Important Notice From NSERC – Your Notification of Intent to Apply for a Discovery Grant (Form 180)

It is time to start preparing your Discovery Grant application. A Notification of Intent to Apply for a Discovery Grant (Form 180) and the required attachments must be submitted by the deadline date of August 1.

We would also like to remind you that the deadline date for the receipt of Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) Grant applications is October 25.

Important Changes for Discovery Grants

Application for a Grant (Form 101) and Instructions

The Form 101 instructions for the Budget Justification and Proposal sections will be modified. The Budget Justification section will be limited to two pages (except for grant applications in Subatomic Physics) and the Proposal section will include an additional page for the purpose of describing the highly qualified personnel (HQP) plan. Please read the instructions carefully before completing your application. The 2011 version of the literature and application forms (Forms 100 and 101) will be available on NSERC’s Web site as of August 5, 2011.

New Communication Tool for Discovery Grants

NSERC is using new ways to communicate program information and details about the peer review process to prospective applicants. Two videos are currently under development and will be available in the Professors section of NSERC’s Web site by the end of May 2011. 

Peer Review System

Further to the recommendations from the International Review of Discovery Grants and the Grant Selection Committee Structure Review, NSERC has introduced major changes to its peer review system for Discovery Grants:

1. A Conference Model for the peer review of its Discovery Grant applications. The Grant Selection Committees have been replaced by Evaluation Groups – refer to List of Evaluation Groups and Research Topics for more details, as you will be required to suggest the Evaluation Group that is most appropriate to review your research proposal.
2. Since the 2009 competition, the decoupling of the assessment of Discovery Grant applications from the previous grant held by the applicant. A two-staged approach was introduced: a) rating of all applications based on the three merit criteria (excellence of the researcher, merit of the proposal and contributions to the training of highly qualified people), and b) assignment of a funding level to each merit category – refer to the News Release on this new approach.

Notification of Intent to Apply for a Discovery Grant (Form 180) Submission

Form 180 is an important part of the review process. Failure to submit it will prevent the selection of referees and may, therefore, have an adverse impact on the review of your application.

If you do not intend to apply this year, please let us know by sending an e-mail, before August 1, to coord@nserc-crsng.gc.ca, with your name, Personal Identification Number (if available), department and institution name.

Before you start, you must read or consult the following documents on NSERC’s Web site:

1. The instructions on how to complete Form 180; and
2. NSERC’s Eligibility Criteria.

You are encouraged to verify the balance of your current Discovery Grant account, if applicable, before submitting Form 180. If the available funds are sufficient to cover anticipated expenditures through the next fiscal year, you can choose to request a deferral of instalment or take advantage of the automatic one-year extension to use the accumulated funds prior to submitting a new request for funding. Refer to the Administration Matters and the Annual Funding of Grants sections of the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide for more information. Please note that postponing an application does not adversely affect the review of your next application, but rather demonstrates good fiscal management of the funds and allows you to re-organize your activities and postpone the renewal/re-application date by one year. It also provides the opportunity for the Agency to fund other researchers with more urgent needs.

Completing your Form 180

You must complete Form 180 through NSERC’s On-line Services page.

The deadline for submitting your Form 180 is August 1. The information contained in this form allows NSERC to start planning some aspects of the review process, including preliminary assignments to an Evaluation Group and the selection of appropriate referees. It is essential to clearly state in the “summary of proposal”, in the space provided:

• the objectives of the proposed research program;
• the scientific approach; and
• the novelty and expected significance of the work to a field or fields in the natural sciences and engineering.

Note: Once your form has been submitted, NSERC will send you, via e-mail, an acknowledgement of receipt. The status of the form on your My Portfolio page will also change to Received within three business days. Do not send a paper version of your completed form by mail; we will use only the electronic version.

In September, your university Research Grants Office will be provided with a list of all completed Form 180 submissions. They, in turn, will advise your department.

If you would like to find out more about the Discovery Grants Program, visit the NSERC Web site or send an e-mail to resgrant@nserc-crsng.gc.ca. Please direct questions regarding NSERC’s On-line Services to the NSERC Helpdesk, Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EST). The Helpdesk can be reached by telephone at 613-995-4273 or by e-mail at webapp@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.