuals whose primary affiliation is with an Indigenous government are eligible to be NFRF-supported co-PIs, co-applicants or collaborators.

Individuals indirectly employed by a federal, provincial or municipal government (e.g., employees in police services, education or health care) are eligible to be co-applicants.

Students, postdoctoral fellows and research associates are not eligible to participate as a NFRF-supported co-PI or co-applicant.

Collaborators

Collaborators contribute to executing research activities. Their research activities are not eligible to be supported by NFRF funds.

Collaborators do not need to be affiliated with an eligible institution. Any individual who will contribute to the project is eligible to be a collaborator.

Collaborators may include individuals affiliated with a federal, provincial, territorial or municipal government department or a for-profit organization. They may also be affiliated with a Canadian or international organization.

Any individual whose contributions to the project will be supervised by the NPI or a co-PI, co-applicant and/or other collaborator cannot be considered a collaborator.

Early career researcher

For the NFRF-supported members of the research team, an early career researcher (ECR) is a researcher within five years from the start date of their first research-related appointment, minus the length of any eligible delays in research (e.g., illness, maternity, parental leave) as of the first of the month in which the competition is launched (January 1, 2026, for this competition), where:

• “research-related appointments” are defined as those where an individual has the autonomy to conduct research independently;
• all eligible leaves (e.g., maternity, parental, medical, bereavement) are credited at twice the amount of time taken; and
• professional leaves (e.g., training, sabbatical, administrative) are not credited.

Research interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., closures) are recognized as, and may be counted as, an eligible delay (credited at twice the amount of time) beginning March 1, 2020.

If a first academic appointment was a part-time appointment/position, years of experience are counted at 50%, until the researcher’s appointment to a full-time academic position.

All applications are encouraged to meaningfully integrate ECRs into the project team.

Value and duration

The maximum budget for the direct costs of the research project is CA$400,000 per year, for up to three years. Awards are for three-year grants and are eligible for an automatic one-year extension. Grantees will have four years to complete their projects and spend grant funds. Applicants may, in addition, request up to 25% of the value of the direct costs of research to cover indirect costs and include this in their total funding request, for a maximum grant value of CA$500,000 per year. Indirect costs funding must be used only to pay for eligible expenses as outlined on the Research Support Fund website. The indirect costs component of each NFRF award is included in the award value; it is not in addition to it.

Regulations, policies and related information

All applicants and grant holders must comply with the regulations governing grant applications and with the regulations set out in the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration.

Grant holders must also comply with the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications (see Open Access overview for more information). Researchers are encouraged to manage, in accordance with both community standards and best practices, data arising from their research (see also the tri-agency policies and guidelines on Research Data Management).

Recipients of funding must comply with SSHRC’s Intellectual Property and Copyright policy.

Research security

On January 16, 2024, the Government of Canada published its Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC), which applies to this funding opportunity. Grant applications that involve conducting research and related activities that aim to advance a sensitive technology research area will not be funded if any of the researchers involved in activities supported by the grant are affiliated with, or in receipt of funding or in-kind support from, a university, research institute or laboratory connected to military, national defence or state security entities that could pose a risk to Canada's national security. Read the tri-agency guidance on the STRAC policy to understand how this may impact your application. Adherence to this policy will be assessed at the full application stage.

At the full application stage, in accordance with STRAC, all researchers involved in activities funded by a grant that aim to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area (STRA) must review the list of Named Research Organizations (NROs) and attest that they are not affiliated with, or receiving funding or in-kind support from, any listed NRO.

You must submit attestation forms from all of the co-PIs, co-applicants and collaborators, as applicable, certifying that they have read, understand and are compliant with this policy. Should your application be successful, you and your research team(s) will also be required to comply with the policy for the duration of the grant that aims to advance one or more STRAs.

The attestation forms may be shared with Government of Canada departments and agencies, for the purpose of national security assessment and to validate compliance with the policy.

Use of grant funds

The information below explains to grant holders and research administrators the regulations governing use of NFRF grant funds. These supersede all previous statements on grant regulations.

The NFRF program uses the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration as the general guidelines for eligibility of expenses and use of funds related to the direct costs of research. Exceptions to these policies for grants are noted below. If unsure about the eligibility of a particular expense, contact the NFRF team. Rules for the indirect costs portion of the grant can be found on the Research Support Fund website.

Compensation-related expenses

Research expenses

Grant funds must be used to support research activities related to the project. For co-PIs and co-applicants who are not academic researchers, eligible expenses are limited to those related to the project activities that are not within the mandate of the individual’s organization of employment.

Termination of a grant

The research funding agencies will terminate a grant when the grantee no longer holds an eligible position at an eligible institution, unless the grant is transferred to an eligible co-PI or co-applicant. It is at the agencies’ sole discretion to allow such a transfer. See Frequently Asked Questions for more information about grant transfers.

Steering Committee

The Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) provides strategic direction and oversight for NFRF and serves as the high-level steering committee for the fund. As a tri-agency program, the program’s oversight is delegated to the NFRF Steering Committee, which includes the presidents of CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, and the deputy ministers of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and Health Canada. The NFRF Steering Committee makes decisions regarding which applications to fund based on the review panel’s recommendations. It also ensures the evaluation process is rigorous, objective and transparent, in keeping with the standards of excellence expected by the agencies and consistent with the program’s objectives.

Communication of results

Applicants will be informed of competition results via the Convergence Portal. In addition to the notice of decision, all applicants will be provided a summary of the evaluation of their application (ratings by criterion). For more details about the review process, see Review Process.