2025/2026 NSERC CREATE - Important Changes and Competition Support

January 6, 2025

For the 2025/2026 CREATE competition, NSERC has announced that there are no limits to how many Letters of Intent universities can submit. As such, there will be no internal selection process at UBC this year. For more information, please review NSERC's CREATE Program Description and LOI instructions (to be updated March 2025). Interested applicants are encouraged to review SPARC’s internal resources for the CREATE program, the Sample Grant Library (both CWL-protected), and reach out to SPARC for questions and 1-on-1 consultations. SPARC will also support the development of a UBC letter of support for Vancouver campus applicants as follows:

For Applicants submitting a UBC-led NSERC CREATE Letter of Intent (LOI):

The NSERC CREATE program requires applicants to include a letter of support from the lead applicant’s university, indicating the total number of LOIs the university will be submitting for this competition year.

At UBC-Vancouver, this letter is coordinated by the SPARC office, and signed by the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI). For the regular and international stream, please contact SPARC (via vivienne.chan@ubc.ca) by April 1, 2025 to facilitate the signature and finalization of the letter of support. The VPRI will provide a cash contribution of up to $30,000 over 6 years ($5,000 per year) to UBC-led proposals, provided there is a cash match from department and/or faculty sources, and contingent on NSERC success. Institutional level contributions are negotiated via the SPARC office. Applicants should refrain from contacting the VPRI Office directly. Details of these commitments do not need to be included in the LOI, but will be necessary for the full application.

For the Genomics call (this year only), UBC may submit 2 LOIs to NSERC. There will be an internal process to select 2 LOIs for UBC; details will be announced soon.

UBC-Okanagan Applicants: Please contact the Research Development Team at UBC-O ORS (via Denise Maines; denise.maines@ubc.ca) for LOI review and to coordinate an institutional letter of support.

Applicants are responsible for: 

  • Writing the first draft of the letter (Use the SPARC provided template provided in our internal resources; or email Vivienne Chan (vivienne.chan@ubc.ca) for a copy).
  • Submitting your draft letter to Vivienne Chan (vivienne.chan@ubc.ca) by Thursday, April 17, at 12 pm. A signed version of the letter will be returned to applicants before the LOI deadline of May 1, 2025.

For co-applicants on a non-UBC-led NSERC CREATE:

UBC faculty may participate in non-UBC-led CREATE Letters of Intent, but VPRI will not commit cash contributions to non-UBC-led applications. UBC co-applicants are encouraged to seek internal contributions from participating departments and faculties.



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