Alliance International Grants

NSERC has launched Alliance International in recognition of the need to support engagement with international collaborators to further develop areas of Canadian research strength and leadership.

This program will:

1. allow Canadian researchers to initiate the development of international collaborations; and
2. provide support for Canadian researchers participating in international collaborative projects of global importance and benefit to Canada.

The following two grant types are offered under this program: 

Alliance International - Catalyst Grants
These grants support Canadian researchers in initiating international research collaborations in the NSE disciplines with the intent of a) supporting exploratory research activities, and b) initiating exchanges for Canadian personnel where appropriate.

Eligibility:

• You must identify at least one international academic researcher with whom you will collaborate.
• PI and any Co-I must hold an active NSERC peer-reviewed grant (such as Discovery) at the time of application.
• One application per 12-month period as PI or co-investigator.

Award:

• $20,000 to $25,000 for one (1) year

Deadlines:

Please see and share with your units the announcement below from NSERC regarding the upcoming ‘pause’ on NSERC Alliance International – Catalyst grants, which takes effect 16 October 2024. This program typically has a rolling deadline, but considering this pause ORS has set an internal deadline to receive AI Catalyst applications:

• ORS deadline: Monday, 7 October, 9:00am
• NSERC deadline: Wednesday, 16 October, 4:30pm

Submission:
Applications are to be submitted through the NSERC On-line System (as an Alliance Grant, using the Alliance International template) and use the Form 100A.

Alliance International - Collaboration Grants
International academic collaborators are expected to have already secured funding from their own national funding agency for the collaborative project and identified the Canadian academic researcher(s) in their proposal. The eligible Canadian researchers participating in the international project can then apply for a Collaboration Grant to cover the costs of their participation in the global-scale project.

Eligibility:

• International academic collaborators are expected to have already secured national funding.
• PI and any Co-I must hold an active NSERC peer-reviewed grant (such as Discovery) at the time of application.
• One application per 12-month period as PI or co-investigator.

Award:

Up to $100,000 per year, for up to three (3) years

• The amount you can request for an Alliance International Collaboration Grant will depend on the amount of funding obtained by your international academic collaborator(s) from their own national funding agency, e.g., to secure the maximum amount of $100k/yr from NSERC, your international academic collaborator must obtain at least this amount per year from their national funding agency.

Deadlines:

• ORS Application Deadline: 7 business days prior to agency submission, by 4:30 pm CST
• NSERC Application Deadline: Rolling deadline