Industrial Research Chairs for Colleges Grants

Important Information

• College and Community Innovation Program
• College and Community Innovation Program Financial Administration Guide

The College and Community Innovation (CCI) Program is managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). All applications must be submitted to NSERC. Industrial Research Chairs for Colleges (IRCC) Grants support Chair programs across the spectrum of natural and social sciences, engineering, humanities and/or health sciences fields. Grants are given by NSERC, with the exception of funded proposals exclusively in the social sciences, humanities and/or health sciences, which will be given by SSHRC or CIHR, as appropriate.

Objective

IRCC Grants support applied research leaders and the development of business-focused applied research programs at colleges. These grants support the establishment of applied research leaders to act as catalysts for the realization of the following objectives:

• Increased delivery of innovative applied research solutions to local companies at the community and/or regional level;
• Enhanced teaching and curricula;
• Increased participation of faculty and other college staff in applied research activities;
• Increased opportunities for students to gain industrial problem-solving experience; and
• Increased knowledge and technology transfer between colleges and companies, with the objective of increasing the productivity and competitiveness of local companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Description

IRCC Grants will assist colleges to develop new, or significantly enhance existing, applied research efforts and capacity in areas that meet local or regional socio-economic needs. The Chairholders are expected to conduct a program of applied research with partner companies. The applied research projects will provide an enhanced training environment for students and college personnel by giving them the opportunity to address applied research challenges with the private sector and to participate in significant ongoing interactions with business partners.

The Chair candidate can be an existing faculty or other college staff member, or an external individual—such as an applied research leader in business whom the college intends to bring on staff following the successful application of an IRCC Grant.

In order to focus on applied research activities, Chair candidates are expected to carry a reduced, or in some instances no, teaching load. In all instances, Chairholders are expected to be well integrated in the teaching environment of the college to help advance the skills development of students. IRCC Grants will provide funding to cover the salary of the Chairholder, technology transfer and knowledge dissemination activities, and support for applied research projects through the purchase of applied research tools and instruments, training activities and other direct costs of applied research related to the Chair activities.

IRCC Grants will range from $100,000 to $200,000 annually and will be offered in five-year terms. It is anticipated that IRCC Grants will be renewable. Private-sector partnerships and contributions are required. For the initial five-year term, a combination of cash and/or in-kind contributions from private-sector organizations will be required. Company partner cash contributions are not mandatory in the first term, but will be in subsequent terms.

Industrial Research Chairs for Colleges are funded jointly by NSERC and the private sector. Provincial or federal government departments and agencies may also co-sponsor/support a Chair, but only the private-sector contributions are matched when determining the amount of the NSERC grant.

Company Participation

The Partner Eligibility Guidelines section of the Guidelines for Organizations Participating in Research Partnerships Programs should be consulted to determine the eligibility of the company partner to participate.

Each company partner is expected to actively participate in the applied research program of the Chair, and must contribute cash and/or in-kind to the Chair’s applied research program and/or its associated projects.

• For the first term, eligible partners must contribute an amount equal to the IRCC Grant in cash and/or in-kind;
• For the second term, eligible partners must contribute cash equal to at least 50 percent of the IRCC Grant, with the balance contributed in-kind; and
• For the third and subsequent terms, cash contributions equal to the IRCC Grant are expected.

Company partners can provide enduring support through the full term of the Chair, or can participate in particular projects within the activities of the Chair without making a five-year commitment. In addition to cash and/or in-kind contributions, participating partners must, at a minimum, have credible plans for exploiting the applied research results for the social, environmental or economic benefit of Canada. The company partners must show that they have the expertise and resources to put the plan into effect, or the means and intention to acquire this capacity.

At the time of application (for the first Chair term only), there must be firm contribution commitments in cash and/or in kind from the company partner(s) representing at least 40 percent of the total IRCC Grant amount, with the remainder being procured during the term of the Chair. Continued IRCC Grant funding support for the full five-year term of the Chair is dependent on sufficient company partner(s) contributions.

NSERC will recognize only those in-kind contributions that are fully documented and considered essential to carry out the program of the Chair. These contributions must be documented annually. For a full discussion on the eligibility and value of in-kind contributions, refer to the Guidelines on Eligibility and Value of In-Kind Contributions section of the Guidelines for Organizations Participating in Research Partnerships Programs.

Company partner cash contributed toward a Chair is eligible regardless of when it is actually given, provided the money is not spent prior to the application being submitted to NSERC. If the supporting organizations choose to contribute to an endowment as a means of supporting the Chair, the recognized contribution will be limited to the amount attributed to private-sector sources that are directly allocated to the cost of the Chair over the term of the grant.

Intellectual Property

NSERC makes no claim to the ownership of any intellectual property (IP) generated from the research it funds. As a general principle, colleges need to develop and sign an agreement with each company partner on the ownership and disposition of IP arising from IRCC Grant-funded applied research before initiating any Chair activities. Any agreements made regarding the ownership of the IP resulting from IRCC Grant-funded research must take into account the objective of the IRCC Grants—creating partnerships. This implies a sharing of eventual benefits between the partners commensurate with their respective contributions, and the sharing of the costs to protect the IP.

Eligibility

Canadian colleges that have been declared eligible to administer grants according to the eligibility requirements for colleges of at least one of the three federal granting agencies (NSERC, CIHR and/or SSHRC) may submit an application.

• The college must offer programs in the natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities and/or health sciences;
• The college’s Chairholder involved in the IRCC Grant must be permitted to engage in research in the natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities and/or health sciences; and
• The college will provide the basic facilities and services (including space) to enable its natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities and/or health sciences faculty members, technical experts, entrepreneurial innovators and students to conduct applied research.

Colleges must offer programs in line with the research area proposed in the IRCC Grant application. If the proposed research and knowledge/technology transfer activities lie entirely within the mandate of one granting agency (CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC), the college must be declared eligible to receive funding from that granting agency.

Application Procedures

Instructions for applicants and their company sponsor(s) for completing the forms and on-line submission are found on NSERC's On-line Services page. All proposals are reviewed by the College and Community Innovation Review Committee.

A Chair candidate must be identified at the time the application is submitted. Use Forms 103, 103CV and 183A and follow the instructions for preparing an IRCC Grant submission. Up to three letters of reference in support of the Chair candidate are encouraged. The letters of reference should be sent directly by the referees to NSERC.

Review Procedures

All applications undergo peer review. Each IRCC Grant application will be reviewed by external referees. The evaluation of the external referees will be taken under consideration by the multidisciplinary College and Community (CCI) Review Committee during its deliberations. This committee will provide advice and comments on each application and will recommend to NSERC the applications to receive IRCC Grants.

Selection Criteria

IRCC Grant applications are evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

• Suitability of the Candidate: the applied research competence, potential to create a business-relevant applied research program, potential to create collaborative links with the local business community and company partners, and the experience and record of accomplishments of the proposed candidate;
• Benefits to the College: the potential for the Chair to connect local and regional industry with college research infrastructure, students, faculty and other college staff and build a sustainable applied research activity;
• Institutional Support: the commitment of the college to the Chair’s activities as demonstrated through faculty and other college staff involvement within the applied research area of the Chair, administrative support, and facilities for research activities;
• Quality of the proposal: the merit, technical feasibility, innovation, and regional business relevance of the applied research activities proposed;
• Private-sector support: the company partner(s) must demonstrate an appropriate amount of contributions from its own resources to the applied research program as a whole, or to one or more projects in the Chair, and must be in a position to apply the project results; and
• Contribution to education and development: the demonstration of training and development opportunities for students and staff (including company personnel), and enhancement of future training programs.

Renewal

Renewal of an IRCC Grant provides continued support for the Chair's applied research program. Renewal for the second and each subsequent term is determined by peer review conducted in the last year of each five-year term and may involve a competitive process that will take into consideration the available funding for IRCC Grants. The evaluation will be based on the up-to-date progress report, a new detailed research proposal for the next term, a continued commitment from the private sector, and the support of the college. The CCI Review Committee will make the final funding recommendation for all renewals.

Eligible Expenses

A list of all eligible expenses are detailed in the CCI Financial Administration Guide. The following specific limitations apply to IRCC Grants:

• Chairholder’s salary and direct benefits are applicable;
• Certain expenditures related to project management are eligible as a direct cost of research up to a maximum of 10 percent of the total direct costs;
• Project costs, including student stipends, operating costs, material, supplies and associated project travel, are allowed; and
• Overhead costs are allowed up to 20 percent of the total award.

Reporting

The college and the company partner(s) must submit progress reports after 18 and 36 months of the first, and any subsequent, five-year term. Continued funding support for the duration of the term is dependent on favourable reviews of the progress of the Chair’s contributions to applied research at the college and continued support from company partner(s). The partner contributions must be reported annually. If the Chair is in its final term, the final report is due within three months of the end date of the Chair. For those Chairs intending to renew for an additional term, an up-to-date progress report must be submitted as part of the renewal application during the final year of the term.