Alliance grants

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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.

Research supported by Alliance grants will

• 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 to the partner organizations
• draw on diverse perspectives and skill sets to accelerate the translation and application of research results

Projects supported under cost-sharing option 2 grants will also

• 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

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) whose cash contributions will be recognized for cost sharing (see Alliance grants: Role of partner organizations) but you may include other partner organizations who play an important role in your research project whether or not their cash contributions are 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.

National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships

To ensure the Canadian research ecosystem is as open as possible and as safeguarded as necessary, the Government of Canada has introduced the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships to 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 to submit it as an integral part of your Alliance application.

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

What's next?
Role of partner organizations