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NSERC and SSHRC (the agencies) continue to recognize that some research activities funded by grants may still be delayed due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In such cases, grant recipients, regardless of whether they have received a previous extension in time to use funds, can request a 12-month extension without funds due to pandemic-related delays by submitting a grant amendment form with a brief but explicit justification to the agency. Provided the eligibility criteria are satisfied and the important considerations are understood (see below), the agencies will show greater flexibility towards approving these COVID-19-related time extension requests.

Please note that this extension in time is unique and separate from all other pandemic-related extensions/initiatives such as the 2020 three-month supplement for the support of trainees (students/postdoctoral fellows) and research support personnel, the NSERC Discovery Grants one-time one-year extension with funds due to COVID-19,  and any scholarships and fellowships extension provisions due to pandemic, etc.

Eligibility criteria

• Extension requests may only be submitted for grants in their final year (including the automatic one-year extension, and any other extensions included where applicable).
• The grant holder must continue to maintain an eligible position at the administering institution for the duration of the grant including any awarded extension(s).
• A Tri-agency guide on financial administration (TAGFA) grant amendment form must be completed with a brief but explicit justification that this extension request is due to delays to research activities as a result of the pandemic.
• The grant’s annual statements of account (form 300) must be up to date in the agency databases. For College and Community Innovation (CCI) program grants, the annual statement of accounts (form 301), must have been completed and submitted to the agency. Requests for an extension in time will not be reviewed/approved if there are outstanding annual statements of account.
•  If the grant account has $501–$2,000 remaining in funds, subject to agency approval, the COVID-19 extension in time will be the final extension for period of use approved for this grant.
• For grant accounts with less that $500, grant holders are not eligible for another extension for period for the authority to use grant funds.
• If the agency has already approved a transfer to the General Research Fund (GRF) or has requested the return of residual funds for a given grant, an extension request will not be accepted.

Important considerations

• Administering institutions must validate the request, however, all requests will be subject to agency approval.
• Requests should be based on need with the intention of continuing/resuming research activities and using up unspent grant funds without further delay.
• If the grant holder is requesting an extension after being prompted by the relevant agency program contact to submit a final report, achievement report, or equivalent, the program contact must be cc’d on the request for the COVID-19-related time extension for their information.
• Grant holders are responsible for and should be aware of any potential impact to receiving an extension on their grant if they are planning to apply for new agency funding. In some cases, the grant holder may be ineligible to apply for new agency funds until their current grant is formally concluded. 
• Requests for longer than 12 months will not be accommodated; the agency will automatically adjust the duration to 12 months for requests that indicate a duration that exceeds 12 months.
• Grants with scheduled installments remaining are not eligible for this extension. However, if the grant holder has a build-up of funds in their grant account and they determine that the scheduled instalment for the next financial year will not be needed at that time, they are responsible for informing their administering institution that a deferral of the next instalment is necessary which will enable them to extend the authority to use the grant funds.
• Grants continue to be subject to the terms and conditions of the award and follow TAGFA policies and regulations, as applicable. The agencies also reserve the right to modify or end this grant extension provision at any time.  

Eligible programs and funding opportunities

This extension applies to the following NSERC programs:

• University programs, with the exception of:
  • Advancing Climate Change Science in Canada
  • Canada-UK Artificial Intelligence Initiative
  • Joint Canada-Germany 2+2 call on Advanced Manufacturing-Industry 4.0
  • Joint Canada-UK projects on quantum technologies
  • Whale Science for Tomorrow
  • Ship Time program
  • Belmont Forum
  • Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling Initiative
  • DND/NSERC Discovery Grant Supplements
  • WaterWorks Joint Call
• College and Community Innovation program

NOTE: For NSERC grant holders who were asked to submit a final report or equivalent prior to requesting the extension, the relevant program contact must be cc’d when submitting the request for the extension. 

For all funding opportunities not listed or requests that do not satisfy the requirements outlined above, grant holders may still submit a grant amendment form for review and approval by the agency, however, the request may be subject to a longer review period by the agency. It is recommended that more detail be provided in the comments section of the form. For more information, review the Extension period for the authority to use grant funds section in the TAGFA.

Contact

The first point of contact for grant holder should be the institution’s research office or equivalent, prior to contacting the agency. The administering institution is responsible for submitting the extension request to the relevant agency via a grant amendment form. Completed forms and questions should be forwarded to grantsadministration@nserc-crsng.gc.ca and indicate “C19 Time Extensions” in the subject line.

Training award recipients (master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral) may defer the start date of their award, or request an unpaid interruption, normally in four-month increments, for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For master’s and doctoral award holders, this can be adjusted to align with the next available start date (September 1, 2022, or January 1, 2023).

The agencies will continue to support training award holders who, given the challenges posed by the COVID-19 situation, can only devote part-time hours to their research. They may continue to hold their awards and will be paid at the full amount. The amount will not be prorated, and the end date of the award will remain unchanged.

For the period where travel is significantly limited due to the COVID pandemic, training award recipients may choose to hold their award remotely while pursuing their research training, so long as the following conditions are met:

• Students must be registered at the host institution during the period when travel restrictions/institution closures are in place. Postdoctoral fellows must be actively engaged in research.
• This arrangement must have the support from the supervisor.

Canada’s three granting agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)—acknowledge that the widespread disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may hinder the ability of some institutions to provide applicants with official and up-to-date transcripts in advance of the deadline date, particularly at institutions which do not currently provide official electronic versions of these documents. Therefore, for the fall 2022 scholarships and fellowships competitions, the agencies will continue to accept unofficial transcripts if official transcripts cannot be obtained.

Applicants should contact their faculty of graduate studies to determine whether an official transcript can be provided. Submission of an application will continue to serve as a formal attestation that the applicant has provided true, complete, and accurate information in the application and its related documents.

Vaccine exemption/accommodation requests must be approved by the host institution based on their COVID-19 policies. With this approval, the current Tri-agency policies apply, and the award holder can:

• defer the start date of their award
• request an unpaid interruption of their award
• work remotely

Following our first communication last spring and in light of the extensive impacts of the COVID-19 public-health crisis that have already been observed, NSERC recognizes that some research activities funded by grants that expire on or after March 31, 2021 may be delayed. We are therefore pleased to inform you that NSERC will automatically provide additional 12-month extensions in time, where applicable, to grant recipients who request them because of COVID-19, regardless of whether they have received a previous time extension of any length for any reason. This extension period is in addition to the extension automatically allowed by the Extension period for the authority to use grant funds regulation in the Tri-agency guide on financial administration. Please note that this does not apply to funds awarded as part of the three-month supplement for the support of trainees (students, postdoctoral fellows) and research support personnel.

In order to make the necessary changes to grant recipients’ files, we ask that postsecondary educational institutions continue to maintain lists of grant recipients who are in the final year of their grants and who wish to take advantage of this extension, and that the institutions share this information with NSERC’s Finance division.

For all funding opportunities not listed below, as well as for the exceptions listed under university programs, administering institutions must continue to request extensions from NSERC by submitting the Grant amendment form, and grant recipients must continue to communicate with NSERC program staff to justify their requests. These extension requests, whether related to COVID-19 or not, will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

These extensions apply to the following NSERC programs:

• University programs (with the exception of Advancing Climate Change Science in Canada; Canada-UK Artificial Intelligence Initiative; Joint Canada-Germany 2+2 call on Advanced Manufacturing-Industry 4.0; Joint Canada-UK projects on quantum technologies; Whale Science for Tomorrow; Ship Time program; Belmont Forum; Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling Initiative; DND/NSERC Discovery Grant Supplements, WaterWorks Joint Call)
• College and Community Innovation program
• Networks of Centres of Excellence

For more information, contact grantsadministration@nserc-crsng.gc.ca

The deadline for submitting financial reporting (Forms 300 and 301) for the 2021-22 (April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022) Annual Reconciliation of Active Awards has been postponed until September 30, 2022.

To support the ongoing public health emergency response efforts related to COVID-19, and in accordance with the Call for Open Access to COVID-19 Publications and the (Wellcome Trust) global joint Statement on sharing research data and findings relevant to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak NSERC asks that all scientific information (preprints, published articles, data, code, project description, etc.) related to COVID-19 and resulting from research funded by an NSERC Alliance COVID 19 grant or Tri-agency College and Community Innovation program – Applied Research Rapid Response to COVID-19 grant be made immediately open access (barrier-free, accessible online) via open access journal and publication websites and/or institutional or disciplinary repositories. NSERC also calls on researchers to consider doing the same for all COVID 19-relevant scientific information, irrespective of how it is funded.

Please send the DOI and/or URL of each preprint, published article and supporting data (set) to NSERC at openaccess@nserc-crsng.gc.ca and to the Office of the Chief Science Advisor (OCSA) at science@canada.ca.

Your preprint(s) and open access publication(s) may be included on the OCSA COVID landing page, and promoted on NSERC’s website and social media platforms.

For NSERC-supported research not related to COVID-19, the Tri-agency Open Access Policy on Publications and Tri-agency Statement of Principles on Digital Data Management apply.

If you have any questions, please contact openaccess@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

Due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions and social distancing requirements, adjudication meetings for all NSERC programs will be conducted by video conference for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

NSERC recognizes that the virtual peer review process may result in costs for peer reviewers that would not normally be incurred during face-to-face meetings. The Agency also continues to recognize the valuable contributions of everyone each year who lend their time and expertise to peer review process.

With this in mind, NSERC has approved the following entitlements for non-public servant committee members, effective October 1, 2020:

1. Reimbursement of dependent care (child care, elder care, care for family members with differing abilities)
• up to $100 per dependent, per day, with a declaration for dependent care and receipts for services provided by an individual or company in the business of providing dependant care services, or
• $50 per household, per day, with only a declaration for dependent care; and
2. A daily allowance of $50 (for each half or full day of participation in the adjudication process) to cover technology and/or other miscellaneous costs.

For more information, reviewers are encouraged to contact the NSERC staff responsible for their committee.

NSERC recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting researchers’ and students’ capacity to conduct their regular research and training activities. NSERC has published guidelines on the consideration of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on research and training activities. These guidelines provide direction on how to describe these impacts in an application and information on how they will be considered in the review of contributions to research and training and/or research and training plans. If you have any questions, please reach out to the appropriate program contact with questions relating to the specific funding opportunity to which you are applying.

CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC have postponed launching the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy until further notice, due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once launched, the agencies will continue to collaborate with the research community to phase in the policy requirements.

The current pandemic has illustrated the critical role that research data management plays in building a research system that reflects the FAIR principles – that data are findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. Many researchers, research institutions, stakeholder organizations and other groups have worked diligently during the COVID-19 pandemic to support research data management. This includes data management planning, institutional support for research data management, and data deposit and access. The agencies encourage the community to continue these efforts to further research data management in Canada and abroad.

Following the updates regarding additional funding to support trainees (students and postdoctoral fellows) and research support, we have added new frequently asked questions (FAQ) in an effort to help guide you in advance of the August 13 deadline. Please refer to the FAQ and previous updates, and if you have any additional questions contact supplements@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

This additional funding applies to the following NSERC programs:
University programs

• Advancing Climate Change Science in Canada
• Alliance grants
• Belmont Forum
• Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
• Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering (project component)
• Chairs in Design and Engineering (research component)
• Collaborative and Thematic Resources Support in Mathematics and Statistics program
• Collaborative Health Research Projects
• Collaborative Research and Training Experience program
• Collaborative Research and Development grants (including DND/NSERC Research Partnership grants)
• Discovery Frontiers
• Discovery Grants program
• Discovery Grants – Subatomic Physics (individual, project and major resources)
• Discovery Grants – Discovery Development Grants
• Engage and Engage Plus grants
• Idea to Innovation grants
• Industrial Research Chairs (research project)
• Strategic Partnerships Grants – Projects and Networks
• Whale Science for Tomorrow

College and Community Innovation program

• Applied Research and Development grants (level 2 and 3)
• College & Community Social Innovation Fund grants
• Engage and Engage Plus grants for colleges
• Industrial Research Chairs for colleges
• Innovation Enhancement grants (all durations)
• Innovation Links grants
• Technology Access Centres grants

Networks of Centres of Excellence

• Networks of Centres of Excellence
• Business-led Networks of Centres of Excellence

Canada’s three granting agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)—have provided further information on the direct support being offered for scholarship or fellowship holders. For eligible students and postdoctoral researchers whose research scholarship or fellowship ends between March and August 2020, support will be extended for an additional four (4) months and fully funded. This represents an investment of up to $40 million to help these students and postdoctoral researchers complete their research projects and training.

Please read the full update for all details, eligibility and conditions.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NSERC is leveraging the expertise of researchers in natural science and engineering and their partners across Canada to address this unprecedented crisis.

Please visit the NSERC investments in COVID-19 research webpage to see a breakdown of the investments made through the NSERC Alliance COVID-19 and Tri-agency Applied Research Rapid Response to COVID-19 grants.

Given the ever-evolving circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC recognize that grant recipients and/or research team members may continue to incur ongoing research costs, as well as incremental costs that would not normally be incurred (for example, compensation and travel) related to agency-funded research activities. The agencies would like to remain as flexible as possible to support grant recipients during this time and acknowledge that some of these costs may be eligible to be paid from agency grant funds. The agencies will therefore defer to administering institutions to determine if incremental costs are consistent with the principles and directives set out in the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration (and if they are, then those expenses will still be eligible to be paid from grant funds).;

The agencies also understand that not all planned research activities are possible as research institutions are closed requiring that the majority of people work remotely, if they are able to work at all. The agencies consider that continuing to pay any members of the research team, eligible to be paid from an agency grant, is an eligible expense in the context of COVID-19 (and that these individuals should continue to be paid).

NSERC and SSHRC recognize that agency-funded research activities may be delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Academic institutions can immediately approve extensions requests up to 12 months for Agency grants with an end date between February 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 inclusively. This provision applies to all grants, regardless of whether they have received a previous time extension of any length for any reason (including, where applicable, automatic extensions). The intent of this provision is to allow grantees to continue spending grant funds, and institutions to delay the processing of residual grant funds (per the NSERC/SSHRC Guidelines for the General Research Fund). Institutions are to keep complete and accurate records on the grants being extended. The mechanism for institutions to notify the Agencies of the details of these extensions will be determined and communicated in the near future.

In addition to the reimbursement of non-refundable travel and meeting costs as previously described, NSERC recognizes that in some cases other costs may be incurred in relation to ongoing financial commitments, such as the remuneration of individuals paid out of agency grants. For example, individuals receiving a salary or stipend from grant funds may be recommended or required to self-isolate, and/or may be unable to work or telework for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic. NSERC confirms that if the costs are not covered by other sources of funds within the institution, and provided these expenses would otherwise have been eligible to be paid out of the grant, these can be paid from existing grant funds.

NSERC confirms that in addition to the costs described in the earlier Tri-agency statement regarding cancelled travel plans of researchers and members of their teams, other non-refundable expenses may be incurred as a result of cancelled travel and/or meetings related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Provided the expenses would have been eligible had the travel/meeting taken place as planned, these non-refundable costs can be reimbursed out of existing grant funds.

Given the ongoing COVID-19 situation, NSERC continues to allow some flexibility in programming so that grantees can adapt to virtual delivery. As much as possible, NSERC expects that the program that was originally proposed and evaluated by the Selection Committee should be delivered. Grantees may adjust their delivery method without seeking NSERC approval as long as the target audience and program content remain similar. Likewise, the budget may be adjusted to accommodate expenses for virtual delivery without seeking NSERC approval as long as new expenditures are eligible according to the Grants Guide.

Additionally, with continued school closures and imposed restrictions on gatherings, NSERC recognizes that some activities funded by PromoScience grants may be delayed:

• For PromoScience grants that expire on December 31, 2021: NSERC will provide additional 12-month extensions in time to grant recipients who request them because of COVID-19. In order to support continuity of delivery, your organization would still be able to apply in the 2021 PromoScience competition for the same activities supported by your current grant. Applications will have to clearly outline how your balance of funds and requested funds will be used together in the first year of the new grant, if awarded.
• For PromoScience grants that expire on December 31, 2022 or December 31, 2023: You may request a deferral of the next instalment of your award, which would extend your grant by one year. This should be considered if a large build-up of funds is likely as a result of activity cancellations or postponements. Or, as the end of your grant approaches, if you find yourself with a large unspent balance, please contact us to discuss a possible extension.

Questions about eligible expenses, significant changes to the target audience or program content or extension requests should be sent to promoscience@nserc-crsng.gc.ca for review and approval.

In light of the continuing uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure effective and timely delivery of the 2022 Discovery Grants competition the peer review of applications will take place by videoconference.

NSERC is committed to maintaining a peer review process of the highest quality, including fairness and consistency between evaluating committees and across competition years.

We encourage applicants to consult the following:

• Discovery Grants program instructions for completing an application
• The guidelines on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on research for guidance on how to describe the impacts of COVID-19 within grant applications
• View our “how to apply” webinars and live Q&A sessions
• Discovery Grants program description

Your insights and informed feedback are essential to Canada's discovery research enterprise. We invite you to contact resgrant@nserc-crsng.gc.ca with any questions you might have.

To lessen the impact due to COVID-19 and to support all of our researchers and highly qualified personnel, all active Discovery Grants can elect to receive a one-year extension with funds at their current funding level.

This one year extension will be granted for the following programs: Discovery Grants, Discovery Grants – Subatomic Physics (Individual, Project and Major Resources), Discovery Grants – Northern Research Supplements and Discovery Development Grants.

NSERC will contact eligible grantees once they’ve entered the last year of their grant (in the month of June) with information on how to accept the funded extension.

For more information on the Discovery Grants one-year extension with funds due to COVID-19, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions webpage or contact NSERC Research Grants at resgrant@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

At the federal level, since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has identified several opportunities related to improving the capacity and coordination of infectious disease data modelling, a core component of disease surveillance. Through the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that Canada would benefit from

• additional skilled modelling experts
• improved coordination of experts to support the identification of priority issues and strategic directions
• improved mobilization and collaboration among experts to accelerate research and advance potential solutions

Addressing these gaps will improve Canada’s preparedness in the face of public health emergencies, such as pandemics.

The PHAC and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) are working together to strengthen collaborative efforts among the academic community and all relevant stakeholders to conduct and coordinate infectious diseases modelling to better respond to COVID-19 and other similar situations.

In light of the uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic, NSERC is taking action to ensure effective and timely delivery of the 2021 Discovery Grants competition by adjusting the in-person meeting component of the review to take place by videoconference.

NSERC is committed to maintaining a peer review process of the highest quality, including fairness and consistency between evaluating committees and across competition years.

In the coming weeks, guidance will be available on how to describe the impacts of COVID-19 within grant applications.

Clarification to our earlier announcement regarding the suspension of the application deadline for the Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA): NSERC will continue to accept applications past May 1, 2020, without penalty; however, no changes to the List of Recommended Applicants can be made once submitted.

For reasons related to COVID-19, recipients of the Canada Graduate Scholarships - Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements (CGS-MSFSS) can defer their travel abroad beyond the one-year deadline from receiving the notice of award, provided they still hold an active CGS. If they no longer hold an active CGS, they can defer their travel abroad, provided they are still registered at the same Canadian institution.

The new dates for the 18th Innovation Enhancement competition have now been posted. Please be sure to consult the revised literature for updates on program criteria. Should you have any specific questions or concerns about your existing Innovation Enhancement grant due to COVID-19 please contact Kelly Mezzetta-Calderin, Manager at NSERC.

The 2020 CGS D competition will be launched July 29, 2020. No changes to 2020 application deadlines at this time (October 17 for direct applicants and November 21 for university applicants).

The launch of 2020 competition is postponed until June 1, 2020. The application deadline is set for October 1, 2020.

NSERC is providing up to $15 million in total support to stimulate collaborations between academic researchers at Canadian universities and the public and not-for-profit sectors, and industry to address pandemic-related research and technical challenges. Support for up to $50,000 for one-year projects is being made available immediately. Please visit the NSERC Alliance COVID-19 grants webpage for more information.

If your Alliance COVID-19 application is funded, an NSERC-Mitacs partnership is making available additional resources to augment research collaborations. Qualifying partner organizations can add Mitacs-funded internships to an Alliance COVID-19 project at a reduced cost to the organization. To access this opportunity, please contact Noha Gerges, Director of Business Development, at Mitacs (ngerges@mitacs.ca).

Through the College and Community Innovation program, this funding opportunity will leverage the expertise and infrastructure in Canada’s colleges and polytechnics to rapidly mobilize support and expertise related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Support for up to $75,000 for one-year projects is being made available on expedited timelines. Please visit the Applied Research Rapid Response to COVID-19 webpage for more information. 

If your College COVID-19 application is funded, an NSERC-Mitacs partnership is making available additional resources to augment research collaborations. Qualifying partner organizations can add Mitacs-funded internships to a College COVID-19 project at a reduced cost to the organization. To access this opportunity, please contact Noha Gerges, Director of Business Development, at Mitacs (ngerges@mitacs.ca).

The opening of the Research Portal for students to accept or decline awards has been delayed until April 15, 2020. Applicants requiring an extension to the 21 day window to accept or decline their award should contact the relevant agency.

CGS M allocations by institution extended to next competition cycle. No change to December 1, 2020 application deadline at this time.

The expression of interest deadline has been extended to June 8, 2020. The two funding agencies will respond jointly to expressions of interest by June 12, 2020.

NSERC continues to accept applications. Applicants can expect delays in processing times, depending on the capacity of peer reviewers and of NSERC personnel.

Applications for which external reviews were received by March 12, 2020, should receive answers from NSERC in April.

The first meeting of the review panel is postponed until June 2020.

NSERC will continue to receive applications, but processing times will be partly dependent on the availability of external reviewers, notably for ARDs.

The March 30, 2020 I2I application deadline has been postponed to June 17, 2020.

The evaluation of I2I applications submitted in January 2020 will not be affected by these changes.

The application deadline has been moved to June 1, 2020.