As outlined in Budget 2025, this initiative is part of the International Talent Attraction Strategy and Action Plan and will be jointly administered by the federal funding agencies: CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC.

No. This is a one-time initiative to attract 600 doctoral students and 400 postdoctoral researchers to Canada.

The award values and durations match the existing CPRA and CGRS D awards. The Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards differ in the eligibility requirements that target international researchers, including Canadians returning from abroad who are not currently affiliated with a Canadian institution. The mechanism of determining awardees also differs where the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards use a nomination process and the CPRA and CGRS D programs are delivered through national competitions.

Additionally, the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards target research in priority areas (see question 5) and the CPRA and CGRS D programs fund a wider range of research topics.

The award values for the doctoral and postdoctoral level for the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards match their Canada Research Training Awards Suite (CRTAS) counterparts of the CGRS D and CPRA programs. The doctoral award is valued at $40,000 per year with a duration of three years. The postdoctoral award is valued at $70,000 per year with a duration of two years.

The priority research areas for this initiative are the following:

• Advanced digital technologies (including AI, quantum, and cybersecurity)
• Health, including biotechnology
• Clean technology and resource value chains
• Environment, climate resilience, and the Arctic
• Food and water security
• Democratic and community resilience
• Manufacturing and advanced materials
• Defence and dual-use technologies

The priority areas are intended to be interpreted broadly so that relevant work from a wide range of disciplines, from across the three agencies, may be considered.

If you are unsure whether your research falls within the scope of a priority research area, please contact the agencies at CIRTA-BFRIC@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

Institutions may submit nominations to any priority area. Nominations should align with the identified priority areas, and these are intended to be interpreted broadly so that relevant work from a wide range of disciplines may be considered.

Due to the list of priority research areas (see question 5), recipients of the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards are likely to participate in research that aims to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area, as defined under the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy). While the STRAC Policy does not apply to scholarship and fellowship programs, such as the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards, nominators who are a recipient of a grant that is subject to the STRAC Policy requirements — or who are expecting to apply for such a grant in the future —should be aware that these requirements may extend to their prospective nominees. Prospective nominees who have an active affiliation with or are in receipt of financial or in-kind support from a Named Research Organization must terminate this relationship before joining any research team that is supported by a grant in scope of the STRAC Policy and that aims to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area. Consult the Tri-agency Guidance on the STRAC Policy for more information on the requirements that apply to federal grants subject to the STRAC Policy.

Where applicable, nominators are encouraged to conduct open-source due diligence to verify a prospective nominee's affiliation(s) and sources of funding or in-kind support. Institutions may provide support to nominators in doing so, via their institutional research security offices, where available. For further guidance on research security, institutions and researchers may consult the Tri-agency Guidance on Research Security and associated resources.

Nomination allocations will be calculated based on each institution's average of the total sum of grant* funding received over the last available three fiscal years from the Tri-agencies. They will be provided in two phases, with a portion of nominations reserved for the second phase. All institutions that have received eligible grant funding will receive a minimum of one allocation.

If your institution has not received an allocation but you believe it is eligible, please contact the agencies.

* Grant funding refers to funds received by host institutions in Canada for grants programs eligible to be included in the CRC credit calculation. For further information on the CRC credit calculation, consult the Method of Allocating Chairs web page.

Institutional nomination allocations will be available on the Tri-agency awards extranet.

There is no pre-determined distribution of nominations to the federal granting agencies; institutions should aim for representation from a wide range of disciplines, from across the three funding agencies, in their selected nominators and nominees.

Institutions without a doctoral program may still be given a nomination allocation at the postdoctoral level.

It is within an institution's purview to allocate their nominations in alignment with the program objectives and their own institutional research capacity. Researchers can receive multiple nominations; however, the number of nominations cannot exceed what is provided to the institution.

Researchers appointed by their institution as nominators. Refer to question 17 for further information on nominator eligibility.

Institutions will decide which Tri-agency-funded researchers receive nominations (see question 17 for further instructions on nominator eligibility). Institutions will send the completed nomination package for the nominee to the agencies. Detailed instructions on this process will be provided to institutions soon.

Depending on the internal policies and processes associated with hosting postdoctoral researchers at your institution, there may be certain financial obligations and additional costs that are not eligible to be deducted directly from the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards and will need to be paid by another source of funds (e.g. the institutional cost of mandatory benefits is eligible to be paid using the nominator's agency grant funds).

Funds will be transferred from the relevant agency to the institution using the standard payment method/mechanism in place for all other awards and grants administered at eligible Canadian institutions.

A nominator must hold an active grant awarded under one of the eligible funding opportunities. For the purposes of this initiative, eligible active grants are those that received a payment or have a planned payment in the 2025-26 or 2026–27 fiscal year (April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2027). A list of agency specific eligible funding opportunities will be shared with institutions. As per the hosting institution's policies, nominators must be eligible to supervise doctoral students and/or postdoctoral researchers.

• Catalyst Grant
• Network Grant
• Operating Grant
• Project Grant
• Team Grant
• Training Grant

• Alliance grants - including peer reviewed special and joint opportunities
• Canada 150 Research Chairs
• Canada Excellence Research Chairs
• Canada First Research Excellence Fund
• Canada Research Chairs
• Collaborative Research and Development grants (including DND/NSERC Research Partnership grants)
• Collaborative Research and Training Experience program
• Discovery Grants program
• Discovery Grants – Subatomic Physics (individual, project and major resources)
• Discovery Grants – Discovery Development Grants
• Discovery Horizons
• Idea to Innovation grants
• Industrial Research Chairs (research project)
• NSERC-CSE Research Communities Grants
• Sustainable Agriculture Research Initiative

• Artificial Intelligence Humanities Sandpit
• Canada-France Calls for Proposals on Artificial Intelligence
• CMHC-SSHRC National Housing Strategy Longitudinal Outcomes Research
• Department of National Defence Research Initiative (DNDRI)
• Gender-Based Violence Research Initiative
• Indigenous Science and the Impacts of Plastic Pollution
• Insight Development Grants
• Insight Grants
• National Science Foundation Global Centres
• New Frontiers in Research Fund - Exploration
• New Frontiers in Research Fund - Global
• New Frontiers in Research Fund - International
• New Frontiers in Research Fund - Nordforsk-led Joint Initiative
• New Frontiers in Research Fund - Transformation
• Open Research Area
• Partnership Development Grants
• Partnership Grants
• Partnership Grants - Partnered Research Training Initiatives
• Policy Innovation Partnership Grants
• Reconciliation Network in Response to Call to Action 65
• Research on Research Joint Initiative
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Network on Sustainable Agriculture in a Net-Zero Economy
• Sustainable Agriculture Research Initiative
• Trans-Atlantic Platform Democracy, Governance and Trust

In nominating a doctoral student or a postdoctoral researcher, the nominator commits to providing appropriate supervisory guidance in a research training environment to the successful nominee.

One nomination allows you to recruit one individual. If your institution provides you with more than one nomination, you may recruit the equivalent number of individuals. If for some reason, the nominated individual is unable to accept the award, the nominator may redirect the nomination to a new individual at the same academic level in the second wave of nominations. Should a nominee from the second wave turn down the award, then the nominator may nominate a new candidate before December 31, 2026.

No, nominations must be used at the specified academic level and cannot be used to recruit a nominee from another academic level.

Yes, the area of the nominator's Tri-agency research grant does not limit them from being a nominator. However, the nominee's proposed area of research must fall within one of the outlined priority research areas.

Contact CIRTA-BFRIC@nserc-crsng.gc.ca if you have questions about special circumstances which may affect a potential nominee's eligibility to the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards.

Nominees can be of any citizenship, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected people. Nominees cannot have a current affiliation with a Canadian institution and must be currently studying or working abroad.

-For the doctoral award: nominees must be eligible to enroll in a doctoral program at the nominating institution in Canada as of the award activation date.

-For the postdoctoral award: Nominees must be qualified to undertake postdoctoral research at the nominating institution in Canada as of the award activation date.

Participation of Canadian citizens in this program is intended for those who have previously left Canada for research and/or work experience who wish to return to Canada to continue their research.

As a reminder, Canadian citizens in Canada or abroad are also eligible for CRTAS CGRS D and CPRA awards.

Yes, provided they meet all other eligibility criteria. Holders of a health professional or allied health professional degree are eligible to be nominated for a postdoctoral award. Health professional/allied health professional degree holders pursuing a PhD are eligible to be nominated for a doctoral award.

No. Unlike the existing limiting eligibility windows in the CGRS D (must be within 36 months of starting the doctoral program) and CPRA programs (must be within 3 years of completing the doctoral degree), the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards do not have any windows of time that would limit eligibility.

Doctoral students or postdoctoral researchers interested in this program can reach out to institutions directly. Requests for nominations received by the agencies directly will not be considered and must be formally submitted by the institution using the nomination process.

No, an individual can only be nominated once.

Provided that the previous funding was not at the academic level of the current application, the nominee would be eligible for funding. For example, an individual who previously received doctoral funding would not be eligible for the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards at the doctoral level but would be eligible at the postdoctoral level.

No, international students/postdoctoral researchers already studying/working at a Canadian institution are not eligible to be nominated for the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards. These individuals may be eligible to apply to the CRTAS CGRS D and CPRA programs.

Provided that your current affiliation is abroad and you want to continue your studies/work at a Canadian institution, yes, you are eligible to be nominated for this award.

Provided that your current academic affiliation is outside of Canada and you are not already enrolled in a doctoral program or conducting postdoctoral research in Canada, yes you would be eligible for the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards. However, if you receive a nomination for a Canada Impact+ Research Training Award, then you must decline the CPRA/CGRS D, if offered.

Eligibility for international citizens between the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards and CPRA/CGRS D program do not overlap. International applicants who are already affiliated with a Canadian institution, either by being enrolled in a doctoral program or employed in a postdoctoral research position are eligible for the CPRA/CGRS D program. International individuals who do not have a current academic affiliation in Canada but wish to continue their research in Canada are eligible for the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards.

In most cases, the award must be held at the nominating institution for at least one year. After one year, they are portable but must still be held in Canada at a Canadian institution, and still be linked to work in the priority area designated for the award.

Yes, award holders are eligible for paid parental leave. Refer to the Tri-agency research training award holder's guide for further information about eligible leaves.

No, nominees do not need to be in Canada at the time of nomination.

All Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards must be activated by March 31, 2027. Exact relocation time may be affected by immigration processes.

No, you must still apply for the relevant student or work visa through the usual processes.

No additional funds will be provided for travel expenses.