Alliance Advantage

Frequently asked questions

On this page

General

• Are Alliance grants open to college applicants?
• Who owns the rights to intellectual property (IP) from research activities supported by an Alliance grant?

Application

• Where can I get information on how to prepare my application?
• What is the page limit for the proposal section? Does it include the text that is already in the application template?
• Do the font type and size prescribed in the NSERC online presentation and attachment standards apply to text inside tables and figures?
• Is it mandatory for my application to include the completed risk assessment questionnaire and risk mitigation plan of the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form?
• Are there types of private sector organizations involved in Alliance projects that do not trigger the need for completing the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form (e.g., Canadian—including parents, subsidiaries or affiliates—, multinational or foreign organizations)?
• My Alliance project involves several partner organizations from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. When completing the risk assessment questionnaire of the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships, do I consider only risks associated with the private sector partner organization(s)?
• The requirement to submit the completed National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form applies to producer groups since their member organizations are principally from the private sector. My Alliance project involves a producer group as a partner organization. When completing the risk assessment form, do I need to consider risks associated with each of the group’s members?
• The requirement to submit the completed National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form applies to industrial associations since their member organizations are principally from the private sector. My Alliance project involves an industrial association as a partner organization. When completing the risk assessment form, do I need to consider risks associated with each of the association’s members?
• My Alliance project involves a foreign international industrial association as a partner organization, which includes one or more Canada-based members that will be my primary partner(s). When completing the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form, do I need to consider risks associated with each of the association’s members, foreign and Canadian?
• Is it mandatory for my application to include a student and/or postdoctoral training component?
• Is the salary of research professionals an eligible expense?
• Do I need to include the Common CV in my application? Is a form 100A also required?
• Do I need to hold an NSERC Discovery Grant to apply for an Alliance grant?
• Can an Alliance grant be used to establish a research chair?
• Can the title of an Alliance application bear the name of an institutional research chair?

Partners’ contributions

• Are in-kind contributions mandatory, and are they taken into account in cost-sharing calculations or in the application’s evaluation?
• Can I leverage funds from an endowment to which a partner organization recognized for cost sharing contributes as a means of supporting my project?

Communicating NSERC’s decisions

• How will NSERC communicate its decision about my Alliance application?

Post-award

• Can I request an extension for my Alliance grant?

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General

Are Alliance grants open to college applicants?

No. Only Canadian university researchers who are eligible to receive NSERC funds can apply for an Alliance grant. However, college faculty members can participate as co-applicants in Alliance grant applications provided they meet NSERC’s eligibility criteria.

College-based applicants can continue to apply to the existing suite of college grants under the College and Community Innovation program.

Who owns the rights to intellectual property (IP) from research activities supported by an Alliance grant?

NSERC does not claim any ownership of IP or stipulate who must own any IP resulting from the research partnership. However, the ownership and protection of IP generated by research supported through an Alliance grant must follow the principles described in NSERC’s policy on intellectual property. For any Alliance grant, NSERC recommends that you and your institution follow the best practice of signing a research agreement with the partner organization(s).

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Application

Where can I get information on how to prepare my application?

The Alliance Advantage or Alliance Society web pages provide information on how to apply through NSERC’s online system. Before preparing your application, you are strongly encouraged to carefully read all sections of the program description and the instructions for completing an application. You should also consult the Alliance Advantage: resources or Alliance Society: resources web pages, in particular the following documents and web pages: Alliance grant application checklist, Equity, diversity and inclusion in your training plan, and Safeguarding Your Research portal.

If you have questions regarding the program or the application process, you may also contact NSERC’s Alliance staff.

What is the page limit for the proposal section? Does it include the text that is already in the application template?

The application length depends on the average annual request from NSERC and whether the applicant and all co-applicants hold an active NSERC peer reviewed grant (except for ECR co-applicants). The application instructions include a table presenting the suggested section lengths for your proposal and the overall page limit. The text in the proposal template counts toward the overall page limit.

Do the font type and size prescribed in the NSERC online presentation and attachment standards apply to text inside tables and figures?

No. The font type and size requirements do not apply to text inside tables and figures. Still, for text inside tables and figures, you must use a font type and size that is clearly legible. NSERC reserves the right not to accept your application if it does not meet this requirement. Note that figures and tables count toward the specified page limits.

Is it mandatory for my application to include the completed risk assessment questionnaire and risk mitigation plan of the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form?

In the case where your research partnership involves one or more partner organizations from the private sector, including when they participate alongside other partner organizations from the public and/or not-for-profit sectors or participate as members of industrial associations or producer groups, you must complete the risk assessment questionnaire of the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form. If you identify potential risks when filling out the questionnaire, you must also complete the risk mitigation plan section of the form. When partner organizations from the private sector are involved in your application, the completed National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form is an integral part of your application.

Are there types of private sector organizations involved in Alliance projects that do not trigger the need for completing the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form (e.g., Canadian—including parents, subsidiaries or affiliates—, multinational or foreign organizations)?

No. If your Alliance project involves one or more partner organizations from the private sector, you must complete the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form, regardless of organization type.

My Alliance project involves several partner organizations from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. When completing the risk assessment form of the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships, do I consider only risks associated with the private sector partner organization(s)?

Yes. In such a case, you must only assess the risks associated with the private sector partner organization(s) involved in your Alliance project. If there are several private sector partner organizations, you must consider the risks associated with each of them.

The requirement to submit the completed National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form applies to producer groups since their member organizations are principally from the private sector. My Alliance project involves a producer group as a partner organization. When completing the risk assessment form, do I need to consider the risks associated with each of the group’s members?

NSERC acknowledges that membership of producer groups is typically large. Consequently, if the producer group collaborates on the project on behalf of its members and intends to disseminate the research results to them for exploitation, you must assess the overall risks associated with the transfer of results to the group’s broader membership. You are not asked to assess each member organization.

If private sector member organizations directly participate in the project—whether included or not as formal partner organizations in the Alliance application alongside the producer group—you must assess the risks associated with each of these organizations.

The requirement to submit the completed National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form applies to industrial associations since their member organizations are principally from the private sector. My Alliance project involves an industrial association as a partner organization. When completing the risk assessment form, do I need to consider risks associated with each of the association’s members?

When filling out the form, you must consider each of the association’s private sector member organizations participating in the project (when applicable) and/or those that will exploit the research results. If the research results are to be exploited by all members and you consider the membership to be too large for an organization-based assessment, you must contact NSERC’s Alliance staff before proceeding.

My Alliance project involves a foreign international industrial association as a partner organization, which includes one or more Canada-based members that will be my primary partner(s). When completing the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ risk assessment form, do I need to consider risks associated with each of the association’s members, foreign and Canadian? 

Funds from foreign international industrial associations may be recognized for cost sharing within an Alliance project, but only if the funds from the association are attributed to the Canada-based private sector member organization(s) participating in the project. Please contact NSERC’s Alliance staff for guidance before proceeding with the application to ensure that the association can be recognized for cost sharing. 

Associations that include members located in a country listed on the Area control list of the Export and brokering controls handbook are not recognized for cost sharing.

When filling out the risk assessment form, you must consider each of the association’s private sector member organizations participating in the project as well as those that will exploit the research results. If the intent is to disseminate the research results to all the association’s member companies, you must assess the overall risks associated with the transfer of results to the association’s broader membership. You are not asked to undertake the assessment for each member organization.

Is it mandatory for my application to include a student and/or postdoctoral training component?

Yes. Your application must include a training component principally intended for undergraduate, graduate and/or postdoctoral trainees. Trainees cannot consist exclusively of research professionals. As part of the application’s merit assessment, reviewers will evaluate the project’s opportunities for enriched learning experiences for undergraduate, graduate or postdoctoral trainees to develop research and professional skills.

Is the salary of research professionals an eligible expense?

Yes. The salary of research professionals contributing to the project is an eligible expense. You must justify the need for research professionals and clearly detail their roles and responsibilities in your proposal.

Do I need to include the Common CV in my application? Is a form 100A also required?

You and your co-applicant(s) must each complete a personal data form with CCV attachment (form 100A). This form provides information that complements that in the CCV, such as a discussion of up to five most significant contributions to research over the last six years. It is the same supplemental information collected for NSERC Discovery Grant applications.

Do I need to hold an NSERC Discovery Grant to apply for an Alliance grant?

No. You do not need to have a Discovery Grant to apply for an Alliance grant. However, you must hold a university faculty position that meets NSERC’s eligibility criteria.

Can an Alliance grant be used to establish a research chair?

No. Alliance grants cannot be used for the salary support of a research chair. Any contribution from partner organizations toward the chairholder’s salary will not be considered by NSERC in its cost-sharing calculation. Alliance grants can, however, support research activities that are part of an established institutional research chair.

Note that an institutional research chair cannot include “NSERC” in its name, even if the chair's research activities are supported through Alliance and/or other NSERC grants. Similarly, it cannot include “Industrial Research Chair” or “IRC” in its name since these are associated with NSERC’s long-standing Industrial Research Chairs (IRC) program, which has been discontinued.

Can the title of an Alliance application bear the name of an institutional research chair?

No. Any Alliance application title must specifically describe the subject of the proposed research activities.

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Partner contributions

Are in-kind contributions mandatory, and are they taken into account in cost-sharing calculations or in the application’s evaluation?

All partner organizations, except those whose primary mission is to fund R&D, must be actively involved in the project and make in-kind contributions. Partners’ in-kind contributions are important for the success of the project. They must be well described in your proposal, and they are considered as part of its merit assessment. NSERC will not include the dollar value of in-kind contributions in its cost-sharing calculations.

Can I leverage funds from an endowment to which a partner organization recognized for cost sharing contributes as a means of supporting my project?

Yes, but the contribution recognized for cost sharing will be limited to the amount originating from the partner organization that is directly allocated to the cost of the project over its duration. The partner organization must be actively involved in the project, have staff with the necessary expertise to contribute to the project and have a plan and the resources to exploit the project’s anticipated outcomes. You must include a cover letter describing the source of funds. The letter must be prepared by an authorized representative of the university and submitted on their behalf.

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Communicating NSERC’s decisions

How will NSERC communicate its decision about my Alliance application?

NSERC will communicate its decision and share all documents related to the assessment of your application (e.g., message to applicant, external reviewer reports, etc.) using your applicant library on the secure Alliance grants extranet. This is a new portal that is available only to the applicant. NSERC will provide you with a link to your applicant library and login instructions. If you have submitted an Alliance application and do not have access to your applicant library yet, you will receive information on how to access it once the merit assessment stage is complete. If your Alliance application is funded, NSERC’s post-award decisions will also be communicated using your applicant library.

NSERC will no longer communicate its decisions by mail or email. The onus is on you to share NSERC’s decisions with your partner organization(s) and any co-applicants.

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Post-award

Can I request an extension for my Alliance grant?

Alliance grants can be extended in various ways.

If you have identified new opportunities as your project unfolds and you want to extend the project to take advantage of these opportunities, you can request a one-year extension with additional funding. You can extend initial Alliance Advantage grants of one to four years (five-year grants are excluded). Your partner organizations must be willing to continue supporting the project and to provide additional cash contributions. The original cost-sharing ratio applies. You may request up to the average annual amount in the original grant. You can take advantage of an extension with funding followed by extensions without funding. For more information, see Extension of grants and talk to your File Manager at NSERC.

Following the initial period of your grant or a funded extension, your grant will be extended automatically. You have an additional one-year period to complete any unfinished activities for your project, but no additional funding is provided for this automatic one-year extension. Automatic extensions do not apply to special Alliance calls funded jointly with other organizations, unless mentioned in the special call.

If you need additional extensions due to justifiable extenuating circumstances, you can apply for these using a grant amendment form. Such extensions do not include additional funding.