• NSERC Alliance grants
• FRQNT Team research projects program

The NSERC-FRQNT Team Research supplements are offered jointly by NSERC and the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Nature et Technologies (FRQNT). The purpose of these supplements is to provide additional resources to early-career researchers in Quebec who currently hold an FRQNT Team research project grant, as well as to other researchers in Quebec who currently hold said grant and have included early-career researchers on their teams.

The supplements will enable such research teams to integrate Canadian researchers from outside of Quebec who have complementary expertise, so as to expand the scope and benefits of their initial projects.

These supplements are available only to research teams:

• that have been awarded an FRQNT Team research project grant for the competition years 2018–2019 or 2020–2021
• on which the grant holder is either an early-career researcher (one who has been a researcher for no more than six years, [i.e., assumed his or her current position on or after January 1, 2015]) or a researcher who has included one or more early-career researchers, so defined, on his or her team
• of whose members all meet the NSERC eligibility criteria for faculty

Applications may be submitted only by early-career researchers who currently hold an FRQNT Team research project grant or by other holders of said grant whose teams include one or more early-career researchers.   

The NSERC supplements are designed for established research teams who wish to enhance their research projects by adding one or multiple members to their team, who are researchers from a Canadian university outside of Quebec. Applicants need not limit themselves to the activities described in the original application and are strongly encouraged to add a complementary research component that will expand the expected benefits of the FRQNT team research project.  

Fill out the proposal template, following the instructions for completing an application for an NSERC Alliance grant. Using NSERC's online system, submit your completed application and accompanying documents, including a personal data form with CCV attachment for the applicant and one for each of the co-applicants. 

Applications will be evaluated by NSERC file managers, according to the following established evaluation criteria for Alliance grants.

Relevance and outcomes

• Significance of the intended outcomes and of the economic, social and/or environmental benefits for Canada
• Originality of the research and potential for generating new scientific knowledge
• Extent to which the strategy to apply the research results is likely to achieve the intended outcomes

Complementarity of the team

• Appropriateness of adding the new member(s) to the existing research project team
• Quality of the collaborative relationships, in the completion of the research project, between the existing members of the team and the new member(s)

Quality of the proposal

• Clarity of the objectives and deliverables, appropriateness of the scope of the proposed new research activities and how they fit within the existing project
• Appropriateness of the identified indicators and methods for monitoring progress during the project and for assessing outcomes afterward
• Appropriateness of the expertise of the new member(s) and of the team as a whole, both for carrying out the planned research activities and for mentoring students and postdoctoral fellows

Training

• Opportunities for enriched training experiences that let undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows develop both their research skills and their professional skills (such as leadership, communication, collaboration and entrepreneurship)
• Consideration of equity, diversity and inclusion in the training plan

Early-career researchers who currently hold an FRQNT Team research project grant, and other researchers who currently hold said grant and have included one or more early-career researchers in their teams, may be awarded a supplement up to a maximum of $30,000. Supplements will be paid within one month to the institution responsible for administering the team’s FRQNT Team research project grant. Supplement funds may be used at any point during the term of their FRQNT Team research project grant.

The supplement holder must report regularly on the use of the funding, the activities conducted within the funded project and the outcomes of the part of the project funded by the NSERC supplement. The reporting requirements will be detailed in the award letter. The final report must be submitted within three months of the end of the project. Please consult the Post-award page of the Alliance grants section of the NSERC website.