The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is the federal research funding agency mandated to promote and support postsecondary-based research and training in the natural sciences and engineering. Please see About NSERC for more details on NSERC’s mandate and services.

NSERC’s service vision is to provide high-quality service and adhere to the highest standards of excellence and impartiality in allocating public research funds.

NSERC is committed to providing high-quality, professional, client-centred services to Canada’s post-secondary research community. Our partners and stakeholders also include federal, provincial and territorial departments and agencies, and the general public.

NSERC’s client services are grounded in the following principles and values.

• Availability of services in both official languages, and provision of service in the official language of the client’s choice, in compliance with NSERC’s Official Languages Policy, the Official Languages Act and related Government of Canada legislation and policies.
• Equity and nondiscrimination in the provision of services, in accordance with the Canadian Human Rights Act.
• Respect and fairness in the treatment of every person, in accordance with the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector.
• Provision of client service through multiple channels (online, email, telephone, mail and in-person) and of mechanisms for clients to provide feedback on NSERC’s services.
• Respect for the privacy and confidentiality of clients’ information and compliance with the Privacy Act and Access to Information Act, as well as all relevant Government of Canada legislation and policies.
• Collection and reporting on relevant data to ensure continuous improvement of NSERC’s processes.

• NSERC will provide timely responses to client inquiries by phone, email and/or mail during normal business hours and normal operating periods. Delays in the timeliness of responses are expected for complex inquiries and during peak time periods, particularly close to application deadlines.
• In accordance with established schedules for each respective funding opportunity, NSERC will provide timely acknowledgement of the receipt of funding applications, notification of funding decisions, and financial payments to successful applicants.

• NSERC will provide clear and accurate information on funding opportunities, including comprehensive and readable information on detailed program guidelines available on NSERC’s website.
• NSERC will communicate information about funding opportunities through additional means, including, when applicable, presentations and webinars.
• NSERC will, where applicable, notify applicants of the ineligibility of their applications.
• NSERC will provide clear and accurate information on competition results to its clients.
• NSERC will, where possible, clearly convey messages to applicants on the outcomes of their applications.
• NSERC will communicate research outcomes and impacts to the research community, partners, stakeholders and the general public, in Canada and internationally.

• Staff will adhere to the NSERC Code of Conduct and maintain the highest standards of integrity and ethics in all operations.
• NSERC will strive for the highest standards of excellence and impartiality in all merit review processes, in accordance with its conflict of interest and confidentiality policies, Guidelines Governing Membership of Selection Committees, Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research, as well as its funding opportunity literature and merit review guidelines.

Achieving service excellence involves shared responsibilities between NSERC and its clients, including funding applicants and recipients.

NSERC’s clients are expected to be respectful in their communication with NSERC staff.

NSERC is committed to providing a high quality, responsive and accessible service to all the organizations and individuals that interact with the agency. We will vigorously apply our service standards, including compliance with the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, as follows:

NSERC Operations and Transactions

• Ensure that all services are available in both official languages and that clients be served in the official language of their choice.
• Protect the privacy and confidentiality of our clients and the security of their electronic transactions with NSERC.
• Uphold high standards of integrity in all areas of operations, in compliance with established policies and guidelines.
• Consult with stakeholders who have an interest in NSERC policies, processes and services, and maintain open channels for the receipt of unsolicited comments.
• Provide contact details (address, telephone, fax, e-mail and Web site address) on all correspondence and ensure that contact details on the Web site are up-to-date.
• Operate a central help line where clients can get prompt, accurate, informative and courteous replies to all incoming enquiries within one business day after receipt.

Program Delivery

NSERC service standards apply to all Transfer Payment Programs administered by NSERC.

Achieving these service standards is a shared responsibility between applicants / funding recipients and NSERC. Applicants / funding recipients must submit all required documentation in accordance with the funding opportunity’s guidelines and within NSERC’s deadlines.

The following service standards apply only under normal circumstances (i.e., business-as-usual operating times), and exclude special circumstances such as holidays, natural disasters, information technology system outages, and similar events outside of NSERC’s control.

• Acknowledgement of receipt of application:
• Acknowledge the receipt of on-line grant and scholarship/fellowship applications immediately, following their electronic delivery to NSERC. NSERC aims to meet this service standard 100% of the time.
• Notification of competition results:
  • Notify all applicants of the outcome of their applications (deemed complete), from the date of receipt by NSERC, in accordance with the established deadlines.
• Grant, Scholarship and Fellowship Funding Transfers to Administering Institutions:
  • Financial payments are provided to institutions to administer to funding recipients via global payment systems. The following service standard applies to payments made by NSERC to administering institutions. NSERC will process each global payment within two business days of the day scheduled for the transfer as per the payment schedule defined by NSERC’s Finance division. NSERC aims to meet this standard 90% of the time.
• Scholarship and Fellowship Direct Payments:
  • NSERC will process a funding recipient’s eligible direct deposit payment request within 10 business days of receiving all required documentation as per the relevant Award Holder’s Guide. NSERC aims to meet this standard 90% of the time.

Responding to Enquiries

• Reply to telephone enquiries as soon as possible and within a maximum of two working days after receipt.
• Acknowledge the receipt of all written enquiries (including e-mails and faxes) within five working days after receipt.

NSERC On-line Services

• Ensure and maintain an annual system availability rate of 98% for NSERC’s On-line Services, so that they operate swiftly and accurately without major breakdowns and unscheduled interruptions.
• Make application forms, pertinent instructions, and information about policies and programs readily available via the Web.
• Strive to ensure that up-to-date forms and information are available from NSERC's Web site 24/7 and that all forms for general use can be downloaded as required.

NSERC has set service standards for the timely delivery of its funding opportunities for the services outlined below.

NSERC service standards apply to all Transfer Payment Programs administered by NSERC.

• Grants and Scholarships
• Networks of Centres of Excellence
• Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence
• Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research
• College and Community Innovation Program
• Canada Graduate Scholarships

The service standards and the results for the Transfer Payment Programs administered by SSHRC can be found on SSHRC’s website.

• Canada Excellence Research Chairs
• Canada First Research Excellence Fund
• Canada 150 Research Chairs