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Funding Prizes About Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Funding opportunity

NSERC-Alberta Innovates Advance Grants - Stream II

Overview

Open
Value and duration

Individual proposals can request a maximum of $150,000 per year for a maximum of two years. Alberta Innovates will provide up to $100,000 per year, and NSERC will match their contribution at a ratio of 50%, up to a maximum of $50,000 per year.

Application deadline

NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Stream II: 
EOI deadline: September 14, 2026, 4:00 pm (MT)
Alberta Innovates full application deadline: October 12, 2026, 4:00 pm (MT)
NSERC full application deadline: November 13, 2026, 4:00 pm (MT)

Who can apply
  • Researcher > University
Eligible institution
  • University
Program type
Alberta Innovates
Summary

A research partnership with Alberta Innovates that supports technology advancements.

On this page
  • Description
  • Eligibility
  • Funding
  • Application
  • Review
  • Award
  • Post-award requirements
  • Results
  • Regulations, policies and guidelines
  • Resources
Description

NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Advance grants invest in projects that, in alignment with Alberta’s innovation and technology strategies, advance discoveries to develop emerging technologies that can generate economic, environmental, health and social benefits for Albertans and Canadians.

Please consult the Advance Program guide available on the Alberta Innovates website. The guide outlines the eligible emerging technology areas and topics for Stream I and Stream II. Research in these fields holds transformational potential to address challenges across multiple sectors in Alberta. Funding will support projects that accelerate the development, global market entry and adoption of technological solutions. These efforts lay the groundwork for job creation and economic diversification in Alberta and Canada.

Key goals of the NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Advance grants are to improve the direction of research efforts that could lead to the proof of new ideas, the development of emerging technologies, the transfer and commercialization of these technologies, and their use in various industry sectors; and to develop an enhanced skill and knowledge base (highly qualified personnel [HQP]) for Alberta and Canada.

Technologies that successfully demonstrate a proof of concept and the potential to work in a laboratory setting may be further advanced to market through other initiatives, including One Health, Energy, Aerospace, Defence and Advanced Materials or Entrepreneurial Capital programs (see Alberta Innovates website), or through federal programs such as NSERC I2I grants. Researchers are encouraged to discuss their project with the industry liaison office (ILO) at their institution early in the project to begin interactions with industry and identify potential partners and business advisors.

The NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Advance Program has two grant award streams: Stream I and Stream II. The information contained here pertains to Stream II only.

This is the general stream of the NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Advance Program.

Projects must advance the readiness of technologies for future market opportunities in the emerging technology areas/topics (see the Advance Program guide available on the Alberta Innovates website). As the primary applicant, the principal investigator must hold an active peer-reviewed grant from NSERC at the time of application. Individual proposals can request a maximum of $150,000 per year for a maximum of two years. Alberta Innovates will provide up to $100,000 per year, and NSERC will match their contribution at a ratio of 50%, up to a maximum of $50,000 per year.

Project funding is intended to help bridge the gap between academic research and technology validation in technology readiness levels (TRL) 2 to 4. Projects will advance an idea by developing a technological solution for a future market opportunity. Projects could lead to technology transfer activities and commercialization following the grant period. Eligible technology development within this program can begin as early as the conceptual research stage (beginning from TRL 2) and continue through testing/validation of ad hoc component integration in a laboratory setting (TRL 4). Projects developing technologies at later TRL stages are not eligible for this program. Industry partners are not permitted in this program; projects with industry partners should apply to the main NSERC Alliance Advantage program or other Alberta Innovates/NSERC support programs, if eligible.

Funding can be used to engage and train undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, research associates and technicians working on projects, as well as for operational and equipment costs. Intellectual property (IP) protection, market assessment, and technology transfer activity costs are not eligible expenses for this program. Project funding will support activities such as:

  • scientific technology assessment
  • characterization of the invention
  • proof-of-concept experimentation
  • testing the potential to work in a laboratory setting
  • data gathering and analysis
Research objective

Stream II NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Advance Program projects have the following objectives:

  • Gather strong scientific evidence and advance discoveries and concepts related to emerging technologies or their use in the TRL 2 to 4 range (Stream II), where a potential local or global market application has been identified
  • Augment the Alberta academic researcher’s capacity to accelerate and advance research excellence in Alberta’s emerging technology areas
  • Train HQP in emerging technologies responding to identified market needs
  • Move research from idea to proof of concept/feasibility/prototype validation (in a controlled setting)
  • Explore future commercialization paths by engaging with ILOs

Alberta Innovates will support projects aligned with this program’s emerging technology areas/topics and priority focus areas (see details in the Advance Program guide available on the Alberta Innovates website). Projects must advance the technology readiness of a credible and impactful idea developed in Alberta (from concept formulation to proof of concept to validation in a controlled setting) for future commercialization market opportunities.

Eligibility
  • As the principal investigator (PI), you must hold an active NSERC peer-reviewed grant when you apply. You must also meet NSERC eligibility criteria when you apply and for the duration of the grant
  • You must be a faculty member from one of the NSERC-eligible universities based in Alberta
  • You may submit only one application as a PI in each fiscal year (April 1 to March 31)
  • You may submit as many applications as you wish as a co-applicant
  • You cannot hold more than one Advance Stream II (General stream) grant simultaneously. However, current Advance Stream II (General stream) grant holders may be eligible to apply for Stream I (Supplement stream) funding if they meet eligibility requirements
Eligibility for partnership

Partner organizations that are recognized for cost-sharing with NSERC are not permitted for proposals under this program. However, potential end-users for the technology being proposed should be identified in the proposal. Please ensure that you add Alberta Innovates as a joint funding partner to this application and provide the name and email of the Alberta Innovates Advance Program Manager as the contact for Alberta Innovates.

Funding Value and duration

Individual proposals can request a maximum of $150,000 per year for a maximum of two years. Alberta Innovates will provide up to $100,000 per year, and NSERC will match their contribution at a ratio of 50%, up to a maximum of $50,000 per year.

Joint initiative supplement
  • NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Advance Program
Eligible expenses

NSERC funds can only be applied to expenses incurred after an award is approved.

You can only include NSERC-eligible direct costs of research in your project budget, such as:

  • salary support for undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral researchers to perform research and related training
  • salary support for technicians and research professionals 
  • materials and supplies
  • activities that support collaborations and knowledge mobilization related to the project

Refer to the guidelines on the use of grant funds in the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration. Note that your application must include a training component primarily for undergraduate, graduate or postdoctoral trainees. Research professionals alone do not meet this requirement.

You can also include the costs of equipment, provided that the equipment is:

  • essential to achieving the objectives of the research project
  • incremental to equipment already available at the university

Project management costs may be an eligible expense, up to 10% of the total direct research costs (see the Guidelines for research partnerships programs project management expenses). The need for project management expenses must be explained in the budget justification section.

Application How to apply

To start the application process for an NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Advance grant, you (the applicant) must contact the Alberta Innovates Advance Program Manager to determine initial alignment with the program requirements, including one of the emerging technology research topics. Upon receiving confirmation from Alberta Innovates on preliminary alignment with the program requirements, you must complete and submit an expression of interest (EOI) on the Alberta Innovates SmartSimple Application Portal.

Alberta Innovates will review the EOI to determine whether you will be invited to submit a full application. If invited to apply, you must complete the NSERC application (without submitting it) and generate a PDF version with the preview function in NSERC’s online system. Then, complete the Alberta Innovates application form using the SmartSimple Application Portal. You must attach the NSERC application PDF as part of the Alberta Innovates application.

Alberta Innovates will complete the partner organization form once it has reviewed and assessed the details submitted through the SmartSimple Application Portal. Once Alberta Innovates has completed the partner organization form, you may submit the application to NSERC through NSERC’s online system.

NSERC application details

To start the NSERC application for Stream II (General stream):

  • Go to NSERC’s online system and create a new Form 101
  • Select Research partnerships, then Alliance
  • For the Proposal type field, select Full proposal
  • For the Type of call field, select Alberta Innovates - Advance from the drop-down menu

There are four components to this NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Advance grants application: proposal, applicant information, partner organization information (Alberta Innovates, in this case), and a Technology Transfer Office review form, completed by the technology transfer office of your university. All four components must be completed and submitted. Guidance on this page takes precedence over other NSERC Alliance descriptions and instructions.

  • Proposal: Complete an application for a grant (Form 101) using the Proposal template. Provide responses in place of INSERT YOUR TEXT HERE using a maximum of seven pages. You may include figures and tables. The funding requested in this proposal cannot represent a budgetary or conceptual overlap with any other funding support currently held or applied for. The instructions for completing an Alliance grant application provide additional guidance for questions not addressed on this page.
  • Applicant information: Submit a Personal data form with Common CV attachment for yourself and for each co-applicants.
    • Following the Tri-agency guidance on the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy), if your application aims to advance a listed sensitive technology research area, you, your co-applicant(s) and your collaborator(s) must each complete the STRAC Attestation form.
  • Partner organization information: Please ensure that you add Alberta Innovates as a joint funding partner to this application and provide the name and email of the Alberta Innovates Advance Program Manager as the contact for Alberta Innovates. Your contact person will be invited through NSERC’s online system to provide information about the partner organization following the partner organization instructions.
  • Technology transfer office (TTO) review form: The TTO of your university must complete this form. Contact your TTO as early as possible (at least two weeks before you intend to submit to the program) to allow time for the TTO to review and prepare the form. TTOs can also provide assistance in preparing the overall application. Attach the completed form in the Other documents section in NSERC’s online system.

Guidance on this page takes precedence over other Alliance descriptions and instructions. Find additional guidance on the PDF forms and instructions page. To create or access an application, log in to NSERC’s online system:

Apply now

Application deadline

NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Stream II: 
EOI deadline: September 14, 2026, 4:00 pm (MT)
Alberta Innovates full application deadline: October 12, 2026, 4:00 pm (MT)
NSERC full application deadline: November 13, 2026, 4:00 pm (MT)

Review

The proposal must address all criteria and sub-criteria to be considered for funding. Stream II applications are evaluated using the following four equally weighted criteria:

Future market opportunity
  • Clarity of the proposal when presenting the technology solution, who would need it, in what form and how it could be brought to end-users or to market (future product)
  • Positioning of the proposed technology compared to other potential solutions; description of the state of the art in current research and the market; why and how the proposed technology could compete
  • Positioning of the strengths and potential advantages that favour an Alberta-developed solution
Research plan and team
  • Clarity of the research objectives and expected results, appropriateness of the research plan, and suitability of the budget
  • Appropriateness of the academic researchers’ expertise and, where applicable, the expertise of co-applicants, both for carrying out the planned research activities and for mentoring trainees and collaborating with fellow researchers
Training
  • Opportunities for enriched learning experiences for research trainees (undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers) to develop relevant research skills, as well as professional skills (e.g., leadership, communication, collaboration and entrepreneurship)
  • Consideration of equity, diversity and inclusion in the training plan
Impact and benefits to Canada and Alberta
  • Need for original research to address the topic, its potential to lead to advancing new technologies in a priority emerging technology target area and how the strategy will achieve the intended results
  • Significance of the intended outcomes and the economic, environmental and/or other societal benefits for Canada and Alberta

Please consult the merit indicators for further details.

Award

If your application is approved for funding, you will receive an award letter providing information about your grant, and you must adhere to the terms and conditions set out in the award letter.

Payment

Your award letter will indicate the start date of your project. NSERC will normally transfer your grant funds to your university within 30 days of the start date.

Conditions

All project expenditures are subject to the principles and directives governing the appropriate use of grant funds as outlined in the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration. This is a joint funding opportunity, and award holders must comply with both NSERC and Alberta Innovates grant conditions.

The agreement must be aligned with NSERC’s Policy on Intellectual Property, which promotes the use and/or exploitation of knowledge and open access to results of research funded by NSERC.

Post-award requirements
Intellectual property

See the Alliance Advantage funding opportunity webpage for information on NSERC’s Policy on Intellectual Property, research agreements, and how these pertain to this funding opportunity.

Reporting

You will be informed of reporting requirements and the corresponding schedule when you are notified of your award. NSERC and Alberta Innovates will strive to streamline their reporting requirements to lessen the burden on participants. Alberta Innovates requires an annual presentation to demonstrate progress.

Extension of grants

NSERC automatically provides an extension period of one year for using the grant funds. This extension period allows you to complete your planned research activities within the specified term of your grant. The extension applies only to the NSERC portion of the grant. To benefit from an extension for the portion of funding from Alberta Innovates, you must seek their approval before the end date of the project.

Results

The table below shows the last five years of funding recipients by the year they applied.

You can find older results by searching NSERC’s Awards Database.

For more detailed breakdowns and data visualizations, visit the Alliance dashboard.

Funding decisions
  • View funding decisions
Regulations, policies and guidelines

NSERC supports excellent, innovative, and impactful research that advances knowledge and understanding and responds to local, national and global challenges. NSERC recognizes that equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) principles are foundational to research quality and impact. It is essential to recognize and remove systemic barriers that limit the full participation of all individuals and communities, and to integrate EDI considerations in all aspects of research. These principles are integral to the Tri-agency statement on EDI  and the Tri-agency EDI Action Plan. For more information, consult the NSERC EDI webpage.

To ensure the Canadian research ecosystem is as open as possible and as secure as necessary, the Government of Canada has provided clear information on research security considerations for the development, evaluation and funding of grant applications.

For more information on the granting agencies’ implementation of harmonized research security measures, as well as further guidance and resources on how to safeguard your research, please refer to the Tri-agency guidance on research security.

The STRAC Policy addresses risks related to research that advances sensitive technology research areas performed with research organizations and institutions that pose the highest risk to Canada’s national security. The STRAC Policy applies to this funding opportunity.

Applicants must identify whether their proposed research aims to advance a sensitive technology research area. If so, the submission of attestation forms will be required from researchers with named roles in the grant application (see the list of named roles specific to this funding opportunity) to certify that they are not currently affiliated with, nor are in receipt of funding or in-kind support from, a named research organization.

The Tri-agency guidance on the STRAC Policy provides more information on applicable procedures and requirements, including the responsibilities of researchers and the responsibilities of institutions.
Resources
  • Alliance Advantage: Equity, diversity and inclusion in your training plan
  • Appeals of NSERC funding decisions
  • Attestation for Research Aiming to Advance Sensitive Technology Research Areas form
  • How to complete NSERC’s version of the Canadian Common CV
  • Eligibility
  • NSERC Alliance - Alberta Innovates Advance Merit Indicators - Stream II
  • Policy on Intellectual Property
  • Personal data form with CCV attachment — form 100A: instructions
  • Professors - Frequently asked questions
  • Safeguarding your research portal
  • Terms and conditions of applying for applicants
  • Terms and conditions of award
  • Tri-agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2021)
  • Tri-agency guidance on research security
  • Tri-agency guidance on the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP)
  • Tri-agency guidance on the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy)
  • Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration
  • Tri-Agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
Contact

For more information contact the Prairies Regional Office or the Alberta Innovates Advance Program manager.