Collaborative Research and Training Experience program

On this page

• Important information
• Objectives
• Description
• Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
• Research security
• International stream
• Industrial collaborator participation
• Eligibility
• Award information
• Progress reports and performance evaluations
• Specific rules for the use of grant funds
• Application procedures
• Review procedures and selection criteria
• Resources

Important information

Call for applications in Genomics

For the current competition, NSERC will fund four Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program initiatives through the Government of Canada’s Canadian Genomics Strategy (CGS). Genomics is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes, which consist of an organism’s complete set of DNA. Building on the results of the consultations held by the CGS Secretariat, the supported initiatives will help prepare trainees for the Canadian workforce in areas such as healthcare, agriculture, aquaculture, climate change mitigation, energy, and forestry. Applications will be evaluated through the normal CREATE peer review process, but applications should include “Genomics” in the title. Letters of intent (LOIs) submitted to the Genomics call are not included in each university’s allotment of LOIs advancing to the application stage. Each university can submit up to two LOIs for the Genomics call.

Memo to potential applicants:

The CREATE program for the 2026 competition year will be modified as follows:

• An unlimited number of letters of intent (LOIs) can be submitted by an institution. There are no university LOI quotas for eligible institutions
• The LOI stage will be semi-competitive. NSERC will admit, via peer review using established criteria, a specific number of LOIs from each institution to the application stage
• Only when an institution submits a number of LOIs greater than their allotment will their LOIs be evaluated to determine which of these will advance to the application stage
• Each institution’s allotment for the 2026 competition year is posted on the university GSAP website. LOIs submitted to the International stream are exempt from the institution’s allotment
• The total number of new CREATE grants that can be awarded to an institution is capped at 3 per competition year

While there are no limits on participation, institutions are reminded that CREATE grants are tied to the lead institution. The LOI submissions should be fully supported by the institutions involved in the proposals. Institutions must carefully consider submitting more LOIs than their allotment to ensure that the LOIs moving forward to the application stage are those they consider to be the strongest and that best represent their strategic direction.

Objectives

The Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program supports the training and mentoring of teams of highly qualified students and postdoctoral fellows from Canada and abroad through the development of innovative training programs that:

• encourage collaborative and integrative approaches between large and medium or small sized institutions to address significant scientific challenges
• facilitate the transition of new researchers from trainees to productive employees in the Canadian workforce

These innovative programs must foster the acquisition and development of important professional skills among students and postdoctoral fellows that complement their qualifications and technical skills and improve their job readiness for careers in industry, government, non-governmental organizations and/or academia.

In addition, these programs should encourage the following as appropriate:

• Student mobility, nationally or internationally, between individual universities and between universities and other sectors
• Interdisciplinary research within the natural sciences and engineering (NSE), or at the interface between the NSE and health or the social sciences and humanities—however, the main focus of the training must still lie within the NSE
• Increased collaboration between academic and non-academic sectors

Description

The CREATE program is designed to improve the training and mentoring environment for the Canadian researchers of tomorrow in areas such as technical and professional skills, collaboration, as well as by providing mentoring and mobility experiences relevant to both academic and non-academic research environments. Initiatives do not necessarily have to involve the development of new professional skills training courses but can take advantage of existing training offered at the university, provincially or by other organizations such as Mitacs. The CREATE program promotes and furthers the development of new researchers within the NSE disciplines, or at the interdisciplinary frontier between the NSE and the areas covered under the umbrella of the two other federal granting agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)—if, by combining the strengths of the various disciplines, a greater impact is achieved for the trainees. Where appropriate, proposed initiatives could also encourage interaction with the users of research and future employers of the trainees, or contribute to providing additional opportunities for students to participate in exchanges at the national or international level. The training initiative should be focused on providing a value-added experience to the university training environment to better prepare research trainees for their future careers in industry, government or academia.

Successful applicants will consist of a group of accomplished researchers who will work collaboratively to offer a defined research training program to a group of trainees. The research training experience should focus on providing an enriched training and mentoring experience for graduate (master’s and doctoral) students. At least 60% of the trainees must be graduate students. Undergraduate students can be supported and integrated into the training program as potential future graduate students, but a proposal that is focused solely on the support of undergraduate students will not be considered. Postdoctoral fellows may also be supported, as it is recognized that they often play an integral part in the training and mentoring of graduate and undergraduate students. If postdoctoral fellows are included, the application must clearly elaborate on their contributions to the training program and the enhanced benefits this group can realize by being involved. Successful applications will be those that are best able to demonstrate the benefits of their proposed research training experience to their targeted trainees.

Supported training programs will be recognized for:

• their innovative nature to create a rich research training and mentoring environment
• the excellence of the researchers and their success in training and mentoring highly qualified personnel (HQP) for future employment in all sectors, including industry, government and academia
• their capacity to raise the standard for best practices in research training, mentoring and development of professional skills of new researchers
• encouraging student mobility, as appropriate, between different Canadian universities, between the universities and potential workplaces or among participating Canadian and international institutions, thus promoting international awareness

All M.Sc. and Ph.D. trainees are required to conduct a mobility experience (internship, exchanges, etc.) of a minimum of one month and two months, respectively. These can occur in industry, government, non-governmental organizations and/or academia in or outside of Canada. Multiple mobility experiences may be conducted to cumulatively meet the minimum length required. Mobility experiences are encouraged for undergraduate or postdoctoral fellowship trainees but are not mandatory. It is the responsibility of the CREATE initiative to ensure there is adequate support and supervision at the appropriate level for the CREATE trainee.

In addition, industry-supported training programs will be recognized for their capacity to support improved job readiness within the industrial sector by exposing participants to the specific challenges of the private sector, and to support training in skills that have been identified as needed for a career in industry, such as leadership, business management, entrepreneurship and marketing.

NSERC and Mitacs have formalized their existing relationship. Applicants are encouraged to take advantage of Mitacs programs that support internships in industry and to increase opportunities for student training and engagement.

Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

NSERC is acting on the evidence that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding, and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and is aligned with the objectives of the Tri-agency EDI Action Plan. CREATE initiatives are expected to increase the inclusion and advancement of under-represented groups in the NSE as one way to enhance excellence in research and training. Where applicable, considerations of EDI in the research process should be addressed in the proposal. Please refer to the NSERC guide on integrating equity, diversity and inclusion considerations in research for guidance. EDI considerations should be developed into the rationale of the composition of the group of trainees and their supervisors, role models and mentors. See the Instructions for completing and submitting a letter of intent or application to apply for a CREATE grant for specific requirements.

Research security

For more information about research security at the granting agencies, refer to the Tri-agency guidance on research security. A complete list of research security resources, including key lists and forms, can also be found under the Resources section.

Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern

To ensure that the Canadian research ecosystem is as open as possible and as safeguarded as necessary, the Government of Canada has introduced the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy). The STRAC Policy addresses risks related to Sensitive Technology Research Areas performed with research organizations and institutions that pose the highest risk to Canada’s national security. The STRAC Policy applies to this funding opportunity as of March 1, 2025.

To comply with this policy, applicants must identify whether the grant application aims to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area. If so, the submission of attestation forms will be required from researchers with named roles in the grant application (for this funding opportunity, these are the applicants and co-applicants only) to certify that they are not currently affiliated with, nor are in receipt of funding or in-kind support from, a Named Research Organization (NRO).

Researchers should review the list of Sensitive Technology Research Areas and the list of Named Research Organizations carefully to understand which versions of the lists apply to this competition.

If the CREATE program grant application describes activities that aim to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area:

• Applicants and co-applicants must complete attestation forms to certify their compliance with the policy. Attestation forms are not required from CREATE Collaborators. The applicant is responsible for collecting and merging all completed attestation forms, in read-only format, to be submitted with the grant application
• Following the terms and conditions of award, should the grant be funded, all researchers and participants — including any CREATE Collaborators — involved in the activities supported by the CREATE program for the duration of the grant must be compliant with the STRAC Policy requirements. To do so, they must not hold any active affiliations with, nor be in receipt of funding or in-kind support from, a Named Research Organization

The Tri-agency guidance on the STRAC Policy provides more information on applicable procedures and requirements, including new responsibilities of researchers and responsibilities of institutions.

International stream

The CREATE program offers two streams: regular and international.

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

An agreement between NSERC and the German research foundation, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), has been concluded to establish a formal mechanism for supporting a bilateral training program that involves an exchange of students between Germany and Canada. In the international stream, all CREATE graduate trainees must complete an exchange of at least one month for an M.Sc. and two months for a Ph.D. trainee at a collaborating laboratory in Germany.

To apply to the international stream, Canadian candidates should follow these steps:

• Canadian researchers should first establish a collaboration with researchers in Germany
• Since the DFG International Research Training Groups (IRTG) process requires more time than the NSERC application process, researchers in Germany must start by submitting a pre-proposal to the DFG
• Applicants with a successful DFG IRTG pre-proposal can submit a CREATE LOI followed by a full application
• International stream proposals are excluded from the lead university’s allotment of LOI proposals that can proceed to the application stage
• Proposals will be evaluated through the agencies’ (NSERC and DFG) respective peer review processes. The CREATE application should stand alone and contain all the necessary details about the Canadian side of the collaboration
• CREATE grant applications involving a collaboration with researchers applying to the DFG IRTG program compete with regular-stream applications
• DFG IRTG/NSERC CREATE proposals will only be funded if both are successful in their individual competitions
• If funded, the duration of the CREATE grant can be extended to match the partner DFG IRTG grant, which is nine years, but the total NSERC CREATE grant value remains $1.65 million

Industrial collaborator participation

• Industrial participation in initiatives is encouraged. The degree of industrial participation in initiatives can vary substantially according to discipline and program objectives and should be explained and justified by the applicants
• Generally, an industrial collaborator is defined as a Canadian or international business that provides products or services and derives the majority of its revenues from the sale of these products and services, not from government aid
• The same company can host internships and have a representative on the Program Committee, as long as the representative does not directly benefit from the internships. Applicants are encouraged to consider Mitacs programs to assist in meeting the mobility requirements
• Due to conflict-of-interest considerations, trainee internships at companies owned wholly or in part by the applicant or by a co-applicant are prohibited. Though, trainees are permitted to conduct internships at companies owned wholly or in part by a collaborator
• In order to expose trainees to new environments and to promote networking opportunities, internships at university incubators, on-campus industrial parks or companies started by a trainee are not permitted

Eligibility

Eligibility conditions apply to applicants, co-applicants, and institutions. CREATE grants are tenable only at NSERC-eligible Canadian universities, and the applicant must hold an eligible full-time position at that university. Researchers at non-eligible organizations may participate as collaborators. Ensure that you consider the eligibility requirements for applicants, co-applicants and collaborators described on NSERC’s website under Eligibility criteria for faculty. The one-year COVID-19 extension to CREATE grants is added to the grant duration and affects the eligibility of applicants or co-applicants for new applications to the CREATE program. A researcher can participate in a maximum of two CREATE grants/applications at any given time and a maximum of one as the lead applicant or grantee. Consult the CREATE FAQ Eligibility section for more information.

Larger institutions are encouraged to collaborate with small- and medium-sized institutions. All universities that will be involved in the application must have at least one co-applicant listed in the proposal. This ensures access to CREATE funds for all students/fellows involved at that university. The funds will be administered by the co-applicant on behalf of all the students/fellows, whether they are under the co-applicant’s direct supervision or not.

The following conditions apply to all applications:

• The applicant must be from an NSERC-supported field at an NSERC-eligible university
  • One person must be designated to administer the grant; this person is the “applicant” and is responsible for completing the LOI and the application on behalf of the group
  • The applicant’s university will be the lead university
• Only trainees supervised by the applicant, co-applicants or collaborators at one of the grantee institutions are eligible for CREATE stipends and expenses
• Up to 30% of the co-applicant team can be from non-NSE areas covered under the umbrella of CIHR and SSHRC
  • Applicants submitting a proposal at the interdisciplinary frontiers of the granting agencies may be required to justify why NSERC is the most appropriate funding agency for their proposal
  • Consult the CREATE FAQ for more information about determining the NSE status of a researcher. Contact the CREATE team if you require assistance in determining the NSE status of a researcher
• The focus should be on new training initiatives; for example, CREATE initiatives cannot be renewed nor duplicated, and a new proposal must be different in theme, approaches to training, and applicant team from previous grants
• An unlimited number of letters of intent (LOIs) can be submitted by an institution. There are no university LOI quotas for eligible institutions
• The LOI stage will be semi-competitive. NSERC will admit a specific number of LOIs from each institution to the application stage
• Only when an institution submits a number of LOIs greater than their allotment will their LOIs be adjudicated to determine which of these will advance to the application stage
  • For example, if an institution’s allotment is five LOIs, and five are submitted by that institution, then all will advance to the application stage without peer review. If this same institution submits 10 LOIs, then all 10 will be peer reviewed to determine which five will advance to the application stage
  • Please refer to the GSAP secure site to verify your university’s allotment of LOIs that can proceed to the application stage
• Each training program will have a Program Committee to guide the strategic direction of the training program in an advisory capacity; the chair of the Program Committee cannot be the CREATE lead applicant nor any co-applicant, direct collaborator (e.g., financial stakeholder, internship host, trainee supervisor, research collaborator or joint author), the program coordinator or a trainee

Award information

Funding of $150,000 in the first year (± $50,000) and $300,000 (± $50,000) annually for up to five subsequent years will be provided by NSERC for up to $1.65 million over six years. It is expected that funds will be spent on an annual basis. The grantee will be able to choose either an April or a September start. Note that there is no automatic extension for the use of funds, and renewal of funding beyond six years is not possible.

Collaborators may contribute additional funds. The application must provide a detailed justification of all expenses.

All project expenditures are subject to the principles and directives governing the appropriate use of grant funds as outlined in the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration.

Progress reports and performance evaluations

Continuation of CREATE funding beyond the first year of the six-year grant period is subject to the availability of funds. Continuation of CREATE funding for years four to six is dependent on the satisfactory performance of the initiative, which is assessed by NSERC through progress reports that are required from CREATE grantees. Refer to the Progress Reports section of the CREATE FAQ for more information.

Specific rules for the use of grant funds

Eligible expenses

The allowable expenses include the following:

Trainee stipends (at least 70% over the course of the grant)

• At least 70% of the CREATE grant must be used for trainees’ stipends
• Up to 30% of this portion can be distributed to trainees who are not enrolled in the NSE

The three federal granting agencies—CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC—have harmonized policies on support paid to students and postdoctoral fellows from research grants. Under those policies, there are no minimum or maximum stipend levels paid from grants. Universities are encouraged to ensure that students and postdoctoral fellows are appropriately compensated, commensurate with the important contributions they make to the research environment of the university. Note that it is expected that trainees will be able to complete the training program proposed without long delays to their graduation.

• Students may receive a CREATE stipend and other tri-agency funding, except for the Mitacs Elevate Fellowship. Students who hold a Mitacs Elevate Fellowship can participate in CREATE initiatives but cannot concurrently receive a stipend from a CREATE grant
• CREATE stipends to postdoctoral fellows are normally limited to two years of support
• Persons paid from NSERC grants are not considered NSERC employees

Non-stipend expenses (up to 30% over the course of the grant)

Training program structure

• Funds toward the costs for the purchase of books or periodicals, specialized office supplies, computing equipment and information services not formally provided by the university to its academic and research staff, costs involved in providing personnel with training or development in novel techniques required for the training program
• Costs associated with developing course content (this applies to non-academic collaborators only)
• Salary of a program coordinator for the duration of the grant
• Advertising and trainee recruitment costs, including travel costs to bring potential candidates in for interviews
• Costs associated with short-term training related to professional skill development for trainees

Travel

• Funds for the travel of trainees between locations if the program involves institutions located in different cities
• Travel and accommodation expenses of trainees for exchanges among universities or between universities and other sectors located in different cities, nationally or internationally
• Travel and accommodation expenses of trainees to attend conferences or workshops
• Travel and accommodation expenses of the applicant, co-applicant and program coordinator to attend CREATE program events
• Travel costs for guest speakers
• Travel cancellation insurance
• Travel health insurance for trainees who do not receive any such benefits from their university or other sources
• Safety-related expenses for trainees for fieldwork, such as protective gear, immunizations, etc.
• Entry visa fee for trainees when required for the purpose of research
• For international stream CREATE grant holders, travel to Germany for the applicant, once a year for program coordination purposes

Air travel must be claimed at the lowest rate available and may not exceed full economy fare; land travel costs may not exceed the equivalent of economy airfare.

Dissemination of training materials and research results

• Funds for the development and dissemination of training materials
• Costs of developing web-based information, including website maintenance fees
• Costs associated with the dissemination of findings, i.e., through traditional venues, as well as videos, etc.
• Publication of articles (co-)authored by CREATE trainees

Services and miscellaneous expenses

• Networking (in-person and virtual) costs, non-alcoholic refreshments or meals/food vouchers for networking purposes in the context of formal courtesy between the trainees and guest researchers

Ineligible expenses

Items that are not eligible include but are not limited to:

• Any salaries other than for the program coordinator
• Research materials and supplies, fieldwork
• Travel and accommodation expenses of collaborators or Program Committee members
• Relocation costs
• College and high school student stipends

Refer to the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration for more information.

Application procedures

Applying to the CREATE program involves a two-phase application process—Phase 1: Letter of intent, and Phase 2: Application.

Phase 1: Letter of intent

To apply for a CREATE program grant, researchers must first propose their project to their university for consideration. The university endorses the LOIs to be submitted and provides a support letter for each LOI.

The applicant submits the LOI using NSERC’s online system.

A complete LOI includes the following:

• Form 187
• Form 100 for the applicant
• A statement of support from the applicant’s university vice-president of research
• A list of potential external reviewers

Phase 2: Application

The applicants proceeding to the application stage then submit the following documents to NSERC through their research grant office by the deadline date:

• Form 102, including all free-form sections
• Form 100 for the applicant
• Form 100, a Canadian Common CV (CCV), or regular CV for up to 10 co-applicants*
• One letter of support from the lead university
• A maximum of three support letters from collaborators
• STRAC attestation forms (if applicable)

*Co-applicants who submit a CCV or regular CV will not be able to see the application on the online system.

Refer to forms 100, CCV and 102 instructions for complete information or contact your university research grants office.

The application process is performed using NSERC’s online system.

Review procedures and selection criteria

An NSERC CREATE multidisciplinary selection committee, composed of distinguished Canadian and foreign members from academia and other sectors, will review the applications. Members are selected according to NSERC’s Guidelines governing membership of selection committees.

The training program’s excellence will be assessed in relation to its:

• innovative, collaborative and integrative character
• capacity to better prepare trainees for the workforce
• potential to support teams of outstanding students and postdoctoral fellows

In arriving at an overall rating for the application, the committee will take into consideration the following factors listed below.

Merit of the proposed training program (50%)

• Extent to which the program will provide high value-added opportunities for the trainees to develop professional and technical skills
• Extent to which the program will provide high value-added opportunities for the trainees to receive mobility experiences, including academic exchanges, internships, field work, etc., either in Canada or abroad
• Description of the potential employers and a qualitative assessment of the job prospects for trainees; extent to which the research training program will facilitate the transition of the trainees to the Canadian workforce and promote interaction with non-academic sectors, such as private companies, industry associations, not-for-profit organizations, government departments, etc.
• Extent to which the program uses novel and interesting approaches to provide trainees with training and mentorship that go above and beyond the traditional graduate school experience
• Focus and clarity of the objectives of the research training program and how they relate to current developments
• As appropriate to the proposal’s subject matter, the degree to which the training program, while focused mainly in the NSE, also fosters research studies at the interface between NSE and health or social sciences and humanities

A financial contribution from industry is not a requirement but would be viewed as an asset.

Excellence of the team of researchers (25%)

• Quality and impact of team members’ past contributions on their respective areas of research
• Complementarity of the expertise of the members of the group to deliver on the collaborative research (including evidence of how they will work collaboratively) and training goals proposed
• Consideration of EDI in the rationale of the team composition and in the designated roles within the team
• Quality and extent of past contributions to the training and mentoring of HQP, as well as considerations of equity and inclusion in trainee recruitment and the research and training environment

See the Guidelines on the assessment of contributions to research, training and mentoring for more information.

Program management and long-term sustainability (25%)

• Evidence of the university’s commitment to facilitate the achievement of the program’s objectives to ensure the longevity of program elements beyond the period of the grant
• Appropriateness of the proposed management structure, including the composition, role and responsibilities of the Program Committee, and considerations of EDI in the rationale of the proposed management structure
• Reliability of the project management plans for the implementation of the training program and for the evaluation of the program’s performance against stated objectives
• Planned approach to promoting participation from a diverse group of trainees, considering EDI in recruitment practices, mentorship approaches and initiatives aimed at ensuring an inclusive research and training environment
• Recruitment and training activities focused on graduate-level trainees
• Provision of adequate facilities for carrying out the research

Resources

• Frequently asked questions
• Competition results