Monday, December 17, 2018

New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF)


New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF)

After a national consultation process, the Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) has designed a new fund to help researchers go where they haven’t gone before--at light speed. 

The main objective is to support early career researchers (ECEs) who are working on high-risk, high-reward, interdisciplinary research projects that aren’t necessarily eligible for traditional national funding. “[The NFRF] seeks to inspire highly innovative projects that defy current research paradigms, propose a unique scientific direction, bring disciplines together beyond the traditional disciplinary approaches, and/or use different perspectives to solve existing problems.”
Through this new fund, the federal government will invest $275 million over the next 5 years with the inaugural competition opening today, December 17th, 2018



The deadline for Notice of Intent is January 11, 2019, the application deadline is on February 7, 2019 with funding announced and available in March 2019

Researchers can apply for up to $125,000/year up to 2 years. 

  • Early career researcher = 5 years or less since first academic appointment
  • Not already a grantee or co-grantee of Exploration Award
  • Must be considered an independent researcher at their primary affiliation*
  • Projects must be high-risk and high-reward and may involve any disciplines, thematic areas, approaches or subject areas eligible for funding across the tri-agencies
  • Projects must be interdisciplinary
  • Projects are not eligible if they include any of the following: a focus on the application of existing technology; provide routine analyses; collect data without interpreting underlying mechanisms; provide professional practice or consulting services (contract research); involve the set-up and operational management of an institute, a formal or informal group of researchers (network); and/or are principally associated with the acquisition and maintenance of scientific equipment, curriculum development, organization of a conference or workshop, digitization of a collection, or creation of a database.

The inaugural Exploration competition will involve five selection criteria:
o   Interdiscplinarity
o   Equity, Diversity and inclusion
o   High-Risk
o   High- Reward
o   Feasibility

And have three stages of review (after application submission)
o   Internal review
o   Multidisciplinary review panel
§  Applications weighted (40%- high-risk, 40% high-reward, 20% feasibility)
o   Steering Committee- Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC)
The NFRF is administered by the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat, which is housed within the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), on behalf of Canada’s three research granting agencies: CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC. The new Fund will be using the new Canadian classification standard which is called the Canadian Research and Development Classification 2019 (CRDC).

*Please note: Investigators are required to identify Nova Scotia Health Authority as the administering institution or “Institution Paid” on funding applications for research projects that:
  • are being conducted at NSHA/majority of work taking place at NSHA and
  • involve NSHA patients; which may also
  • utilize or require hiring staff at NSHA
  • utilize NSHA facilities and space
  • involve purchasing supplies or equipment at/through NSHA
  • involve the use of services and payment to NSHA departments or laboratories

For more information or to inform us of your intent to apply for the NFRF, please contact:
Coordinator, Grant Facilitation and Support, NSHA Research Services
Rm. 121-5790 University Ave. Halifax, NS B3H 1V7
Office: 902-473-4841
Cell: 902-240-2785


Did you know we have a calendar full of funding opportunities? Check it out here. 

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