Updated: 2014-08-05

 

Electronic Submission of Applications

a) eSubmission and Electronic Signatures

Applicants are encouraged to use the On-line System to prepare and submit their application to NSERC. In exceptional cases, NSERC may also accept a paper application by mail. (Access to PDF versions of the forms will also remain available.) User ID/password-based "signatures" allow applicants, supporting organizations and authorized institutional representatives such as Research Grants Officers, Scholarships Liaison Officers and Business Officers to "sign" and submit on-line applications and other documents to NSERC.

The eSubmission process incorporates the following features:

  • account management – the ability to access NSERC's on-line system to update personal information, and recover a forgotten user name or password;
  • access/link manager – the ability to grant research collaborators or supporting organizations access to electronic applications, browse and print applications, and link-required components (e.g., a personal data form or a letter of support);
  • attachment functionality – the ability to electronically attach documents that are part of the application (e.g., the project description);
  • application manager – the ability for designated institution administrators to electronically access applications, comment on them and officially submit the applications to NSERC;
  • electronic acknowledgement of receipt – the ability to automatically acknowledge receipt of electronic applications once they have been transmitted to NSERC.

Even if the eSubmission process includes appropriate controls and checkpoints to ensure validation of the information by the institutions' Research Grants Officers before it is submitted to NSERC, it is important to mention that applicants will have to follow the internal approval process in place at their institution, as specified by the relevant authorities.

We expect one copy of the grant application, bearing the original signatures of the applicant and co-applicant(s), as well as of the department head and president of the institution (or their representatives) to be kept at the institution and made available to NSERC upon request. An institution may also require a signature from the faculty.* If the applicant is normally the signing authority for the department, faculty, or institution, another senior official must sign instead. For paper submission, the application bearing the original signatures must be sent to NSERC.

*Some institutions require the dean's signature on grant applications. As the dean's signature is an institutional requirement, not an NSERC one, the institution's policy should prevail (e.g., the dean's signature should be obtained only if it is required by an institution).

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

For applicants

Before you, as an applicant or co-applicant, submit your application to NSERC or link your Personal Data Form to an application, you must read and agree to the following terms and conditions.

By submitting your application or linking your Personal Data Form, you are certifying that:

  • You have provided true, complete, accurate information in your funding application and related documents, and you have represented yourself, your research and your accomplishments in a manner consistent with the norms of the relevant field.
  • If you are the applicant, you have ensured that others listed on the application have agreed to be included in the application.
  • If you are a co-applicant, you agree that the applicant will administer the grant/award on behalf of the group/team.
  • You are not currently ineligible to apply for and/or hold funds from NSERC, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), or any other research or research funding organization worldwide for reasons of breach of policies on responsible conduct of research, such as ethics, integrity or financial management policies. If at any time you become ineligible for any of these reasons, you will advise your institutional officials and NSERC immediately, in writing.
  • You have read, understood and agree to comply with the This link will take you to another Web site Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research both in the submission of your application and in carrying out the research funded by NSERC.
  • If you are or have been (at any time during the past 12 months) a federal public servant, you have complied with and will continue to respect the This link will take you to another Web site Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector.
  • Consent has been obtained from trainees to include limited personal information about them in the application.
  • You understand the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and the Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to NSERC as they pertain to your information.
  • You consent to the sharing among the three federal granting agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) and with any academic institution to which you are, or may become, affiliated, of any and all information, including personal information, in any way related to the application and to the grant/award.
  • In the event of any change in your eligibility status, you will inform NSERC and your institutional officials immediately, in writing.

By submitting your application or linking your Personal Data Form, you are also confirming that, during tenure of the grant/award, you will comply with the terms and conditions of the grant/award.

Consent to Disclosure of Personal Information: You understand that maintaining public trust in the integrity of researchers is fundamental to building a knowledge-based society. By submitting any application, by linking your Personal Data Form (Form 100 or 103CV) as a co-applicant to an application, or by accepting funding from CIHR, NSERC and/or SSHRC, you affirm that you have read and you agree to respect all the policies of these agencies that are relevant to your research, including the This link will take you to another Web site Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research. In case of a serious breach of agency policy, the agency may publicly disclose your name, the nature of the breach, the institution where you were employed at the time of the breach and the institution where you are currently employed. You accept this as a condition of applying for, or receiving, agency funding, and you consent to such disclosure. If you do not agree to the disclosure of your personal information, you cannot participate in this application.

Note: If you have any concerns about your ability to comply with the terms and conditions listed above, contact your institutional official or NSERC staff responsible for the program immediately. Do not agree to the terms and conditions and do not submit your application or Personal Data Form until you are certain that you can and will comply with all of the requirements.

The signatures of the institutional authorities certify that:

  • the institution will abide by the roles and responsibilities as set out in the This link will take you to another Web site Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions with the three federal granting agencies, including the This link will take you to another Web site 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 process; and
  • if the applicant discloses any potential intellectual property (IP) arising from the research, he or she and the institution will endeavour to obtain the greatest possible economic benefit to Canada from the resulting commercial activity. Note: This requirement for disclosure is not intended to supersede any IP ownership policy that the institution already has in place.

The signatures of authorized officers of other supporting organizations certify that the organization:

  • agrees with the content of the application and will provide the committed resources; and
  • agrees to the release of the public summary of the award and to the publication of the organization’s name as a supporter of the initiative.

If you are both the applicant or co-applicant and a principal of a collaborating organization, another senior official must sign on behalf of the organization.