Alliance Society

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Overview

Alliance grants encourage university researchers to collaborate with partner organizations, which can be from the private, public or not-for-profit sectors. These grants support research projects led by strong, complementary, collaborative teams that will generate new knowledge and accelerate the application of research results to create benefits for Canada.

Alliance Society grants (formerly Alliance cost-sharing option 2) fund projects with societal impact as the main driver.

Research supported by Alliance Society grants will:

• address a societal challenge that will result in new natural sciences and engineering knowledge and societal impact
• bring together academic, partner organization and societal perspectives and skill sets throughout the collaboration
• demonstrate how all interested individuals will learn about and use the products, services or policies that stem from this research
• generate new knowledge and/or technology to address complex challenges
• create economic, social and/or environmental benefits
• contribute to Canada’s long-term competitiveness
• support public policy
• train new researchers in areas that are important to Canada and the partner organizations
• draw on diverse perspectives and skill sets to accelerate the translation and application of research results

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Who can apply?

If you are a Canadian university researcher who is eligible to receive NSERC funds, you can apply on your own or as a team with co-applicants who are also eligible academic researchers. You must have at least one partner organization (in the private, public or not-for-profit sector) that could be recognized for cost sharing (see Alliance Society: Partner organizations), but you may include other partner organizations who play an important role in your research project, whether or not they could be recognized for cost sharing.

Alliance grants support projects of varying scale and complexity, from short-term smaller projects involving one researcher to long-term projects involving researchers across several universities, and from one-on-one collaborations with one partner organization directly involved in the research to projects involving many partner organizations across multiple sectors.

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Equity, diversity and inclusion

NSERC is acting on the evidence that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding, and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and is aligned with the objectives of the Tri-agency EDI Action Plan.

Excellent research considers EDI both in the research environment (forming a research team, student training) and in the research process. For Alliance grants, EDI considerations are currently evaluated in the training, mentorship and professional development opportunities for students and trainees. The aim is to remove barriers to the recruitment and promote the full participation of individuals from underrepresented groups, including women, Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), persons with disabilities, members of visible minority/racialized groups and members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities. Applicants are encouraged to increase the inclusion and advancement of underrepresented groups as one way to enhance the excellence in research and training. For additional guidance, applicants should refer to Alliance grants: Equity, diversity and inclusion in your training plan and the NSERC guide on integrating equity, diversity and inclusion considerations in research.

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Research security

To ensure that the Canadian research ecosystem is as open as possible and as safeguarded as necessary, the Government of Canada has introduced the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy) and the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP).

For more information about research security at the granting agencies, refer to the Tri-agency guidance on research security.

Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern

The STRAC Policy addresses risks related to Sensitive Technology Research Areas performed with research organizations and institutions that pose the highest risk to Canada’s national security. The STRAC Policy applies to this funding opportunity.

Applicants must identify whether the grant application aims to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area. If so, the submission of attestation forms will be required from researchers with named roles (for this funding opportunity, these are the applicants, co-applicants, and collaborators) to certify that they are not currently affiliated with, nor are in receipt of funding or in-kind support from, a Named Research Organization (NRO).

The Tri-agency guidance on the STRAC Policy provides more information on applicable procedures and requirements, including responsibilities of researchers and the responsibilities of institutions.

National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships

The National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships integrate national security considerations into the development, evaluation and funding of research partnerships. These guidelines provide a framework through which researchers, research institutions and Canada’s granting agencies can undertake consistent, risk-targeted due diligence to identify and mitigate potential national security risks linked to research partnerships.

The National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships apply to Alliance grant applications involving one or more partner organizations from the private sector, including when they participate alongside other partner organizations from the public and/or not-for-profit sectors. For such partnerships, you and your post-secondary institution are required to complete a Risk Assessment form for your research project and submit it as an integral part of your Alliance application.

If your Risk Assessment form identifies risks related to data that will be mitigated — in part or in whole — by your data management plan (DMP), the risk mitigation plan section of your Risk Assessment form must also describe how your DMP will address those data-related risks.

The Tri-agency guidance on the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships provides more information on applicable procedures and requirements.

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Data Management Plan

Alliance Society is now part of a pilot initiative where applicants are being asked to submit a data management plan (DMP) with their application. Before September 1, 2025, submission of a DMP is optional. The results of this pilot will be used to inform NSERC’s implementation of the Tri-agency Research Data Management Policy’s DMP requirement. The DMP is not part of the scoring or the formal evaluation of the application; however, during this pilot, PIVP committee members are asked to provide feedback on submitted DMPs to help support applicants.

DMPs contribute to research efficiency by encouraging researchers to proactively establish how they will manage their data through all stages of the research activities. DMPs should describe what data are expected to be collected, created, linked to, acquired or recorded; how data will be documented, formatted, protected, and stored; who will be responsible for managing the data; whether and how data and research results will be shared within and outside of the funded team/project; and any ethical, legal and commercial constraints the data are subject to (if applicable).

For more information on research data management and DMPs, see the Tri-agency Research Data Management Policy – Frequently Asked Questions, SSHRC’s Guide to Preparing a DMP and the Training Resources page of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. Researchers are also encouraged to familiarize themselves with the DMP resources available at their institutions, such as their institution’s research data management strategy.

Refer to How to apply and the instructions for completing an Alliance grant application for further information.

What's next?
Partner organizations