2025/2026 NSERC CREATE Program – Important Changes and SPARC Support

For the 2025/2026 CREATE competition, NSERC has announced several important changes to the CREATE application process:

  • Institutions may submit an unlimited number of Letters of Intent (LOIs).
  • The LOI stage will be competitive only if the number of LOI submissions exceed the institution’s allotment.
    • Since UBC’s allotment is 4, the LOI stage will be competitive if more than 4 LOIs are submitted by UBC researchers. If 4 (or fewer) LOIs are submitted by UBC researchers, then all LOIs will automatically proceed to the full application stage.
  • Awards are capped at 3 CREATE grants per institution per year.

As such, there will be no internal selection process at UBC this year. Interested applicants are encouraged to review SPARC’s internal resources for the CREATE program, the Sample Grant Library (both CWL-protected), and reach out to Vivienne Chan (vivienne.chan@ubc.ca) for questions and 1-on-1 consultations. SPARC will also support the development of a UBC letter of support (see details) for the Letter of Intent.

 

Key Dates:

April 1                   Interested applicants to notify SPARC to coordinate letter of support.

April 17 (noon) Submit draft letter of support along with confirmations of funding commitments to SPARC.

May 1                    Submit final Letter of Intent to NSERC.