GENDER-NET Plus ERA-NET Cofund – Promoting gender equality

Background

Equity, diversity and inclusion strengthen the scientific and engineering communities and the quality, social relevance and impact of research. Increasing diversity and gender equity in the research enterprise are key priorities in NSERC’s current strategic plan, NSERC 2020, as part of the strategic goal of “Building a Diversified and Competitive Research Base.” As a promoter of gender equity, NSERC is pleased to participate in the  GENDER-NET Plus European Research Area Network (ERA-NET) Cofund, which was launched September 15, 2017 and will run until 2022. GENDER-NET Plus brings together a consortium of 16 partners from 13 different countries including Canada. It is an important opportunity to fund research projects that will promote the integration of sex and gender analysis into research at an international level. GENDER-NET Plus builds on the priorities identified by  GENDER-NET, which ended in 2016.

Call topics

GENDER-NET Plus is the first ERA-NET Cofund with the aim of fostering the integration of sex- and gender-based analysis into research and funding programs. The joint call will invite interdisciplinary applications exploring sex and gender effects and dimensions in research topics relating to one or more of the following  United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• Good health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • SDG 3: Gender-based violence (topic 1.1)
  • SDG 3: Sex, Gender and Aging (topic 1.2)
  • SDG 3: Sex, Gender and Health (topic 1.3)
• Infrastructure, Industrialization and Innovation (SDG 9)
  • SDG 9: Gender and New Technologies (topic 2.1)
  • SDG 9: Gender in Entrepreneurship and in the Innovation System (topic 2.2)
• Climate Action (SDG 13)
  • SDG 13: Gender Dimension in Climate Behaviour and Decision-Making (topic 3.1)



The call will invite both basic and applied research. For any chosen topic, an interdisciplinary approach that addresses the interplay among society, technology and culture is encouraged. Research that addresses the social dimension of gender is strongly encouraged.

Important: NSERC will support applications that respond to SDG 9 and SDG13 only.

Co-fund requirements

The rules for this Joint Call require that each applicant team include investigators from at least three consortium countries. For Canadian investigators, this means you must establish partnerships with researchers from at least two other consortium partner countries (excluding Canada). Each partner must have a Principal Investigator (PI) considered eligible for funding by a GENDER-NET Plus funding organization in that country. These organizations are:

• Austrian Science Fund (FWF), Austria
• Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), Belgium
• Technology Agency of the CR (TA CR), Czech Republic
• Research Promotion Foundation (RPF), Cyprus
• Estonian Research Council (ETAg), Estonia
• National Research Agency (ANR), France
• National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
• Irish Research Council (HEA-IRC), Ireland
• Ministry of Science, Technology and Space (MOST), Israel
• Italian Ministry of Health (MoH-IT), Italy
• Research Council of Norway (RCN), Norway
• Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO), Spain
• Obra Social “la Caixa” (FBLC), Spain
• Swedish Research Council (SRC), Sweden



The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), one of the GENDER-NET Plus partners, has established a linkage tool through which researchers and/or research groups can signal their interest in collaborating on this opportunity. To find potential partners before submitting your pre-proposal, consult the  linkage tool.

Eligibility

To be eligible for funding from NSERC, the team must include one or more researchers in the natural sciences and engineering who are eligible to hold NSERC funds. Refer to NSERC’s Eligibility Criteria for Faculty for more details.

Expenses for this initiative must comply with the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.

Applicants must agree to terms and conditions at the time of application and when accepting the award. The Terms and Conditions for Applying form (one per NSERC-eligible participant), must be completed, signed and submitted directly on or before the pre-proposal submission deadline to the organization contact point.

Funds Available

The total amount available to Canadian researchers from NSERC is $700,000 CAD, enough to fund at least two projects. The maximum amount available is $100,000 CAD per year for up to three years, for a total of up to $300,000 CAD per project. The duration of a project must be two to three years.

How to apply

For NSERC-eligible researchers, an itemized budget and one-page justification must be submitted to NSERC via the secure site at both the pre-proposal and full application stages. If more than one NSERC-eligible applicant is participating in the same project, they must work together and designate one single PI. The PI will be accountable to NSERC for the management of funds and the research portion of the GENDER-NET Plus project.

Pre-proposal documents and full applications must be submitted by the Project Coordinator via the  GENDER-NET Plus Electronic Proposal Submission System (EPSS). Further information about the competition and application process is available on the  GENDER-NET Plus website.

Important: Applications must be submitted in English.

Contact

Sarah Smith, Program Officer
Research Grants and Scholarships Directorate
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Tel.: 613-943-2887
Email: sarah.smith@nserc-crsng.gc.ca

General questions about the call can be directed to the Secretariat.