NSERC Alliance grants support 1-to-5-year collaborations with organizations in the private, public, or not-for-profit sectors.
Grants are valued between $20,000 and $1 million per year and require the partner organization(s) to contribute to cost-sharing (Alliance Advantge, formerly Option 1) while playing an active role in the project. Cost-sharing options differ depending on the nature of your project.
See NSERC's tables for cost-sharing and funding leveraging/envelopes for Alliance Advantage (former Option 1) and Alliance Society (former Option 2) for full details.
Application Process + Eligibility
Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis with no set deadlines from NSERC. All projects with one or more partner organization(s) from the private sector must undergo a national security risk assessment and submit the completed assessment with the application.
Researchers are not limited on the number of times they can apply under either Alliance Advantage or Alliance Society. Partner organizations are not limited on the number of applications they can be a part of under either program.
Applications are adjudicated based on specific evaluation criteria and merit indicators. Decisions are communicated between 5 and 24 weeks from the date of submission, depending on the size of the project and whether or not the evaluation is supported by an existing NSERC peer review. See details of the review process on the NSERC website for more detailed estimates.
Developing Your Application
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Support & Resources
Contacts