Whats new at NSERC? Lise Dsabrais Program Officer, Engineering - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

What’s new at NSERC? Lise Désabrais Program Officer, Engineering Research Grants and Scholarships June 5, 2012

Impact of Federal Budget 2012 on NSERC  Investment of $15M per year for our Strategy on Partnerships and Innovation  Discovery, Scholarships and Innovation programs fully protected – “programming in support of basic research, student scholarships, and industry-related research initiatives and collaborations are preserved. 3

Budget 2012: Investment in the Granting Councils p.74

Budget 2012: Planned Reductions in Departmental Spending “The granting councils will be pursuing operational efficiencies and reallocation of funding from lower-priority programs to generate savings. The Government will fully reinvest 2012 – 13 savings in priority areas of the granting councils, particularly in industry-academic partnerships . ” (p. 73) Planned Savings — millions of dollars 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Ongoing Natural Sciences and Engineering Research 15.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 Council of Canada

NSERC Expenditures, 2010-11 Discovery $396M - 36.7% Innovation $329M - 30.4% Administration People $51M - 4.7% $304M - 28.2% Total: $1.079 Billion

Impact to Discovery Suite of Programs  Major Resources Program – Program will no longer be accepting new applications at this time. – Commitments for existing instalments will be honoured. – Program is currently under moratorium.

Impact to Discovery Suite of Programs  Research Tools & Instruments – There will be one final competition in 2013 at a reduced funding level as compared to previous competitions. – Commitments for existing RTI Grants will be honoured. – The research community is encouraged to explore other avenues for funding research tools and instruments, including NSERC’s many programs that allow for the purchase of equipment, among other expenses. – Additionally, requests for smaller scale equipment can be incorporated into larger scale funding requests to the Canada Foundation for Innovation, where appropriate.

Networks of Centres of Excellence programs Business-Led NCE (4 Active Networks) – Permanent (Budget 2012), with $12M / year budget. Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (22 Active Centres) – Ongoing budget remains $30M / year. – Ongoing portfolio estimate: 10 centres at $3M / centre / year Networks of Centres of Excellence (13 Active Networks) – Annual budget reduced 28%, from $74.5M to $53.36M / year – Reductions are not spread evenly across the agencies

New Initiatives G8 Research Councils Initiative on Multilateral Research Funding and Belmont Forum – International Opportunities Fund  NSERC will offer up to 1.5 million euros over three years for the Fresh Water Security theme and will be supporting researchers in the natural sciences and engineering only.  Canadian researchers interested in the Coastal Vulnerability theme can participate as collaborators but must use their existing research funds.  Consortiums must consist of partners from at least three participating countries, bring together natural and social scientists and demonstrate clear links to research users including policy makers, industry, non-governmental organizations, communities and others.

New Initiatives (cont’d) Climate Change and Atmospheric Research initiative  Recently launched.  Will provide $35 million over five years to a small number of large, collaborative proposals ($500,000 – $1 million).  Letters of Intent are due May 17. Refer to www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/ NewsRelease-CommuniqueDePresse_eng.asp? ID=344 11

Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE) Program To increase the participation of women in science and engineering, and to provide role models for women active in, and considering, careers in these fields. There are 5 Regional Chairs: British Columbia/Yukon: Elizabeth Croft - (U of British Columbia) Prairies: Annemieke Farenhorst - (U of Manitoba) Ontario: Catherine Mavriplis - (U of Ottawa) Québec: Nadia Ghazzali - (Université Laval) Atlantic: Tamara Franz-Odendaal - (Mount Saint Vincent)

Coming Later this Year  The second Discovery Frontier process is underway. It will provide $4 million over four years to ONE large, collaborative initiative. The theme for the call is still to be determined.  CCA report due at NSERC summer 2012  Review of the Discovery Grants Program 13

Discovery Grants 2012 Competition Results and Statistics

2012 DG Competition – preliminary data Number of applications Evaluation Group Discovery Grants Research Tools and Instruments 2011 2012 2011 2012 1509- Civil, Industrial and Systems Engineering 304 258 98 90 1510- Electrical and Computer Engineering 269 291 116 103 1511-Materials and Chemical Engineering 187 193 173 164 1512-Mechanical Engineering 223 219 150 142 Total applications in all Evaluation groups, including Engineering 3482 3513 1592 1541 15

Discovery Grants Overall Results – 2012 Competition Success Average 1 Data rate (%) Grant Early Career researchers (ECR) 62 $26,740 Established Researchers (ER) applicants who held a grant (ER-R) 78 $33,354 2 (ER-NHG) applicants not holding a grant 36 $26,964 1. Includes Discovery and Subatomic Physics (Individual and Team) grants. 2. Includes returning established unfunded applicants and experienced researchers submitting a first applications

2012 Consolidated Engineering Discovery Grants Results All Engineering Early Career Established Researchers Evaluation Groups Researchers Renewals Others Success Rate 64.83% 78.99% 33.57% Average Grant $24,084 $28,817 $21,432 $ Awarded $ 2,263,920 $ 12,132,000 $2,036,000 17

2011/2012 Mechanical Engineering Discovery Grants Competition Results Established Other Established Early-Career Researchers Discovery Researchers Researchers Renewals Grants 2012 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011 Number of Applications 130 118 67 64 26 37 Number of Awards 89 87 18 28 15 18 Success Rate 68% 74% 27% 44% 58% 49% Average Grant $30,876 $28,230 $24,556 $21,357 $24,600 $25,944 Total Budget $2,748,000 $2,456,000 $442,000 $598,000 $369,000 $467,000 18

Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) 2012 Competition Results Number of Applications 1,538 Total amount requested $125.2M Engineering Applications 499 $ awarded Engineering $8.6M Funding rate 19.9% 19

2011/2012 Mechanical Engineering Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) Grants Competition Results Early-Career Researchers All Other Applicants Discovery Grants 2012 2012 2011 2011 Number of Applications 13 11 138 131 Number of 3 3 31 25 Awards Funding Rate 26% 27% 23% 19% Total Budget $241,995 $280,229 $2,623,392 $2,020,790 20

2012 Summary of Recommended Grant Amounts and Distribution of Applications in the Mechanical Engineering Evaluation Group 21

Discovery Accelerator Supplements  125 Discovery Accelerator Supplements in 2012; 75 in targeted areas and 50 in non-targeted areas  Provide substantial and timely additional resources to accelerate progress and maximize the impact of highly original and innovative research programs.  Recipients must meet the objectives of the supplement program; – Explore high risk transformational concepts – Great potential for major breakthroughs 9 DAS awardees from EG 1512; 6 in targeted areas and 3 in non-targeted areas

Applying to the Discovery Grants Program

Eligibility to Apply To be eligible, you must :  hold, or have a firm offer of, an academic appointment at a Canadian institution (minimum three-year term position) as of November 1, 2012;  be in a position that requires independent research and allows supervision of highly qualified personnel (HQP); and  spend a minimum of six months per year at an eligible Canadian institution (if holding a position outside Canada). Requirements can be found on NSERC’s Web site . 24

Eligibility of Subject Matter  Discovery Grants support: – research programs in the natural sciences and engineering (NSE); and – interdisciplinary research that is predominantly in the NSE Significance, impact, advancement of knowledge or practical applications in NSE.  The following eligibility guidelines can be found on NSERC’s Web site: – Selecting the Appropriate Federal Granting Agency – Preparation and Review of Applications in Interdisciplinary Research  Consult NSERC or your research grants office (RGO). Applications deemed more appropriate for another agency will be rejected. This can happen at any time during the competition cycle (F180 onward). 25

The Conference Model  The 28 former Grant Selection Committees (GSCs) were replaced by 12 EGs in 2010.  Similar to a scientific conference, several sessions occur in parallel streams.  Members are assigned to various sections on the basis of the match between members’ expertise and the subject matter. – Members may participate in reviews in several EGs.  Flexibility allows applications at the interface between EGs to be reviewed by a combination of members with pertinent expertise from relevant groups. 26