It’s that time of year again! The nomination period for NSERC’s top research prizes is underway. This year brings some new and exciting changes to the Synergy Awards for Innovation nomination in an effort to be more flexible, inclusive, and to offer an even more appealing award to the merited recipients. Some of these changes include:

For universities and colleges

• Broadened partner eligibility to include public and not-for-profit partner organizations, in addition to private sector partners
• Expanded scope of the Synergy Awards to include social and environmental benefits to Canada and Canadians
• Increased voucher value to $50,000 for winning partners (previously $30,000 for university and $20,000 for colleges partnerships), and this voucher is now open to most Research Partnerships programs

For colleges only

• Extended eligibility to partnerships in social sciences, humanities or health, in addition to the natural sciences and engineering
• Increased prize to a $200,000 research grant (previously a $100,000 equipment grant)

In addition to the above, the parameters around nominators have also expanded—now all Canadian citizens or permanent residents can submit a nomination. We invite you to share this message with your community, and help us shine the spotlight on the most outstanding research partnerships!

The submission deadline for this year’s nominations is April 19, 2022 at 8 p.m. (EDT). Please read the call for nominations carefully to learn about all of the changes and to ensure that your nomination meets the requirements.

By working together to develop new and improved products and processes, universities, colleges, polytechnics and their partners help to make our world a better place. Together they collaborate to shape Canada’s future, allowing us to be at the forefront of the world's emerging knowledge-based economy.

The Synergy Awards for Innovation honour these strong, complementary and collaborative teams who have generated new knowledge and accelerated the application of research results to create benefits for Canada and Canadians. The award recognizes outstanding teams who have combined their expertise and resources to create partnerships resulting in significant impacts.  

NSERC celebrates Canada’s science and engineering brain trust through a series of other awards. Learn more about the prizes on NSERC’s website and start thinking of who you want to nominate for a chance to receive one of our prestigious prizes.