Call for joint Canada-Germany projects on hydrogen technologies

Instructions for completing an application — form 101

• General information
• About the program
• Who can complete the application?
• Application deadline
• Help
• Completing the application for a grant — form 101
• Application profile
• Areas of research
• Certifications/requirements
• Co-applicants
• Collaborators and collaborator biographical sketches
• Summary of proposal
• Proposal
• Proposed expenditures/budget justification
• Other documents (optional)
• Impact assessment form (appendix A)
• Personal information
• Signatures

General information

About the program

The current initiative is designed to fund ten preliminary (one-year) projects between Canadian academic researchers and their counterparts in German academia and/or federal research institutes. It is expected that these projects will:

• provide training opportunities for Canadian students and postdoctoral fellows
• provide opportunities for networking and interchanges between Canadian researchers and their counterparts in Germany
• lay the groundwork for longer term collaborations that will help advance the development and deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies 

Learn more about the Call for joint Canada-Germany projects on hydrogen technologies.

Who can complete the application?

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. Given the limited funding, applicants will be allowed to participate in only one grant application, either as the principal investigator or co-applicant. All grant applicants must hold (as primary grant applicant) an active peer-reviewed grant from NSERC at the time of application.

You must submit your application through NSERC’s online system. The application includes three components:

• Proposal: application for a grant (form 101 – Canada-Germany projects on hydrogen technologies) 
• Personal data form with CCV attachment (form 100A), completed by the applicant
• Personal data form with CCV attachment (form 100A), completed by each co-applicant

Application deadline

Application must be submitted by April 30, 2021.

Help

You may consult additional resources, including Equity, diversity and inclusion in your training plan. If you have questions about the program, email robert.therrien@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

If you have questions about NSERC’s online system:

• check the frequently asked questions on how to use the online system
• contact the Online Services Helpdesk by sending an email to webapp@nserc-crsng.gc.ca or calling 613-995-4273 (include your email address and telephone number)

Completing the application for a grant — form 101

The instructions below will guide you through the modules in NSERC’s online system.

Application profile

Title of proposal

Provide a title that describes the subject of the research in language that the public can understand. Spell out scientific symbols and acronyms. Do not include a company or trade name. The title will be made available to the public if your proposal is funded.

Areas of research

Research subject codes

Select a primary research subject code. You may add a secondary research code (optional).

• Consult the NSERC code tables

Area of application codes

Select a primary area of application code. You may add a secondary area of application code (optional).

• Consult the NSERC code tables

Keywords

Provide a maximum of ten keywords that describe the proposal (e.g., nuclear physics, geochemistry, etc.).

Certifications/requirements

Before completing this section, consult the Requirements for certain types of research.

Research involving humans: If you select Yes, you must provide your institution’s administration with the appropriate certification indicating that research involving humans has been reviewed and has received the required approval.

Research involving human pluripotent stem cells: If you select Yes, or if through peer review the application is found to fall into this category and is recommended for funding, it will be forwarded, with your consent, to CIHR’s Stem Cell Oversight Committee (SCOC) to ensure compliance with  Chapter 12, Section F of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2). The SCOC review is in addition to the normal review by local research ethics boards (REBs). Funding will not be released until approval has been obtained from the SCOC.

Research involving the use of animals: If you select Yes, you must provide your institution's administration with the certification from the animal care committee at the institution that the experimental procedures proposed have been approved and that the care and treatment of animals is in accordance with the principles outlined in the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) guide.

Research involving hazardous substances: If you select Yes, you must provide your institution's administration with the certification from the biosafety committee at the institution that the laboratory procedures being used comply with the safety precautions necessary for the level of containment required by the research.

Environmental impact: The impact assessment form (appendix A) may be required. For more information, consult NSERC’s guidelines on impact assessment.

Co-applicants

Indicate co-applicants who will participate in your application. Co-applicants will automatically be invited to provide their personal data form with CCV attachment (form 100A).

• To determine whether a potential co-applicant is eligible to participate, consult the eligibility criteria for faculty

Enter the email address and family name of the co-applicant as these appear in the co-applicant’s form 100A. This allows the co-applicants access to your application. When you select Save, an automated email message will be sent to the co-applicants, informing them that they have been invited to participate in your application. The status of their participation will appear as Not linked.

When co-applicants link a personal data form with CCV attachment (form 100A) to the application, their personal information will appear on the Co-applicant page, and the status will change to Linked.

Advise co-applicants outside your institution that the authorized officer of their institution must agree to their participation. NSERC will confirm this agreement directly with the authorized officer.

Collaborators and collaborator biographical sketches

List and describe the German and any other collaborators. Examples of other collaborators are government scientists or academic researchers. Collaborators contribute to the overall intellectual direction of the research project and bring their own resources to the collaboration. The collaborator will not have access to the grant funds and must be qualified to undertake research independently.

• For the definition of a collaborator, consult the eligibility criteria for faculty

On behalf of your collaborators, you may attach a biographical sketch or CV. In a maximum of two pages for each person, provide the individual’s name/affiliation, education/training, employment, research funding and up to five significant contributions related to the project.

Note: For upload purposes, all collaborator biographical sketches or CVs must be saved as a single PDF file.

Summary of proposal

Write a summary of the proposed research, intended to explain the proposal in language that the public can understand.

Using simple terms, briefly describe the nature of the work. Indicate why and to whom the research is important, and describe the anticipated outcomes and advancements that will result in economic, social or environmental benefits for Canada and Germany.

This plain-language summary will be made available to the public if your proposal is funded. The summary can be submitted in one official language or both official languages, at the applicant’s discretion.

The summary must fit in the field provided in form 101 (application for a grant).

Proposal

Complete the proposal template within the maximum number of pages as outlined in the table below. Figures and tables are welcome within the specified page limits.

If you choose not to use the template, you must include the section headings and the text of the bullets from the proposal template. You must also respect the guidelines outlined in the NSERC online presentation and attachment standards.

In preparing your proposal, address the criteria that will be considered when evaluating the application. 

Pages exceeding the maximum or documents not requested by NSERC (e.g., letters of support) will be removed and will not be taken into account in the assessment of the application. NSERC reserves the right to reject applications exceeding the maximum number of pages. 

In preparing your proposal, consult NSERC’s Guide for applicants: Considering equity, diversity and inclusion in your application.

If relevant to your research, consult NSERC’s Guidelines for the preparation and review of applications in interdisciplinary research and/or Guidelines for the preparation and review of applications in engineering and the applied sciences.

Proposed expenditures/budget justification

To complete these sections:

• see Funding your research project
• consult the Tri-agency guide on financial administration for information about the eligibility of expenditures for the direct costs of research and the regulations governing the use of grant funds

You may request up to $50,000 from NSERC for your one-year project. In the Proposed expenditures section, enter the planned spending in each budget category.

For the Budget justification, prepare a separate document that provides a breakdown of each category and a detailed justification for spending in each category. Provide sufficient information to allow NSERC to assess whether the resources requested are appropriate. Attach the document in the Budget justification section. The categories are as follows.

Salaries and benefits

Give the names (if known), categories of employment, proposed salaries and non-discretionary benefits of students, postdoctoral fellows, research staff such as technical/professional assistants and the project manager. Briefly describe the responsibilities of each position and indicate the percentage of time they will be spending on this project over its lifespan. Do not include salaries of faculty in project costs.

Consult the form 100A instructions for information on obtaining consent to name individuals in your proposal.

Equipment or facility

Give a breakdown of the items requested. Provide details on models, manufacturers, prices and applicable taxes. Justify the need for each item requested. Describe any fees for the use of equipment or a facility (e.g., hours and rate).

Materials and supplies

Provide details of materials and justify the need for any major items.

Travel

Explain briefly how each planned travel activity relates to the proposed research.

Dissemination and knowledge mobilization

Provide details of publication costs, user workshops or other activities that support collaboration and knowledge mobilization related to the project.

Technology transfer activities

List the expenditure for field trials, prototypes, scale-up costs, demonstration projects, workshops and other activities to develop and grow the research work with the collaborating organizations.

Note: If changes are required after the contact person has completed the section, you can release it for changes by using the Edit, Save, Lock and Re-invite buttons to modify the content.

Other documents (optional)

Use this section if you need to provide other documents requested by NSERC.

Note: For upload purposes, all other documents must be saved as a single PDF file.

Impact assessment form (appendix A)

An impact assessment form (appendix A) must be completed and uploaded to the Environmental impact page, as required.

Personal information

The collection, use and disclosure of personal information provided to NSERC are outlined in the following policy statements:

• The Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act (including the use and disclosure of personal information provided to NSERC)
• Data retention information
• Privacy Notice

The information you provide in your application is collected under the authority of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Act. NSERC is subject to the  Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. The information you provide is stored in a series of NSERC data banks described in  Information about programs and information holdings.

You must ensure that others listed in the application have agreed to be included.

Signatures

NSERC does not require original signatures on applications or other documents submitted electronically through its online system. The electronic submission of applications through this system represents approval and replaces the traditional “physical” or “wet” signatures. Refer to the frequently asked questions in the Program guide for professors for more details.

What do the electronic or original signatures on the application mean?

For applicants and co-applicants

Before you, as an applicant or co-applicant, can submit your application to NSERC or link your personal data form with CCV attachment to an application, you must read and agree to the terms and conditions of applying that appear in a pop-up window during the submission process.

The signature of the institutional authority certifies that

• the institution will abide by the roles and responsibilities as set out in the  Agreement on the administration of agency grants and awards by research institutions with the three federal granting agencies, including the  Tri-agency framework: Responsible conduct of research
• the applicant and co-applicant(s) have met, or will meet, the eligibility requirements
• prior to submission of this application, the institution has obtained written approval from any other institutions involved in the application