NSERC Strategic Project Grants (SPG) Program February 10, 2011.

NSERC

Strategic Project Grants (SPG)

Program

February 10, 2011

Today’s Speakers:

1. Katie Wallace, NSERC Program Officer, Environment and Natural Resources, Research Partnerships Programs

2. Professor Shana Kelley, The Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy: Successful Applicant – Miniaturized Microelectronic Devices for Cost-effective Point-of-care Diagnostics

3. Mike Folinas, Research Funding Manager, Research Services

4. Cyril Gibbons, Director, Business Dev - Phy. Sciences, Innovations and Partnerships Office

Strategic Project Grants Program - 2011 Competition

University of Toronto

February 10th, 2011

Katie Wallace, Program Officer

Environment and Natural Resources

Research Partnerships Programs

Agenda

• Partnerships Programs

• Strategic Project Grants Program (SPG)

• What’s New?

• UT and SPG

• Target Areas

• Application and Timelines

• Evaluation Process

• Helpful Tips

NSERC Budget 2010-2011($1.080 billion)

Administration($54M- 5%)

People ($302.4M- 28%)Innovation

($324M- 30%)

Discovery ($399.6M- 37%)

RPP ToolboxStrategic Partnerships(targets national priorities) • Strategic Projects

• Strategic Networks

• Partnership Workshops

• Collaborative Health Research Projects

Industry-Driven(Industry participation)• Collaborative R&D

• Industrial Research Chairs

• Chairs in Design Engineering

• Interaction

• Engage

Technology Transfer/Commercialization• Idea to Innovation• College and Community Innovation

Regional Offices• Bring perspectives and intelligence from across the country• Forge linkages at local level• Exercise more influence

Interaction Grants

• Give companies that operate from a Canadian base and researchers from Canadian universities an opportunity to meet and identify a company-specific problem they could solve by collaborating in a subsequent research partnership.

• Maximum of $5,000 for 3 months.

• Trial started in late 2009.

• Delivered by NSERC Regional Offices.

Engage Grants Program

• Fosters the development of new partnerships

• Short-term R&D projects for a company-specific problem

• Up to $25,000 for up to 6 months

• Not peer-reviewed

• Partner owns IP

• 412 applications received, 347 awarded; 89% success rate

• 4-6 week decision timeframe (NSERC Regional Offices)

Collaborative Research and Development Grants (CRD)

• 1 to 5 years duration, usually 2 to 3 years

• Average grant $55,000 per year, but can vary from $10K/year to > $400K/year

• Industry responsible for at least 1/2 costs and must exploit results

• Flexible leverage: cash and in-kind

• 80-85% success rate

• No fixed application deadlines

• Can now include project management costs

Idea to Innovation (I2I)• Support research and development projects with identifiable

technology transfer potential • To reduce technical risk and to demonstrate the commercial

potential of university discoveries• University ILO must commit to the project and work with the

researcher/partners• Goal is to generate economic activity for inventions

originating from the university sector• Phase I: Technologies funded are taken up by a Company;

either licensed out or through the creation of a viable spin-off• Phase II: Projects lead to new market products

• Phase I – Researcher without a partner– Advance concept to attract partner– 100% of direct costs, up to $125k, 1 Year

• Phase II – Researcher with a partner

a) Early stage investor

– NSERC 2/3 of direct costs– Maximum $125,000 per project, 6-18 months

b) Company– NSERC 1/2 of direct costs– Company cash at least 40% of contribution– Maximum $350,000 per project, 2 years

• New initiative: Market Assessment

Idea to Innovation (I2I)

Strategic Project Grants (SPG)

Objective

To increase research and training in targeted areas that could strongly influence Canada’s economy, society and/or environment within the next 10 years.

Why the Strategic Project Grants Program?

• Focus on specific areas

• Opportunity to take research beyond the university

• NSERC will fund direct costs of a 1 to 3 year project (students, PDFs, consumables, equipment)

• There must be significant involvement from the partner BUT a cash contribution is not required

Expected Results

• Increased participation of companies and/or government organizations in academic research.

• New knowledge/technology with strong potential to strengthen Canada’s industrial base, generate wealth, create employment and/or Canadian public policy.

• The transfer of this knowledge/technology to Canadian-based organizations that are well positioned to apply the results for economic gain or to government organizations to strengthen public policy.

• Highly qualified personnel trained in the target areas.

What’s in it for the Partners?

Access to:

• Team of researchers with expertise in a desired area to solve a problem

• Technology/idea of commercial interest

• Research facilities and infrastructure that the industry lacks

• Potential access to a source of HQP• Give companies a competitive edge in global markets

Requirements

The project must:

• Fall within one of the target areas

• Have well-defined objectives, scope and duration (1-3 years)

• Have one or more supporting organizations that are actively involved in all stages of the project and can apply the results

What’s New for 2011• First competition with New Target Areas

− Target areas are reviewed every 5 years− 2010 was the last competition for Biomedical Technologies, Quality

Foods and Novel Bioproducts, and Safety and Security

• Equipment Expenses− Purchase of major equipment items or systems is limited to a

maximum of $150,000 total

• Government Supporting Organizations Letter of support and form 183A must be signed by the Director

General (or equivalent level) – please contact NSERC for approval for equivalent level

• Instructions and Application Status reports no longer required

Option to attach a Gantt cart in the budget justification section Allowed up to 2 pages for references

Competition Statistics- (2006-2010)

Competition Year

# of Applications # of Awards Success Rate

2010 547 122 22%

2009 465 122 26%

2008 391 153 39%

2007 309 149 48%

2006 431 133 31%

UT and Strategic Project Grants• 2006 to 2010: 164* applications, 64 awards (39%)

• 2010: 50 applications, 11 awards

• 2 examples

• Information and Communication Technologies

• Sustainable Energy Systems

*does not include supplemental competitions0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Applications

Awards

Integrated photonics for energy-efficient communications in multi-core processors for exascale computing systems- ACMI

• J. Poon, Electrical and Comp. Eng.

• $533,100 over 3 years

• 3 co-applicants

• IBM Canada

Investigation of how emission control technologies mitigate health impacts from diesel fuel combustion- SES

• G. Evans, Chem Eng and Appl. Chem

• $475,873 over 3 years

• 1 co-applicant

• Environment Canada; Engine Control Systems Ltd.

Four Target Areas

Priority research topics within:

• Information and Communications Technologies

• Environmental Science and Technologies

• Manufacturing

• Natural Resources and Energy

Please note: Health and related life sciences and technologies will be covered under the Collaborative Health and Research Projects Program (check for program updates in March)

Focused Research

• There are 3-8 priority research topics identified within each target area (80% of budget).

• Projects that fall outside of the research topics but fit the context of the target area are termed “Exceptional Opportunities outside the research topics” (up to 20% of budget).

• Research outside the 4 priority target areas will not be considered for funding

Non-Academic Supporting Organizations

Private sector• Canadian-based companies or multi-nationals with

Canadian operations (R&D or manufacturing) that can apply the research results for economic gain

Public sector• Canadian government organizations that can apply the

research results to strengthen policies (the proposal must clearly show how the project relates to their public policy responsibilities)

Non-Academic Supporting Organizations

Do not qualify as the only supporting organization:• NGO’s, venture capitalists, government research labs,

foreign research institutions, implementation sites, potential customers

Supporting Organizations (continued)

A supporting organization must also:

• Have a demonstrated interest in the project (letters of support, in-kind contributions)

• Be involved in all stages of the research (help to develop the proposal, interact with researchers and students, provide input to the project)

• Validate the results of the research

• Provide guidance concerning exploitation of results

International Collaborations

• Concurrent call for joint research projects in all Target Areas

− Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France) and National Science Council (Taiwan)

− Two separate but linked proposals: one submitted to each agency− Canadian applications must meet all requirements of the SPG

program− International agency will fund its scientists− NSERC has not reserved funds for applications related to

international concurrent calls− Funding is on a competitive basis within regular SPG Program budget− Up to 3 additional pages are allowed− There is no joint review

The SPG Application

• Application for a Grant (Form 101) Parts I and II

• Personal Data Forms (Form 100) + CVs of collaborators (6 pages max)

• Form 183A (partner’s information and contributions)

• Letter of support describing partner’s involvement

Research Proposal- Format

11 pages total:

• Introduction (~1 page*)

− Identify target area and research topic

− Why is the research you propose strategic and how does it address the research topic?

− Justification for exceptional opportunity

− For re-submissions, explain how concerns of the selection panel have been addressed selection panel and reviewers do not see cover letters!

*suggested lengths


– Objectives– Approach and research methodology– Workplan– Current scientific, technical, and commercial developments in

the field with appropriate references– Expected impact on field of proposed research

• Section 1 (~7 pages):

– Training Plan– Identify roles of team members

• Section 2 (~1 page):


– Interactions with supporting organizations– Plan for knowledge and technology transfer (Intellectual

Property)– Fit between the project objectives and priorities of supporting

organization(s)


– Potential benefits to Canada economic, social, environmental– Potential benefits to supporting organizations


• Additional pages – references (2 pages max), relationship to other research, budget justification, details of in-kind contributions

Letter of Support- Key Points

• Support for and agreement with the proposal

• Reasons for being involved in the proposed collaboration

• Anticipated benefits from project outcomes

• Effort required to exploit results

• Benefits to Canadian economy and the relevant timeframe

• Anticipated interaction of personnel with the University

• Company’s contribution to the project

• Company profile (for small companies or start-ups)

Additional Points to Consider

• Collaborations outside NSE: applicants are encouraged to collaborate with experts outside the NSE. Can represent up to 30% of the project costs.

• Overlap of funds: the onus is on the applicant to provide as much information as to how/why the project differs from those currently funded (relationship to other support).

• Provide as much detail as possible in your budget justification. Show all your calculations and how you arrived at totals presented.

• Funding decisions are announced in October. This should be considered in the activity schedule and workplan.

Evaluation Process- Timeline

• April 15- Submission of Applications

• May/June- Pre-Selection, if required− Preliminary review by target area selection committee − Proposals with significant weaknesses are removed

• July/August- External referees− Typically three per application− Technical expertise to aid the Committee− Appendix C: your suggestions− Panel suggestions and NSERC database

• September- Selection Committee− Proposals are assigned to three readers− Discussion amongst the whole group

• October- Results announced

Evaluation Process

• Projects are evaluated against seven criteria.

• Each criterion is graded from 1 (lowest score) to 4 (highest score).

• Each criterion is of equal weight.

• Only projects that are strong in all 7 criteria are eligible for funding.

Selection Criteria

Originality of the research

Quality of the research

Project work plan

Quality of the applicants as researchers

Training potential

Interactions with the supporting organizations

Benefits to Canada and the supporting organizations

Selection Criteria (cont’d)

• Originality of the ResearchThe project must promise to generate new knowledge or to apply existing knowledge in an innovative manner.

• Quality of the ResearchThe project must be scientifically sound and technically feasible. It must fall within a specific target area.


• Project Work PlanThe project must have a clear and coherent work plan that demonstrates a high probability of achieving the objectives in the proposed time frame.

• Quality of the Applicants as ResearchersThe research team must have all the expertise to address the defined objectives competently and to complete the project successfully.


• Training PotentialThe project must provide opportunities to train students and other highly qualified personnel with skills relevant to the needs of Canadian organizations.

• Interactions with Supporting OrganizationsThe supporting organizations must have the capacity to apply the results of the research and must be actively involved in all stages of the project.


•Benefits to Canada and Supporting Organizations The proposal must identify how the work will benefit the supporting organization(s) and must demonstrate that exploitation of the research results will benefit Canada within a 10-year time frame.

Signs of a Good Proposal

• All sections are clear and well described: − Clear summary, proposal easy to read− Roles well defined (HQP, applicants …)− Benefits to Canada clearly demonstrated− Guidelines followed and requirements addressed

• Strong partner(s): − Involvement from the start− Clear expectations (including IP)− Good communication− On-going interaction

Top Ten Tips

1. Start early!

2. Make the application comprehensible to people outside your field and position your project within the current literature/state of the art - Literature review should not be Task 1 of project!

3. Pay full attention to all aspects of the application, not just the research proposal (i.e. budget justification, in-kind contributions, relationship to other support).

4. Make sure the partner is going to benefit actively from the research and will not just be an end user.

5. Explain the fit to the target area clearly.

Top Ten Tips (continued)

6. Ensure that all partners and co-applicants are fully involved.

7. Understand how your proposal will be evaluated (all criteria are equally weighted!).

8. Tailor your Form 100 to the program you are applying to.

9. Explain both the applied and basic aspects of the project.

10. Have a peer review your proposal against the program evaluation criteria.

Resources

For questions relating to fit to target area, eligibility of partners or applicants or Program requirements, please

send your query to:

[email protected]

For questions/support regarding the on-line application process, please contact:

Helpdesk: (613) [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Questions?

NSERC Strategic NSERC Strategic Project GrantProject Grant

MINIATURIZED MICROELECTRONIC MINIATURIZED MICROELECTRONIC DEVICES DEVICES

FOR COST-EFFECTIVE POINT-OF-FOR COST-EFFECTIVE POINT-OF-CARE DIAGNOSTICSCARE DIAGNOSTICS

Shana Kelley, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy & Faculty of Medicine

The projectThe project Objective 1. Development of a multiplexed Objective 1. Development of a multiplexed

protein assay for ovarian cancer (12 months)protein assay for ovarian cancer (12 months)• Foundational workFoundational work

Objective 2. Development of a multiplexed Objective 2. Development of a multiplexed protein/RNA profiling system (24 months)protein/RNA profiling system (24 months)• Improvement on Objective 1 outcomeImprovement on Objective 1 outcome

Objective 3. Integration of microelectronic Objective 3. Integration of microelectronic chips with processing modules for validation chips with processing modules for validation of point-of-care capabiltiies (12 months)of point-of-care capabiltiies (12 months)• Engineering/systems integrationEngineering/systems integration

The partnersThe partners Kalgene PharmaceuticalsKalgene Pharmaceuticals

Ted Sargent (ECE)Ted Sargent (ECE)

Colleague feedback collected Colleague feedback collected on SPG grantson SPG grants

A strong partner is essential - need lots of lead time to ensure A strong partner is essential - need lots of lead time to ensure a a great letter and timely sign-offgreat letter and timely sign-off

Letter of support from partner is extensively scrutinizedLetter of support from partner is extensively scrutinized- Must be explicit about the exact nature of the - Must be explicit about the exact nature of the

contributionscontributions- ideally, should be tabulated, justified, quantitative- ideally, should be tabulated, justified, quantitative- In the case of a multinational company, it’s best if the - In the case of a multinational company, it’s best if the

letter comes from the Canadian office. letter comes from the Canadian office. - Must show that the company has been a partner in- Must show that the company has been a partner in

developing the proposal developing the proposal Pay attention to the requirements on Form 183A – number of Pay attention to the requirements on Form 183A – number of

employees, revenues, etc. that require sign-off by company employees, revenues, etc. that require sign-off by company representativerepresentative

Colleague feedback collected Colleague feedback collected on SPG grants (cont.)on SPG grants (cont.)

Important to prove fit with the priority areasImportant to prove fit with the priority areas Important to detail why project will lead to Important to detail why project will lead to

unique training opportunity for students unique training opportunity for students and PDFsand PDFs

> 70% of successful Strategic are multi-PI > 70% of successful Strategic are multi-PI from multiple departmentsfrom multiple departments

Budget: Budget: typical $150k/year for 3 yearstypical $150k/year for 3 years

Reviewer feedbackReviewer feedback

Reviews were very thorough and rigorous – Reviews were very thorough and rigorous – scientific novelty and applied impact were both scientific novelty and applied impact were both assessedassessed

Reviewers liked established track record of Reviewers liked established track record of team + partnerteam + partner

Training opportunity was viewed favorablyTraining opportunity was viewed favorably Preliminary results seemed essential – Preliminary results seemed essential –

reviewers liked that we were taking prior work reviewers liked that we were taking prior work in a new direction inspired byin a new direction inspired byinteraction with industrial partnerinteraction with industrial partner

Budget was analyzed thoroughlyBudget was analyzed thoroughly

NSERC

2011 Strategic Project Grants (SPG) competition:

Application Review and Tips

Mike FolinasResearch Funding ManagerUniversity of Toronto Research Services

Overhead Rates on Partner Cash Contribution:

• Grant overhead rate = 20% of direct costs

• Contract rate overhead = 40% of direct costs

How to Calculate Overhead• Overhead is normally calculated as a percentage of the total direct

costs of the partner budget. Add up all your budget items and multiply the total by the appropriate overhead rate

Example: Your total proposed budget: $9000 x 0.20 = $1800 overhead Total contribution from partner = $9000 + $1800 = $10,800

Overhead Rates on Partner Cash Contribution:

How to Calculate Overhead (cont.)

2. If your partner has proposed a maximum budget (e.g. $10,000):

Example: $10,000/1.20 = $8333 (the direct cost amount) $10,000 - $8333 = $1667 (the overhead amount)

NOTE: only the direct cost amount should be entered in Row One of Form 101, Page 6. The overhead amount should be entered in the last row.

Deadlines:

1. On or before Monday, March 28, 2011 – internal deadline for optional proposal review. Please send only the proposal to me via e-mail attachment (PDF). NOTE: there are no extensions to this deadline.

• Editorial Review

• Comprehensibility and flow of application

• Conformance to NSERC guidelines

Deadlines (cont):2. On or before Monday, April 4, 2011 – internal deadline for the

internal review & signature – applies to BOTH electronic & paper submissions (note your Department deadline may be earlier)

• Comprehensive administrative review to address any potential issues• Review Eligibility• Review Budget• Forms completed and all sections meet the page limits• Required signatures

3. On or before Friday, April 15, 2011 – deadline for applications to be received at NSERC

Documents Required - For both paper and electronic submission

Applicants

1. RIS Application Attachment signed by applicant and Principal/Chair/Dean/Director as applicable.

2. Signed original/PDF application forms (both 100 and 101). (Internal Deadline)

3. One photocopy/PDF of the signed NSERC application, including Form 100, to be kept on file at Research Services (Prior to submission)

Documents Required (cont)Co – Applicants

4. For Co-applicants (from another Canadian university on your application):

• Research Services requires a copy of Form 101, page 2 must be signed by each co-applicant & their institution (PDF copy is acceptable).

• One photocopy/PDF of the full NSERC application, including Form 100, to be kept on file at Research Services (Prior to submission)

Documents Required (cont)Co – Applicants

5. For Co-Applicants (on another institution’s application): • RIS form for co-applicant signed by the researcher and

Principal/Chair/Dean/Director as applicable.

• Copy of application for Research Services – Form 101, Pages 1, 2, 3, 5(budget) and budget justification pages.

• One photocopy/PDF of the full NSERC application, including Form 100, to be kept on file at Research Services (Prior to submission)

Tips1. Start early!!!

2. Get partners involved early on to help develop the project strategy

3. Get the signed support letter(s) and Form(s) 183A early

4. Clearly link your proposal to one of the Target areas

5. Multi-disciplinary research is advantageous, but not essential; all participants must have a defined role in the project!

Tips6. Follow the Instructions carefully

7. Make the proposal and Form 100 easy to read and digest; use colleagues in non-related disciplines to proofread and evaluate

8. Objective and work plan must be crystal clear

9. If this is a resubmission, pay careful attention to comments of reviewers. Address the issues and clearly state how the application has been changed!

10. Submit application in time for the internal deadline(s).

Final Advice1. Ensure that you review and use the evaluation criteria when

completing your application.

2. The "Project work plan" should be described clearly, do not assume the obvious steps in your technical areas. Ensure that you clearly describe the role of the supporting organization(s) in the work plan. Do not worry about any overlap in the description with the "Interactions with the supporting organizations" section.

Final Advice (cont)3. Ensure you clearly describe the “Quality of your Team”. Do

NOT assume that the Form 100 will be a substitute to cover this in the application. Including a separate section to demonstrate the strengths of the team, what is the international standing of each of the team members, etc.

4. “Training Plan” should be well defined and include graduate students. Only include PDF, Research Associate or technician in the budget if they are critical to the project. The number of students and the percentage budget of HQP training will be two important things in the evaluation criterion.

Final Advice (cont)5. Demonstrating the industrial relevance is imperative in the

"Interactions with the supporting organizations" section.

6. If applicable, consider applying for the CRD Program.

Good Luck!

Questions

Mike Folinas, Research Funding [email protected]

Angie Agulto, Research Funding [email protected]

Jenny Korolik, Research Funding [email protected]




NSERC Strategic Project Grants (SPG) Program February 10, 2011.

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Transcript of NSERC Strategic Project Grants (SPG) Program February 10, 2011.