Funding & Awards

The Institutional Programs Office provides UBC researchers with comprehensive support in applying for research infrastructure funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. For detailed descriptions of each CFI program or fund, visit www.innovation.ca.

CFI John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) Competitions

Proposals to the John R. Evans Leaders Fund are used to attract or retain faculty in priority areas as identified in the university’s Strategic Research Plan. There are three categories of candidates:

• Attraction candidates are new recruits to UBC appointed within 24 months of the CFI submission deadline.
• Retention candidates are existing UBC faculty members.
• Canada Research Chair Nominees or Renewal Candidates submitting a CFI application at the same time as their CRC nomination/renewal.

Learn more about UBC-specific CFI application procedures and deadlines.

SPARC provides strategic support services, consultations and resources for a wide range of NSERC funding, including program expertise, project and proposal development and review. Learn more details on SPARC support to NSERC Programs.

NSERC Discovery Grants

The Discovery Grants (DG) Program supports ongoing programs of research with long-term goals, rather than a single project or collection of projects.

• Funding supports a five year program of research within natural sciences and engineering.
• Two-step application procedure; Notification of Intent to Apply (NOI, due August 1), Application (due November 1).
• UBC Internal Deadlines for full Application: see detailed info here.

NSERC Alliance Grants

Alliance grants encourage university researchers to collaborate with partner organizations, which can be from the private, public or not-for-profit sectors.

• No application deadline, applications can be submitted anytime
• Depending on partner organization size and nature of your project, there are two available funding envelopes and cost-sharing options, Option 1 and Option 2

NSERC CREATE Program

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

• Focus must be on training graduate students.
• Funding: up to $150,000 for first year; up to $300,000 per subsequent year, up to $1,650,000 in total for six years.
• UBC quota of six Letters of Intent will be selected via internal competition. Learn more about UBC internal procedures and deadlines.
• NSERC Deadlines: May 1 for LOI; September 22 for full application (by invitation).

SPARC provides strategic support services and resources for a range of SSHRC programs, including program outreach, project and proposal development and proposal review. Learn more details on SPARC support to SSHRC Programs.

SSHRC Insight Grants

Insight Grants support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities. Funding is available to both emerging and established scholars for research initiatives of two to five years.

• SSHRC Application Deadline: October 15th.
• NEW: Insight Grant Streams A & B.
  • Stream A: $7,000 - $100,000 over 2-5 years
  • Stream B: $100,000 - $200,000 over 2-5 years
• Learn more about SPARC Support Services and deadlines.

SPARC provides strategic support services and resources for major CIHR programs, including program outreach, project and proposal development, and proposal review. Learn more details on specific SPARC support to CIHR Programs.

CIHR Project Grant

The CIHR Project Grant program is designed to capture ideas with the greatest potential to advance health-related knowledge, health research, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes.

CIHR/NSERC Collaborative Health Research Projects

Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRP) is a joint initiative between NSERC and CIHR that supports focussed, interdisciplinary, collaborative research projects involving any field of the natural sciences or engineering and any field of the health sciences.

Genome BC invests in research that aligns with the needs of areas of strategic importance to British Columbia such as health, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, agrifood, energy, mining and environment.

Sector Innovation Program

The Sector Innovation Program (SIP) aims to support genomic research which has the long-term potential to address the needs of key sectors in BC’s economy and society.

For the purposes of this Program, key sectors of interest are divided into the following categories: Forestry; Fisheries and aquaculture; Agrifoods and agriculture; Energy, mining and the environment; and Health.

• Each intake will have a focus, such as particular sector(s) or a theme (e.g. climate change), and will only be open to projects which address the needs of that particular sector or sectors, or respond to that particular theme.
• The allowable project budgets range is $75,000 to $250,000, but this may vary for a particular intake.
• The allowable project term range is 12 and 24 months, but this may vary for a particular intake.
• Learn more about upcoming intakes and deadlines.

Mitacs is a national, not-for-profit organization that has designed and delivered research and training programs in Canada for 18 years. Working with 60 universities, thousands of companies, and both federal and provincial governments, Mitacs build partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada.

Mitacs Accelerate Internship Program

The Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship provides a long-term funding and internship option for master’s and PhD students. Recipients can also access professional development training that helps them ensure project success and gain in-demand career skills.

Interested applicants can apply for the Accelerate Fellowship at any time.

Mitacs Elevate Fellowships Program

Mitacs Elevate is a postdoctoral fellowship with a customized research management training component. Fellows address complex challenges through:

• An exclusive research management curriculum for postdoctoral fellows in any discipline
• A minimum one-year research project (normally two years in duration) with a partner organization in need of high-level expertise
• A Partner Organization Business Case, developed to outline project objectives, risks, and stakeholder success criteria, and ensure project value
• $55,000 minimum annual stipend/salary (for fellowships awarded after April 1, 2018)

Check for details about upcoming call for proposals and further program information.

The intent of this program is to provide one year of support for the development of innovative, multidisciplinary research that will eventually form the basis of a research proposal submitted to one of the Tri-Agency funding organizations (i.e. NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC) or the UBC TLEF program. The overall aim of the IRGP is to identify and support innovative, early-stage research within LFS which will enable preliminary data to be gathered for the purpose of strengthening the calibre and competitiveness of research proposals submitted to the Tri-Agency and TLEF funding competitions from LFS.

The LFS IRGP encourages collaborative multidisciplinary submissions: applicant teams must be comprised of a lead PI and least one other co-applicant who represent different research disciplines. The lead, and at least one other co-applicant, must be full-time LFS faculty members with a minimum of 12-month appointments. Additional co-applicants from outside LFS are permitted.

The program will have two intakes per year, with a $50,000 envelope for each intake: a single proposal may request up to $25,000 of LFS. There is a requirement for 20% in-kind/cash from other sources, so that the maximum allowable budget is therefore $25k +( $25k x 0.2) = $30k. Given the broad scope of research within LFS, where possible the review panel will make efforts to award at least one proposal in each of the following streams:

• one proposal from the Tri-council research stream (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR);
• one proposal from the pedagogical research stream (UBC TLEF)

Full details on the IRGP program can be found here.

As part of the Research Excellence Clusters Initiative, the Vice-President Research and Innovation & the Provost and Vice-President Academic have established the Grants for Catalyzing Research Clusters (GCRC) competitions to provide seed funding in support of developing clusters of research excellence.

• The 2018 GCRC competition
  • Applications led by PIs from all disciplines who seek to propel their clusters towards global leadership were invited. Applicants will be asked to self-identify at submission time if the proposed cluster should be considered as Emerging or Established.
  • A total funding envelope of $3M is available for this competition. Emerging clusters may request an award up to $100,000 per proposal, while Established clusters may apply for awards up to $200,000.
  • Timeline

• • The 2017 GCRC competition ran in the fall of 2017, and closed on November 2. Results are anticipated by December 2017.
  • The 2016 GCRC competition for Social Sciences & Humanities in the spring of 2016.

The Vice-President Research & Innovation has established the Research Facility Support Grants (RFSG) competition to provide funding for the operation, maintenance, repairs or upgrades of equipment used in UBC facilities to support research across all disciplines. The RFSGs are one-year grants of up to $50,000 intended to enhance the research that can be conducted at UBC.

A total funding envelope of $600,000 is available for the 2017 competition, with the expectation that several applications will be funded with a cap of $50,000 per application. Applicants must be researchers at the UBC Vancouver campus and its affiliated research institutes. Successful applications will be notified by the end of December 2017 and awards will be distributed shortly thereafter.

The Collaborative Research Mobility Awards are intended to build or strengthen collaborative research partnerships by enabling researchers to move between campuses or institutions.

• UBC-O & UBC-V campuses, Pilot Competition in February of 2018
  • A total funding envelope of $100,000 is available for this pilot competition, with the expectation that several applications will be funded. The funding cap per proposal is $10,000. Funding will be released to successful applications immediately as a single payment and must be spent within one year of award receipt.

Cascadia Engagement Fund - UBC & the University of Washington, Competition in February of 2018

• A total funding envelope of $100,000 is available for this competition, with the expectation that several applications will be funded. The cap of funding per proposal will be $20,000. Funding will be released all at once and must be spent within a year of award receipt.

The Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) was created in 1991 to enrich student learning by supporting innovative and effective educational enhancements. It is financed entirely by a portion of the student tuition paid to UBC Vancouver. Each year, the Office of the Provost invites all UBC-V Faculties and Colleges to apply for TLEF funding for initiatives that will improve the student learning experience at the University.

There are two types of projects supported by the TLEF, with different proposal development timelines.

• Large TLEF Projects (more than $50,000)
• Small TLEF Projects (less than $50,000)

Learn more about the upcoming call for proposals and program information.