Relationship Between NSERC Proposals and Other Sources of Funds

There are a variety of funding sources available, including other NSERC programs and grants from government, companies and private sources. NSERC does not restrict researchers from obtaining other sources of funding, but does expect that there will be no duplication of funding for the same research.

The principles in assessing the relationship with other sources of funding are:

1. access to NSERC funds should be fair for all applicants, regardless of their other sources of funding;
2. applications are evaluated according to the program's review criteria; and
3. there must be no duplication of funding for the same research.

However, when research programs are supported by multiple sources, the additional benefits of NSERC support must be well explained and justified.

The onus is on the applicant to provide sufficient information to enable a review committee to evaluate the relationship with other sources of support and to recommend the appropriate NSERC funding level. The consequence of not providing adequate information to enable a selection committee to assess the relationship to other research support is that the committee may recommend reduced or no funding.