• General information
• Create your LOI
• Complete your LOI
• Submit your LOI

Read the Lab to Market grants overview before you complete the letter of intent (LOI). The review committee will evaluate the LOIs using the merit evaluation criteria and recommend which post-secondary institutions and affiliates be invited to submit a full application.

Lab to Market grants are institutional grants; only the lead institution in the network must complete an LOI. The lead institution is responsible for administering the grant on behalf of the network.

Primary applicant:

The applicant is represented by a senior manager in the post-secondary institution’s administration who is delegated by the institution’s president to prepare the letter of intent and the application and to manage the grant. The applicant is responsible for creating and completing the application in the Convergence Portal.

Co-applicants are represented by senior managers from other eligible institutions that will form a network with the primary applicant’s institution in delivering the Lab to Market activities. The applicant invites co-applicants to access the application via the Convergence Portal, and those invited will receive an email asking them to accept the invitation. Upon accepting, the co-applicants will be re-directed to Convergence to log in (or create an account) to determine their eligibility and to complete their information section.

Contributors (optional) are individuals designated by the institution who have access to edit the application, and who typically help the applicant complete the application. The applicant invites the contributors to access the application via Convergence, and those invited will receive an email asking them to accept the invitation. Upon accepting, contributors will be re-directed to Convergence to log in (or create an account). The contributors’ information is not captured in the application.

Collaborators are individuals and organizations not affiliated with the institutions who will contribute to or advise the network on its overall direction. Collaborators need to provide letters of support in Lab to Market applications. See Collaborating organizations.

The individual with designated institutional authority approves and submits the letter of intent on behalf of the network. This role is called Research Administrator in Convergence.

The senior designated institutional representative must click on the Research Administrator button in the blue bar at the top in Convergence to access their account and see the LOI.

• For program-related information, contact l2m-lam@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
• For matters related to the Convergence Portal, email websupport@convergence.gc.ca or call 1-855-275-2861.

The information you provide in your letter of intent is collected under the authority of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Act and stored in a series of NSERC data banks described in Information about programs and information holdings. Details on the use and disclosure of this information are described in the Use and disclosure of personal information provided to NSERC section, in the NSERC program literature and below. The information is used in accordance with the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Your LOI must be received at NSERC before 8:00 pm (ET) on February 12, 2024.

You will not be able to edit your LOI once it has been submitted. You may not send material or updates separately before or after the deadline date.

As the applicant, you must create, complete and submit your LOI using the Convergence Portal. Convergence is only supported on the latest versions of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, and Mozilla Firefox.

Follow the instructions provided in Convergence to complete your LOI. Details on the information needed to complete an LOI are outlined below.

• Sign in to the Convergence Portal. If you have an account on NSERC’s Research Portal, please use your existing account credentials.
• Select Funding Opportunities.
• Select Lab to Market grants, Stage: Letter of Intent then Create Application.
• Complete steps 1 to 4 detailed below and agree to the terms and conditions for applying.

The applicant and co-applicants will be required to complete enrolment steps when creating or accepting an invitation to participate in the creation of an LOI. If you have previously completed the enrolment steps in Convergence, some fields may be pre-populated.

As applicant or co-applicant, you must complete the following steps: at this point, you can update any information that may have been previously provided.

Step 1 – Eligibility: Confirm that you have been delegated the authority to apply by the institution's president.

Step 2 – Affiliations: List all of your current affiliations and identify your primary affiliation (select your current affiliation associated with the LOI).

Step 3 – Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI): Completion of the self-identification form is mandatory; however, you may select “Prefer not to answer” for any or all questions. See the self-identification information section below for more information.

Step 4 – Keywords: Provide a maximum of five keywords that best describe, overall, your areas of research. They do not need to be directly related to a specific application and will not be used for evaluation purposes.

Terms and conditions: Accept the terms and conditions to access the LOI.

Self-identification information

As applicant or co-applicant, you must complete the self-identification form to apply for NSERC funding. However, you may select “Prefer not to answer” for any or all questions. NSERC appreciates your participation, which supports the granting agencies in monitoring the equity of their programs and strengthening EDI in the research enterprise.

The self-identification information is collected as part of your user profile when you register in the Convergence Portal. It is not part of your application and is not accessible to, or shared with, review committee members.

Select View application from the Applications tab to access the LOI.

Application details

Provide the name of the proposed Lab to Market network. Do not include other organizations or the full name of the institutions in the name of the network. The main body of your letter of intent should be written in either English or French, rather than in a mix of both official languages.

Invitations

Click Invite participant to invite co-applicants and/or contributors to edit the letter of intent.

Co-applicants

This section lists all co-applicants and contributors who have accepted your invitation and accessed Convergence. If any co-applicant or contributor has not accepted your invitation, follow up with them to confirm they have received it.

If an invited co-applicant has a status of Pending Eligibility, they have accepted your invitation but have not completed their enrolment (steps 1 to 4 in Convergence and agreeing to the terms and conditions of applying) to access the application.

Once you (as the applicant) and all co-applicants have completed the respective sections, you (the applicant) must finalize each co-applicant’s record by selecting Finalize information from the Actions menu, which changes the status to Complete. Once the LOI is finalized, you cannot edit the information, nor can any of the co-applicants. If you need to make changes, please email websupport@convergence.gc.ca, with a copy to l2m-lam@nserc-crsng.gc.ca, or call 1-855-275-2861 to unlock the My information section.

Socioeconomic objectives

Provide at least one primary socioeconomic objective relevant to the letter of intent. You may list up to three socioeconomic objectives.

Keywords

List a maximum of five keywords that best describe this specific proposal.

Summary of proposal

The summary is intended to explain the proposal in language that the public can understand. Briefly describe the nature of the proposal, the context, objectives, planned activities, and anticipated results, in addition to innovation benefits derived from community organizations. This plain-language summary will be available to the public if your proposal is funded.

The maximum character count is 2,500.

Proposed budget

Before completing this section, please consult the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration and the specific rules for the use of grant funds for information about the eligibility of expenditures and the regulations governing the use of grant funds.

Use the Budget justification under Supporting documents (details below) to explain and justify each budget item.

LOIs can include a request for up to $200,000 for one year.

Supporting documents

You are responsible for submitting a complete letter of intent that conforms to the presentation standards established by NSERC. You must review the number of pages and formatting of any attachments uploaded to Convergence. Incomplete LOIs or LOIs that do not meet the presentation standards outlined below may be rejected, or be at a disadvantage, in comparison with those that are complete and respect the presentation standards. Where page limits are stated, pages in excess of the number permitted will be removed. If a submitted LOI contains one or more attachments that do not comply with the page length or formatting standard, the submission may be deemed ineligible.

• Any acronyms and abbreviations must be explained.
• Pages must be 8 ½ inches × 11 inches (216 mm × 279 mm).
• Text must be single-spaced, with no more than six lines of type per inch.
• All text must be in black, using the 11 pt Arial font; condensed fonts will not be accepted.
• Margins must be set at a minimum of ¾ inch (1.87 cm).
• In multi-page attachments, pages must be numbered sequentially.
• The institution’s name must appear outside the set margins of the page, at the top right corner of every page.
• The name of each document must appear outside the set margins of the page at the top left corner of every page (e.g., Proposal, Budget justification).

Conversion of the documents to PDF

All attachments must be converted to portable document format (PDF) before they can be attached to the application. The conversion process varies with the operating system and word processing or spreadsheet software you are using. If you have questions about converting your documents to PDF, contact your institution's technical support staff.

If you do not have a PDF conversion program, you may download a free version of PrimoPDF. Macintosh users have a PDF conversion option in the Macintosh system's Print function.

The following supporting documents must be attached to the LOI. The File column in the Supporting documents section of Convergence indicates which documents are required.

Your LOI will be evaluated according to the merit evaluation criteria detailed in the Lab to Market grants description. The description of the proposed initiative should be a maximum of eight pages and must address all criteria and sub-criteria to be considered for funding. Write this description in clear, plain language. Avoid jargon, acronyms, and highly technical terms. Using the headings below, and following the order listed below, describe the proposed activities in sufficient detail to allow the peer review committee members to make an informed assessment. Given the limited space at the LOI stage, a brief high-level description of the anticipated activities and preliminary plans for the network is enough. Should your institution be invited to submit a full application, more space will be available to expand on the proposed activities and provide additional information on the anticipated direction of the network.

The instructions below are meant to provide guidance on the contents of the LOI and are not meant to be exhaustive for all networks. The proposed network activities can vary among institutions and depend on the specific network context. Use your best judgement when determining the information to include. In some cases, similar information can be placed under more than one heading. If that is the case, use the limited space strategically to avoid repetition.

Network overview

• Describe the lead institution (applicant) and the member institutions (co-applicants) of the network. Include the name and role of the leading individuals for each of the member institutions.
• Describe the proposed vision of the network, including the regional and national economic, social and/or health benefits that will result from this initiative.

Strategic plan

• Include specific and concrete practices that show how EDI is considered in the structure of the network and how the network will address the EDI barriers in the innovation ecosystem.
• Describe the network’s vision potential to provide diverse and complementary capabilities training for fostering entrepreneurship and innovation across a broad spectrum of researchers. The plan should also include the high-level expected progress of the network over the five years of funding, with major milestones.

Network team and management

• Give an overview of the organizational structure of the network and the responsibilities of each member.
• Describe the key personnel in each member institution and their potential role (prior commercialization experience is strongly encouraged).

Entrepreneurship training

• Describe how the Lab to Market network will develop and offer entrepreneurship, commercialization, and knowledge mobilization training activities for researchers and students and other highly qualified personnel in post-secondary institutions and affiliated institutions.
• Give an overview of the tools that will be used to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and best practices to deliver training to broader audiences.
• Provide an estimate of how many trainees will be supported by the network and where the training will be offered.

Description of the delivery plan

• Describe how the network will deliver training to students and researchers and highly qualified personnel at various points in their commercialization journey, offering multiple on-ramps and off-ramps, and maintain networking opportunities.
• Explain the approach that will be taken to facilitate outreach to the community, and how the network will support participants from different institutions (including participants who are not included in the network) and provide access to a wide variety of innovation ecosystems.
• Describe how the network will set up an effective process to recruit industry mentors who represent Canada's diverse population. EDI considerations should be integrated into the rationale for the process of recruiting role models and mentors.

Relevance of the plan in the regional or national business ecosystem

• Describe how the network will pull together a wide variety of innovation ecosystem stakeholders (e.g., technology transfer officer, provincial innovation associations, industry and business associations, accelerators and incubators, investors, etc.).

References

You may include one additional page for literature references. Use this section to provide a list of the most relevant references. Do not refer readers to websites for additional information on your proposal. Do not introduce hyperlinks in the list of references.

• In a maximum of two pages, provide a brief explanation and justification for each budget item identified in the budget table. To facilitate the formation of successful post-secondary institutional networks and collaborations with innovation ecosystem actors required to establish strong and relevant proposals, preparatory funds are available to eligible post-secondary institutions and their affiliates at the letter of intent stage. Up to $200,000 can be requested to support application-related expenses. Only one LOI for preparatory funding can be submitted per network (led by one institution).

As a result, for the LOI stage, many of the budget items below may not be applicable at this time. Should your institution be invited to submit a full application, the budget should be augmented and cover the network’s activities to provide sufficient information for reviewers to assess whether the resources requested are appropriate.

Salaries and benefits

Give the names (if known), categories of employment, and proposed salaries (including non-discretionary benefits) of those in each of the positions listed below. Briefly describe the responsibilities for each position and indicate the amount of time that will be spent on the network's activities.

• Network administrators or technology transfer specialists: Include administrative personnel, managerial staff, or project managers needed to conduct the network’s activities. Include those dedicated to developing and strengthening collaborations with local, regional, and national innovation ecosystem organizations. Include marketing/advertising personnel here.
• Network professional and technical services: Include all research and technical services team members contributing to the network’s activities (e.g., salaries for associated staff training students for specific research activities and researchers participating in the network’s activities; salaries for staff developing the curriculum; salaries associated with technology and knowledge transfer activities).
• Students and HQP: Indicate salaries for students and HQP participating in the network’s proposed training activities. Former college students within one year of graduation may also be included here.
• Course load reduction for college professors (only for colleges): Include replacement faculty hired to backfill the position of a faculty member who will be involved in the network’s activities.
• Part-time faculty (only for colleges): Include part-time college faculty contributing to the network's activities.
• Other: If applicable, other salary types, such as consultant costs, technical writers (up to a maximum of $25,000), etc.

Operating expenses and supplies

• Material, supplies and indirect costs: Provide an overview of the expenses required to operate the network, including administrative, utility and other typical office-related expenses. Also describe the type and quantity of materials, supplies and other consumables necessary to conduct the network’s activities.
• Equipment: Provide an overview of expenditures related to the purchase, rental, and use (including maintenance) of equipment. If applicable, provide rental of facility costs here. Rental of facilities owned by institutions in the network are not an eligible expense.
• Other: If applicable, other operating and equipment expenditure types not listed above should be placed in this category.

Miscellaneous

You may include other expenses attributable to specific projects or activities, as follows.

• Travel: Give an overview of the planned travel of the network personnel and explain briefly how it relates to the network’s activities.
• Research and technology transfer support services: Provide details on and explain major items for research and technology transfer support services (meetings with clients, technology support, writing proposals, workshops, etc.).
• Knowledge dissemination and networking: Provide details on outreach activities (communications, networking, workshops, trade shows, etc.) and other major items that support collaboration and knowledge mobilization with the network's community, including students. Describe expenses related to participant development and advertising, as well as costs of hospitality and promotional material.
• EDI-related expenses: Provide details on the costs of specific activities supporting EDI in the network (such as EDI training or workshops, outreach to underrepresented groups, hiring EDI-specific support, support for accessible facilities and equipment, childcare support, etc).

Other expenditures

If applicable, add any other expenditures not listed above in this section. You may add headings to indicate the type of expenditure.

Letter from the president of the lead institution

Provide a letter from the president of the lead institution (one page maximum) outlining the institution’s support for the proposed new network and the relationship to the institution’s entrepreneurial culture.

Include letters of support from senior representatives of national, regional, provincial and/or local collaborating organizations.

Each letter should include the following information:

• the need for entrepreneurship training in the local/regional areas served by the members of the network
• the anticipated impacts on the innovation space and the commercialization of research in Canada and the role their organization could play in the future network

The applicant must review the LOI to ensure that it is complete.

In the Finalize and submit section, follow the prompts to submit your LOI to your senior research grant officer (RGO).

After you accept the terms and conditions, the status of your submission will change to Received by Administrator. If you want to make any changes at this point, you may request that your RGO return the LOI to you.

Once your RGO has approved and submitted your LOI, the status will change to Received by Agency. No changes can be made after that point.

When you, as the RGO, receive an LOI submitted by an applicant at your institution, you will be asked to approve the LOI and submit it. By submitting it, you are confirming that the proposed network activities meet the grant eligibility requirements (review the program description for more details).

By submitting the LOI, you are also certifying, on behalf of your institution, that the applicant:

• has been delegated by the institution’s president to create, prepare and complete the LOI with all required documentation and to manage the grant
• is affiliated with the institution
• has the necessary time and resources to carry out the activities