Mobilize grants provide Canadian colleges with flexible funding to acquire necessary resources to address applied research priorities in industry, health, public and not-for-profit organizations within their community* and to provide applied research training opportunities for college students.

Mobilize grants support applied research programs by enabling colleges to:

• establish a new applied research program or enhance an existing program
• undertake a number of short, time-critical applied research projects
• train a diverse pool of college students in applied research focused on partner innovation priorities
• strengthen connections with research partners and other government-funded innovation support providers, leading to research collaborations among Canadian colleges; universities; businesses; and public, health and not-for-profit organizations

Canadian colleges (including CEGEPs and polytechnics) that are declared eligible to administer grants before the application deadline and that meet the eligibility requirements for colleges of any of the three federal granting agencies—the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and/or the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)—can apply. All applications must be submitted to NSERC. Grants are funded by NSERC, except proposals exclusively in the social sciences and humanities fields, or exclusively in the health sciences field, which are funded by CIHR and SSHRC, respectively.

For a list of Canadian colleges currently eligible to apply, see the list of eligible institutions for the agency you are applying to (NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC). To become an eligible institution, see the Institutional eligibility requirements and the frequently asked questions on institutional eligibility.

Mobilize grants provide long-term funding to support college-wide applied research initiatives focused on the priorities of the college's partner(s). These initiatives can span the college's full spectrum of research activities in the natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities and health sciences fields. Mobilize grants are designed to provide flexibility to accommodate the diverse and unique needs of distinct colleges—whether large or small, urban or rural, with established or newly developing research programs.

Mobilize grants can support single, multiple, or institution-wide college applied research programs to enable the college to allocate resources where they are needed the most. The grants allow colleges to take a strategic and systematic approach in determining the types of resources to be deployed to maximize student training and innovation impacts for its partner(s). Mobilize grants are not meant to support the full costs of the college's research program(s), but to facilitate access to funding from other sources.

Mobilize grants primarily provide stable long-term salary support for the college's researchers, students, faculty, technicians, research administrators, business development personnel and project managers. These grants may also be used towards other direct and indirect costs of research including, but not limited to, the examples detailed below.

• Mobilize grants allow colleges to establish a new applied research program or to enhance an existing applied research program. This can be achieved by hiring appropriate research expertise and/or by strategically selecting more in-depth projects with partners with the objective of establishing or advancing applied research capabilities.
• Mobilize grants allow colleges to quickly undertake time-critical research projects without having to submit applications for individual project grants. These short projects can provide enriched college student applied research training opportunities; create or further develop research relationships that can lead to more challenging and involved projects; and resolve a partner's critical need for innovation.
• Mobilize grants can provide support for colleges to strengthen connections with partners by supporting part or full-time business development resources. Better connections can lead to new collaborative research projects with partners that fully take advantage of other innovation support resources (e.g., universities, government research labs, granting agencies) available within their research ecosystem.
• Twenty percent of Mobilize grant funding supports indirect costs of research. This funding allows colleges to implement longer-term policies and procedures that align with government research priorities, such as a more equitable, diverse and inclusive research and training environment.

For information on how to integrate equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) considerations into your research proposal and for links to additional resources, see the Guide to addressing EDI in College and Community Innovation program grant applications.

NSERC is acting on evidence that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding, and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-agency statement on EDI and is aligned with the objectives of the Tri-agency EDI Action Plan.

In this funding opportunity, you are encouraged to increase the inclusion and advancement of underrepresented groups to enhance excellence in research and training. EDI considerations must be integrated into:

• the rationale of the composition of research teams; and
• the training, mentorship and professional development opportunities for students and trainees.

The aim of these initiatives is to remove systemic barriers to the recruitment and full participation of individuals from underrepresented groups, including women, Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), persons with disabilities, members of visible minority/racialized groups and members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

The nature and extent of meaningful engagement should be determined jointly by the relevant individuals or communities and the research team and appropriate to community characteristics and the nature of the research.

Engagement must start at the very beginning of planning, in developing the research question itself and continue throughout the remainder of the research process.

Applicants whose research involves and engages with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples or other Indigenous nations, communities, societies or individuals must consult and consider the concepts, principles and protocols in the College and Community Innovation (CCI) guide for research involving Indigenous peoples and communities.

Examples of best practices and forms of meaningful engagement that might be appropriate for various types of research are also available in the guide.

We encourage you to contact the Indigenous community that will be involved in the proposed research, as well as your institution for additional resources, policies and guidance.

All committee members reviewing applications that involve Indigenous Peoples, communities or individuals are also expected to consult and consider the same concepts, principles and protocols or other similar guidance.

Where possible, CCI program staff will ensure that reviewers on these applications have experience or expertise in research involving Indigenous Peoples or communities.

Partners are the organizations that receive the applied research results, who use the results to help achieve their desired goals, and/or who play an active role in mobilizing knowledge to ensure that the results have an impact.

Colleges do not need to identify partners when applying for a Mobilize grant. However, during the five-year term of the grant, the college must undertake applied research projects with partner involvement. NSERC will assess the total level of participation by partners through their cash and in-kind contributions reported over the term of the grant.

A college's partner(s) can be from the private, public and/or not-for-profit sector(s).

Partner organizations are expected to:

• participate actively in the research activities and contribute in a meaningful way to their success
• provide contributions (cash and/or in-kind) to support activities directly related to the research activities
• be capable and willing to implement and exploit the results of the research to the benefit of the college's community and/or Canadian society

Mobilize grants are considered grants “in aid of research,” as they provide long-term stable research funding that can help secure complementary sources of funding. Such sources of funding include other programs that provide innovation support and grants, as well as cash and in-kind contributions from partners who will benefit from the results of the research. Thus, Mobilize grants are not designed to support the full costs of the college's research program(s).

Mobilize grants are designed to support college-wide applied research activities and are therefore limited to one active grant per college.

Colleges must request a funding amount commensurate with a realistic assessment of total past and total anticipated future research activities across their program(s). The amounts requested must be fully justified by the college, and the budget may vary annually.

Mobilize grant funds cannot be used to buy equipment, products or services from any partner, or to cover any part of the travel and travel-related living expenses for partner organization personnel.

For details on the use of grant funds, see the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration. This program has exceptions to Part 2 of the guide, Use of grant funds:

• Overhead and administration costs equivalent to 20% of the annual grant amount are included automatically; such costs include expenditures eligible under the Research Support Fund (e.g., grant writing, financial reporting, etc.).
• Mobilize grants can cover the salary of replacement faculty hired to backfill a college faculty member's involvement in an applied research project, as well as expenditures for recruitment-related activities.
• Salaries and non-discretionary benefits for non-faculty researchers, part-time faculty, technical and professional staff carrying out applied research, research administrators, business development and technology and/or knowledge transfer personnel are covered.
• Salaries and stipends for university students are ineligible as student salary expenditures; university students involved in projects must be remunerated as technical or professional college staff or as consultants.
• Salaries are covered for project management activities leading to the optimal use of project resources to meet the research objectives in a timely and budget-efficient manner.

The deadline for submitting an application is April 16, 2025 before 8:00 pm (ET). Applications must be submitted through the Convergence Portal. See the Instructions for completing a Mobilize grant application for more information.

Colleges with an active Mobilize grant are not eligible to submit an application for this competition.

When NSERC receives a Mobilize grant application, it first undertakes an administrative assessment to ensure the application is complete and that it complies with all eligibility requirements. Once the administrative assessment is satisfactorily completed, applications are assigned to a multidisciplinary review committee for the College and Community Innovation program, who will conduct a merit assessment of the application and make a funding recommendation to NSERC.

The review committee will use merit indicators to assess the evaluation criteria.

Mobilize grant applications are evaluated based on the following four criteria. The proposal must address all of the criteria and sub-criteria to be considered for funding.

• The potential to meet the innovation needs of the college's communities, including the alignment of the college's research program(s) with the innovation gaps of the organization(s) within its community, and the significance and sustainability of the resulting impacts on business, environment, society, and/or health.
• Coherence and feasibility of the plan to create research project partnerships and to maximize synergistic research collaborations between the college and other innovation support providers.

• Quality and extent of the college's track record (past achievements) in applied research focused on the priorities of the college's partner(s) in contributing in an impactful way to their innovation needs, as an indicator of future success.
• Breadth and depth of the college's research capabilities (human and technical) to enable leading-edge applied research and launch, manage, and successfully complete time-critical applied research projects in collaboration with partners, resulting in impactful technology transfer and/or knowledge exchange.
• Quality of proposed measures to ensure that equity, diversity and inclusion are being intentionally and proactively considered when recruiting, selecting and/or integrating personnel into the research team.

• Quality, quantity and impact of past student training to meet the needs and skill requirements of the community and partner(s).
• Appropriateness of the overall institutional plan to incorporate student training as an integral component of college applied research activities, including opportunities for enriched student experiences in applied research and problem-solving skills, and in professional skills, such as leadership, communication, collaboration and entrepreneurship.
• Quality of proposed measures in the training plan to promote the participation of a diverse group of students and trainees, including those from underrepresented groups, as well as to promote an equitable, inclusive and accessible training environment.

• Appropriateness of the stated objectives; alignment of the objectives with the college's strategic priorities in applied research; and feasibility of the college's plan to successfully meet the objectives.
• Demonstration of the need for the requested funding, including alignment with the level of previous college research activity, as measured by the college's past applied research funding (e.g., partner contributions, provincial support), and realistic projections of other sources of funding the college will receive over the term of the grant.
• Quality of the proposed leadership and evidence of sound managerial accountability likely to result in effective operational and financial planning.

NSERC's funding decision and level of funding will take into consideration the merit indicator ratings assigned to applications by the review committee and the budget available for Mobilize grants. Therefore, the funding awarded may be less than the funding requested. Colleges will receive a Message from the Review Committee with an overview of the merit indicator ratings for their application.

For more information about review process timelines, consult the Application deadlines and notification of decision page.

If your application is approved for funding, you will receive an award letter, and you must adhere to the terms and conditions of the award.

Your award letter will indicate the start date of your grant. NSERC will normally transfer your grant funds to your college within 30 days of the start date. Note that applications funded through CIHR and SSHRC may experience additional delays due to inter-agency transfer requirements.

Colleges must acknowledge the support of granting agencies (NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC as applicable) in all communications (verbally and in writing) related to the research and research results. Furthermore, under Canada's Official Languages Act, agencies must take measures to promote the use of both English and French in Canadian society. Therefore, we ask that you acknowledge your agency's funding in both English and French, verbally and in writing, whenever possible. For sample text and additional information, visit the Acknowledgement and logos (NSERC), Acknowledging CIHR support, or Acknowledging SSHRC support web pages.

Before making an official public announcement for both annual and open-competition College and Community Innovation grants, including Mobilize grants, consult with NSERC's, CIHR’s, or SSHRC’s communications teams.

NSERC, in coordination with CIHR and SSHRC, will make an official annual announcement of the Mobilize grant recipients. Colleges are asked to refrain from making any public announcements until after this announcement. NSERC will notify applicants and college communications offices about this announcement as soon as possible. This does not prevent you from confidentially sharing information about your funding with your colleagues and members of the research team or referring to CCI funding in applications for other funding.

Please refer to the College and Community Innovation program policy on intellectual property, research agreements, patents and copyrights web page.

All College and Community Innovation grant holders must regularly report on their use of grant funds, research activities and research outcomes. Grantees will be requested to submit at least one progress report and a final report, and reports may also be requested from partners and trainees, if applicable. You will be provided with additional information about reporting requirements upon receiving your award letter.

See the Resources page for report templates.

You are not required to strictly adhere to the budget presented in the proposal, as long as the grant funds are used for research, training and other eligible activities for which they were intended. You must ensure that the budget line items (e.g., equipment, overhead, etc.) comply with the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration, Part 2: Use of grant funds (with exceptions noted under Funding).

The administering institution must complete a Grant Amendment Form and submit it to grantsadministration@nserc-crsng.gc.ca (with CC to colleges@nserc-crsng.gc.ca) to inform NSERC of administrative changes, such as:

• Deferral of grant instalment
• Extension period for the authority to use grant funds
• Continuing eligibility
• Changes to individuals on the grant team (including the applicant)
• Termination of a grant

For additional information on administrative changes, consult Part 6: Administrative changes of the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration.

A one-year time extension to use the grant funds beyond the grant end date is automatically provided for all Mobilize grants. Contact colleges@nserc-crsng.gc.ca for additional information on grant extensions.

• Instructions for completing a Mobilize grant application
• Metrics table template
• Roles and eligibility requirements to apply for or hold College and Community Innovation program grant funds

• CCI guide for research involving Indigenous Peoples and communities
• Guide to addressing equity, diversity and inclusion in College and Community Innovation program grant applications
• NSERC guide on integrating equity, diversity and inclusion considerations in research
• Tri-agency EDI Action Plan
• Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration
• Tri-agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

• Terms and conditions of applying for applicants
• Terms and conditions of applying for co-applicants
• Terms and conditions of applying for contributors
• Terms and conditions of applying for participants

• College and Community Innovation program partnership guidelines

• Mobilize Peer Review Committee

• NSERC funding decisions
• Terms and conditions of award

• Final report template for Mobilize grants (for all Mobilize grants awarded in 2022 or later)
• Progress report template for Mobilize grants (for all Mobilize grants awarded in 2022 or later)
• Partner report template for ARTP, ARD, CCSIF and Mobilize grants (for all ARTP grants and for ARD, CCSIF and Mobilize grants awarded in 2022 or later)
• Trainee report template for ARTP, ARD, CCSIF and Mobilize grants (for all ARTP grants and for ARD, CCSIF and Mobilize grants awarded in 2022 or later)

• List of eligible Canadian colleges

Email: colleges@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
Toll free: 1-855-275-2861

For help with online services
Email: websupport@convergence.gc.ca