NSERC: 2024 Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program

Eligibility

As a university or college faculty in an applicant or co-applicant role, you must comply with the eligibility requirements listed below at the time of application and during the tenure of the grant. Certain funding opportunities may outline additional requirements to align with specific objectives.

Appointment and faculty position

1. You must hold or have a firm offer of an academic appointment at an eligible post-secondary institution. The appointment can be:

1.1. For university faculty

1. a tenured, tenure-track or professor emeritus position, or
2. a term or contract position of no less than three continuous years

1.2. For college faculty

1. a permanent position, or
2. a term or contract position of no less than three continuous years

When your primary position is outside of Canada, you are only eligible if you work full-time in an eligible Canadian post-secondary institution. A part-time position is not eligible when your primary position is outside of Canada.

Research and student supervision

2. Your position at the eligible post-secondary institution must:

2.1. For university faculty

1. require you to engage in natural sciences and engineering research that is not under the direction of another individual, and
2. permit you to supervise or co-supervise the research* of postdoctoral fellows or students registered in an undergraduate or graduate degree program

* E.g., thesis supervision, and not supervision of regular course or laboratory assignments.

2.2. For college faculty

1. permit you to engage in research-related activities that are not under the direction of another individual

Sources of salary/support

3. Your faculty appointment must not be conditional on obtaining NSERC grants or other non-NSERC sources of support, including salary support.

4. Your salary must not be paid by NSERC, SSHRC, or CIHR grant funds. Exceptions include: scientific directors of Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) and those under the agencies’ salary support programs.

Note on adjunct professors

As an adjunct professor, you must meet the above NSERC’s eligibility requirements. Your primary place of employment will determine your level of access to apply for or hold funds. If your primary place of employment is:

• at an eligible Canadian university, you may apply as applicant or co-applicant to NSERC grants funding opportunities.
• outside the Canadian university sector (e.g., government, industry or colleges), you may apply for a Discovery Grant as principal applicant and to other NSERC grants as co-applicants. In this case, NSERC grants funds only for the direct support of students (salaries or stipends and student travel costs); all other costs must be covered through other sources of funding.
  • If you are employed by the federal government, eligibility and funding of your proposed research are subject to the Tri-agency policy on the use of funds for federal government employees applying to granting agency programs.

Summary

The CREATE program is designed to improve the training and mentoring environment for the Canadian researchers of tomorrow by improving training in areas such as professional skills, communication and collaboration, as well as by providing mentoring and experience relevant to both academic and non-academic research environments. Initiatives do not necessarily have to involve development of new professional skills training courses but can take advantage of existing training (offered at the university, provincially or by other organizations such as Mitacs). The CREATE program promotes and furthers the development of new researchers within the NSE disciplines, or at the interdisciplinary frontier between the NSE and the areas covered under the umbrella of the two other federal granting agencies—the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)—if, by combining the strengths of the various disciplines, a greater impact is achieved for the trainees. Where appropriate, proposed initiatives could also encourage interaction with the users of research and future employers of the trainees, or contribute to providing additional opportunities for students to participate in exchanges at the national or international level. The training initiative should be focused on providing a value-added experience to the university training environment to better prepare research trainees for their future careers in industry, government or academia.

Objectives

The Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program supports the training and mentoring of teams of highly qualified students and postdoctoral fellows from Canada and abroad through the development of innovative training programs that:

• encourage collaborative and integrative approaches, and address significant scientific challenges associated with Canada’s research priorities
• facilitate the transition of new researchers from trainees to productive employees in the Canadian workforce