College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) grants

Instructions for completing an application

Table of contents

• General information
• Create your application
• Complete your application
• Submit your application to your research grant officer

General information

About the grants

Read the grants description before you complete the application.

Who completes the application?

College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) grants are institutional grants; the host college is identified as the grant recipient. The applicant prepares and submits the application and is responsible for administering the grant on behalf of the college and alongside the college's research administration.

The applicant must hold a remunerated position at an eligible Canadian college and is responsible for creating and completing the application in the Convergence Portal. The applicant must complete the My information section by entering CV details and uploading the CCI CV contributions document.

For CCSIF grants, a principal investigator responsible for the intellectual direction of the research and related activities should be identified in the research proposal. The principal investigator must be affiliated with the host institution (the college) when they apply and must be qualified to undertake research independently. The principal investigator may be listed as the applicant or a co-applicant. Only one principal investigator can be formally identified for a CCSIF grant application. This designation should be described in the Team expertise section of the proposal.

A maximum of five applications can be submitted per college to each competition in any of the research areas covered by the Tri-agency, but a different principal investigator should lead each proposal.

Co-applicants are members of the research team who play a significant role in the overall intellectual direction or in the conduct of the research and related activities. Co-applicants must have a remunerated position at, or be affiliated with, an eligible Canadian college or university. They are typically faculty or professional/technical staff affiliated with the college or another participating post-secondary institution. The applicant invites the co-applicant(s) to access the application via Convergence, and those invited will receive an email asking them to accept the invitation. Upon accepting, the co-applicant(s) will be redirected to Convergence to log in (or create an account), to determine their eligibility and complete their My information section. Co-applicants must provide a CV contributions document (or the equivalent for university researchers if applicable).

Contributors (optional) are individuals designated by the applicant to help complete and edit applications but do not participate in the research activities. The applicant invites the contributor(s) to access the application via Convergence. Invited contributors will receive an email asking them to accept the invitation. Upon accepting, contributors will be redirected to Convergence to log in (or create an account). A contributor's information is not needed in the application.

Partners may be Canadian organizations from the public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors that are not from the college or university environment. The applicant invites an authorized contact for each partner organization via Convergence to complete the Partner contact information, Partner organization information, Partner contributions and Supporting documents sections of the application. Key individuals from partner organizations who will contribute to the overall intellectual direction of the research project can be part of the research team as collaborators; however, they must use their organization's resources to participate as collaborators do not have access to grant funds. Consult the Instructions for partner organizations on how to complete the partner modules in Convergence for more information.

The College and Community Innovation program partnership guidelines provide more information on the roles and responsibilities of partner organizations.

Collaborators (optional) are members of the research team (e.g., individual[s] typically from the partner organization[s]) who will contribute to the overall intellectual direction of the research project and/or play a key role in the conduct of the research and related activities. Collaborators do not have access to the grant funds and do not play a role in the financial aspects of the grant. Collaborators must bring their organization's resources to the project.

The authorized contacts from each partner organization may upload CVs or biographical sketches (maximum two pages each) of key staff who will collaborate in the project.

Individuals from not-for-profit organizations requesting research salary allowance must include their CV.

Who approves and submits the application?

The research grants officer is the authorized institutional contact who confirms that the college will take responsibility for administering the grant funds should the application be awarded funding. Other terms may refer to the research grants officer, including RGO, authorized representative, and institutional representative. This role is called Research Administrator in Convergence, and they approve and submit the grant application on behalf of the college.

Whom should I contact for help?

• For program-related information, contact ccsif-fiscc@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.
• For matters related to the Convergence Portal, email websupport@convergence.gc.ca or call 613-995-4273.

Collection and use of personal information

The information you provide in your application is collected under the authority of the  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Act and stored in a series of NSERC data banks described in  Information about programs and information holdings. Details on the use and disclosure of this information are described on the Use and disclosure of personal information provided to NSERC page, in the NSERC program literature and below. The information is used in accordance with the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Application deadline

Your application must be received at NSERC before 8:00 pm (ET) on March 1. If the deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the application must reach NSERC before 8:00 pm (ET) the following working day.

You cannot edit your application once it has been submitted. You may not send material or updates separately before or after the deadline.

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Create your application

As the applicant, you must complete and submit your application using the  Convergence Portal. Convergence is only supported on the latest versions of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari and Mozilla Firefox.

Follow the instructions provided in Convergence to complete your application. Details on the information needed to complete an application are outlined below.

As the applicant, you must complete all sections of the full application and submit it via your institution's research grants officer. Co-applicants must complete their own My information sections in Convergence before you can submit the application. Co-applicants will be able to see all sections of the application but cannot edit it. The authorized contacts from each partner organization must also complete the required partner sections.

You are responsible for submitting a complete application that conforms to presentation and attachment standards. You must verify the page lengths and formatting of any attachments uploaded to the application. Incomplete applications and those that do not meet presentation standards may be rejected or be at a disadvantage compared to those that are complete and respect the presentation standards. Where page limits are stated, pages above the number permitted will not be considered. If a submitted application contains one or more attachments that do not comply with the page length or formatting standard, the application may be withdrawn from the competition.

Steps

• Sign in to the  Convergence Portal.
• Select Funding Opportunities.
• Select College and Community Social Innovation Fund and then Create Application.
• Complete eligibility profile steps 1 to 5 detailed below and agree to the application terms and conditions.

Enrolment

The applicant and co-applicant(s) will be required to complete enrolment steps when creating (applicant) or accepting an invitation to participate in (co-applicant[s]) an application.

If you have previously completed the enrolment steps in Convergence, some fields will be pre-populated (already filled out).

You must complete the following steps; at this point, you can update any information that may have been previously provided.

• Step 1 - Participant eligibility: Confirm the eligibility of your position.
• Step 2 - Affiliations: List your current affiliations and identify your primary affiliation. Applicant: Select the organization that will administer the grant.
• Step 3 - Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI): Completing the self-identification form is mandatory; however, you may select "Prefer not to answer" for any or all questions; see the self-identification information section below for more information.
• Step 4 - Fields of research: List your research fields and indicate at least one as a primary area of research. These do not need to be directly related to the application.
• Step 5 - Keywords: Provide a minimum of five keywords that best describe your research areas. They do not need to be directly related to a specific application and will not be used for evaluation purposes.
• Terms and conditions: Accept the terms and conditions to access the application.

Self-identification information

The applicant and co-applicant(s)must complete the self-identification form to apply for NSERC funding; however, you may select "Prefer not to answer" for any or all questions. NSERC appreciates your participation, which supports the granting agencies in monitoring the equity of their programs and strengthens equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the research enterprise.

Self-identification information is collected as part of your profile when you enrol in the  Convergence Portal. It is not part of your application and is not accessible to, or shared with, external reviewers and/or selection committee members.

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Complete your application

Select View application from the Applications tab to access the application.

My information

The applicant and co-applicant(s) must complete the My information section of the application.

After completing the enrolment steps, you will be redirected to the home screen. In the Applications tab, select the application you created (applicant) or that you have been invited to contribute to (co-applicant[s]) from the Actions menu. Once the application is open, complete the My information section, including the CV affiliation and employment, and CV documents sub-sections.

Once these sub-sections are completed, the applicant must finalize the information, as described in the instructions below. Once finalized, the information cannot be edited.

CV affiliation and employment

You must provide at least one employment experience that is an academic, research, professional or industrial position you have held.

If you are completing your My information section for the first time in the Convergence Portal, add past and current affiliations by selecting Add New Affiliation. If you previously completed your profile, you may add previously completed affiliations information in the portal by selecting Add Existing Affiliation.

CV documents (PDF attachments)

You must attach the CV contributions document (or the equivalent for university researchers if applicable) to this sub-section. This free-form text document is limited to five pages, which should be used to list relevant experience and contributions to applied research and innovation in natural sciences, health and social sciences, including contributions to training. Ensure your name appears outside the set margins of the page, at the top right corner of each page.

Shared information section

The applicant or contributor(s) must complete the Shared information section of the application.

Application details

Provide the title and language of the application. The main body of your application should be written in either official language, English or French, rather than in a mix of both.

Research involving Indigenous Peoples and communities

Before completing this section, please read the CCI guide for research involving Indigenous Peoples and communities. If your project involves Indigenous Peoples or communities, you must also:

• answer "Yes" to the application question "Does the proposed research involve Indigenous Peoples or communities?";
• demonstrate in the research proposal how you will integrate the relevant principles and protocols for conducting respectful research with Indigenous Peoples and communities into each stage of the research process;
• include evidence of support (e.g., letters of support or an equivalent document) from the Indigenous communities that may be affected by the project or have rights or a stake in the proposed research, confirming that the project is a research need or priority for these communities.

Supplements or joint initiatives

Complete this section only if you are requesting a Mitacs Accelerate internship and/or Canada Council for the Arts partner funding as part of your CCSIF application. Select Mitacs and/or Canada Council for the Arts in the Actions column if applicable.

By submitting an application to a joint funding opportunity, you consent to the sharing (among any co-funding organizations) of information contained in the application, including personal information or information in any way related to the grant, which may include progress reports required as a condition of award. You must also confirm that you have obtained the consent of any individuals whose personal information is contained in such documents to share this information in the same manner.

You may be required to submit additional information. See the Additional information for joint initiatives section for additional guidance about each joint initiative.

Invitations

Click Invite Participant to invite co-applicants, contributors and/or partner organizations to complete their sections in the application. Collaborators are not invited, as they are listed in the Collaborators section.

Participants

This section lists all co-applicants, contributors and partner organizations who have accepted your invitation and accessed the Convergence Portal. If an individual has not accepted your invitation, follow up with them to confirm they have received it.

If an invited co-applicant has a status of Pending Eligibility, they have accepted your invitation but have not completed their enrolment (steps 1 to 5 and agreeing to the terms and conditions of applying) to access the application.

If an invited co-applicant has a status of Information not finalized, verify that they have completed the My information section (i.e., CV affiliation and employment, and CV documents) by selecting View Information.

If an invited partner has a status of Information not finalized, verify that they have completed the My information section (i.e., Partner contact information, Partner organization information, Partner contributions and Supporting documents) by selecting View Information.

Once all participants (applicant, co-applicant[s], and partner[s]) have completed their respective sections, the applicant must finalize each record by selecting Finalize information from the Actions menu, which changes the status to Complete.

• Partner organizations
  Refer your partners to the CCI partner organization instructions for completing the partner module in Convergence the  Partner module instruction video (note: the partner module has been updated since this video was created; although the instructions remain valid, there may be some small differences).
  
  
• Collaborators
  If applicable, list the research team members not affiliated with the college who bring their own resources to the project. These collaborators are expected to contribute to the overall intellectual direction of the research project. Their CVs or biographical sketches (up to two pages each) may be attached as a PDF file under CV collaborators in the Supporting documents section. For collaborators from partner organizations, the CVs or biographical sketches may be attached by the authorized contact from the partner organization when completing their portion of the application. Individuals from a not-for-profit organization requesting research salary allowance must include their CV.

Socioeconomic objectives

Provide at least one primary  socioeconomic objective relevant to the application . You may list up to three socioeconomic objectives in total. Note: Socioeconomic objectives were previously called "areas of application."

Fields of research

List at least one primary  field of research that best describes this specific application. You may list up to five fields of research in total.

Keywords

List at least five keywords that best describe this specific application. You may list up to ten keywords in total.

Summary of proposal

The summary intends to explain the proposal in language the public can understand. Using simple terms, briefly describe the nature of the research and activities, the overall goal, and the proposal's objectives. Indicate why the project is important and how the anticipated outcomes will address research challenges, leading to innovative solutions addressing a Canadian community need. If your proposal is funded, this plain-language summary will be available to the public.

The maximum character count is 2,500.

Reviewer exclusions (optional)

You may request that certain reviewers be excluded from reviewing your application. Note that this request may be accessible to these reviewers under Canada's laws providing access to information and protecting privacy. If you wish to exclude an institution or organization, contact ccsif-fiscc@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

Certification, licenses and permits

Answer the questions in this section, ensuring that your responses are relevant to this research project. Depending on your answers in this section, you may be asked to submit an Impact assessment form in the Supporting documents section. For more information on certification requirements, please consult the Requirements for Certain Types of Research web page.

Proposed budget

Before completing this section, consult the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration and the Specific rules for the use of grant funds for information about the eligibility of expenditures and the regulations governing the use of grant funds.

Enter the yearly amounts requested. You must complete and provide a detailed budget table in the Supporting documents section. Ensure the amount requested from NSERC calculated in the budget table matches the yearly amounts entered in this section. In case of discrepancy, the budget version entered in the Convergence portal will supersede the budget table in the Supporting documents section.

Use the Budget justification sub-section under Supporting documents (details below) to explain and justify each budget item.

It is important to note that there should be only one budget, regardless of the number of institutions participating in the project. The applicant is responsible for justifying the proposed expenditures and allocation to each institution. Once the grant is awarded, the administering organization can transfer the funds to the other co-funded institutions (see the Transfer of funds section of the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration for additional guidance).

Supporting documents

Prepare your attachments following the details below.

Important notes:

• Any acronyms and abbreviations must be explained.
• Pages must be letter size at 8 ½ x 11 inches (216 mm x 279 mm).
• Text must be single-spaced, with no more than six lines of type per inch.
• All text must be in black, using 11 pt Arial font; condensed fonts will not be accepted.
• Margins must be set at a minimum of ¾ inches (1.87 cm).
• In multi-page attachments, pages must be numbered sequentially.
• The applicant's name must appear outside the set margins of the page, at the top right corner of every impact assessment page (if applicable), research proposal (including references), and budget justification.
• The document's name must appear at the top (e.g., Proposal, Budget justification).

Convert the documents to PDF

All attachments must be converted to portable document format (PDF) before they can be attached to the application. The conversion process varies with your operating system and word processing or spreadsheet software. Contact your institution's technical support staff if you have questions about converting your documents to PDF.

If you do not have a PDF conversion program, you may download a free version of  PrimoPDF. Macintosh users have a PDF conversion option in the Macintosh system print function.

The following supporting documents must be attached to the application. The File column in the Supporting documents section of Convergence indicates which documents are required.

Impact assessment (Appendix A)

If applicable, download a copy of the Impact assessment form (Appendix A), complete it and upload it to the Supporting documents section of your application. For more information, consult NSERC's Guidelines on Impact Assessment.

Research proposal

Your proposal will be evaluated according to the CCSIF evaluation criteria. Start by briefly introducing the proposal; present the overall context of the project and describe the importance of the research topic, the anticipated outcomes, and their expected benefits (e.g., to the community, partner(s), college, research discipline, etc.). Next, use the evaluation criteria as section titles for the main body of the proposal and describe the proposed research in enough detail to allow reviewers to make an informed assessment. Write the proposal in clear, plain language. Avoid jargon, acronyms and highly technical terms. Where relevant, include project milestones or a work plan. Finish with a reference section; use the reference section to provide a list of the most relevant literature references. Do not refer readers to websites for additional information on your proposal. Do not introduce hyperlinks in the list of references.

The proposal must address all criteria and sub-criteria to be considered for funding within a maximum of ten pages (including references).

Budget table

Download a copy of the budget template and enter the planned expenditures for each category for each year of the project. Note: Overhead and administration costs equivalent to 20% of the annual grant amount are automatically calculated within the template.

Do not alter the template (font type and size, margins or line spacing); the budget table must fit on a letter-size page (portrait orientation).

Save the completed budget table in portable document format (PDF) and upload it to the Supporting documents section under Budget table supporting file.

Budget justification

In a maximum of three pages, provide a detailed explanation and justification for each budget item identified in the budget table. Provide sufficient information for reviewers to assess whether the resources requested are appropriate and easily understand the requested items, including contributions from partners, institutions or other funders. There should be a clear link between the requested funds' description and the items and numbers entered on the budget table. These pages should only contain information pertinent to the budget.

• Salaries and benefits
  Give the names (if known), categories of employment and proposed salaries (with explicit indication of non-discretionary benefits) for the principal investigator, research team members and students. Briefly describe the responsibilities for each position and indicate how much time they will spend on this project over its lifespan.
  
  NSERC recognizes that some not-for-profit organizations face financial difficulty in replacing staff so that a team member can participate in a CCSIF-funded research project. To help address this, a salary research allowance can be requested for a Canadian not-for-profit organization with an employee listed as a collaborator on the application. Salary research allowances cover up to 50% of the cost of temporarily replacing an employee from a not-for-profit organization who will devote their time as a collaborator on a CCSIF-funded research project. Applicants can request up to 50% of the person's annual salary (including employee benefits) to be replaced for each year of the award. Individuals from not-for-profit organizations requesting research salary allowance must be listed as a collaborator and include their CV. Arts organizations, groups or collectives receiving Canada Council funds through the CCSIF/Canada Council for the Arts joint funding opportunity are not eligible to receive salary research allowance through CCSIF but may include salary costs of up to 100% in the Canada Council for the Arts budget form.
  
  
• Operating and equipment costs
  Provide details on the required equipment, materials and/or supplies, such as a breakdown of the items requested, including details on models, manufacturers, prices and applicable taxes. Justify the need for each item requested. Fees for using equipment or a facility (e.g., hours and rate) should be described.
  
  The operating and equipment budget section must also include consulting, professional, and technical services.
  
  Equipment, operating costs, supplies, consulting fees, and professional and technical services may not exceed 20% of the total project costs.
  
  
• Research and technology transfer support services
  Provide details on and explain major items for research and technology transfer support services. Eligible expenses are limited to costs attributable to specific activities for the project.
  
  
• Knowledge dissemination and networking
  Provide details on travel, training workshops and other major items related to knowledge dissemination and networking. Eligible expenses are limited to costs attributable to specific activities for the project. All travel and travel-related subsistence expenditures (meals and accommodation) must be claimed per the administering institution's relevant policies and processes. Such expenditures, including reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, can be claimed for the grant recipient and others contributing to the funded research/activities. For claimants other than the grant recipient, the affiliation with the funded research/activities must be specified. The cost of alcoholic beverages cannot be reimbursed from agency grant funds.
  
  

• Overhead and administration
  Overhead and administration costs equivalent to 20% of the annual grant amount are automatically calculated in the budget table. To understand how the overhead amount is calculated, see the CCSIF frequently asked questions.
  
  Provide general information on the overhead and administration costs attributable to the grant.

CV - collaborators

For collaborators not from partner organizations, you may attach a biographical sketch or CV for people whose expertise is essential to meet the proposed research objectives. In a maximum of two pages for each collaborator, provide the individual's name, employment/affiliations, relevant education/training, research funding (if applicable) received and up to five significant contributions related to the project. Alternatively, a two-page CV may be provided for each collaborator. For Indigenous collaborators (e.g., Elders, Knowledge Keepers or Knowledge Holders), biographical sketches may include information about these individuals' life/knowledge journeys, community engagement, and planned participation in the proposed research. The contributions of Elders, Knowledge Keepers or Knowledge Holders to the project may include providing access to community networks, ethical guidance to researchers and advice in interpreting findings.

All collaborator biographical sketches or CVs included in this section must be saved as a single PDF document and uploaded to the Supporting documents section.

Additional information for joint initiatives

Mitacs-NSERC supporting file

Applicants requesting a joint Mitacs-NSERC Accelerate internship must upload the Mitacs-NSERC joint application form as a PDF attachment in the Supporting documents section under the Mitacs-NSERC supporting file. Contact your local  Mitacs Business Development representative to obtain the Mitacs-NSERC joint application form. Pages must be letter size at 8 ½ x 11 inches (216 mm x 279 mm).

Additionally, the following information must also be included in certain sections of your application:

• Research proposal: In the Training section of your research proposal, clearly describe the role of the Mitacs intern(s) in the research project, identify unique objectives for each intern, and explain the quality of the research-based training experiences provided. Describe how the internship partnership organization is committed to providing supervision and mentorship to the intern(s). Explain how the number of Mitacs intern(s) and internship units are appropriate to the project's scope.
• Budget justification: Clearly describe the total cash contributions made by the partner organization to support the Mitacs internship(s).
• Contributions (to be completed by the partner): In the partner contributions table, the partner must enter the annual cash contributions to the Mitacs internship(s). The amounts should match the amounts listed on the Mitacs-NSERC joint application form.

Canada Council for the Arts supporting file

For applicants requesting additional funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, you must upload the completed Canada Council budget form as a PDF attachment in the Supporting documents section under the Canada Council joint application form. Pages must be letter size (8 ½ x 11 inches).

Other documents

No other documents are required for the CCSIF application. However, this section may be used to attach material from partner organizations (e.g., support letters, biographical sketches or CVs from collaborators) if partner organizations encounter significant challenges in accessing and completing their relevant sections in Convergence. The applicant should inform NSERC immediately if such an issue occurs. The applicant should collect all relevant documents, such as the letter of support, Collaborator CV (if applicable), Supplemental information (as applicable) and Partner organization profile (optional). They should save this material as a single PDF document and upload it. Please ensure documents respect the maximum page limits identified in the CCI partner organization instructions for completing the partner module in Convergence. Upon review of the technical issues, NSERC may require that the partner organization complete an offline version of the partner module.

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Submit your application to your research grants officer

Review your application to ensure that it is complete.

Follow the prompts from the Finalize and Submit section to submit your application to your research grants officer for final approval and submission.

After you accept the terms and conditions, the status of your submission will change to Received by Administrator. If you want to make any changes, you may request that your research grants officer return the application to you.

Once your research grants officer has approved the application, they will submit it to NSERC. The application status will then change to Received by Agency, and no further changes can be made.

Submitting the application as the research grants officer

When you, as the research grants officer, receive an application submitted by an applicant at your institution, you will be asked to approve and submit the application. By submitting, you confirm and certify that:

• the applicant and participants meet the eligibility requirements
• the applicant has the necessary time and resources to carry out the activities
• the proposed research project meets the funding opportunity's requirements
• the college will meet its obligations and responsibilities, including its compliance with the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions, the Tri-agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2021) and the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration (TAGFA)
• you will contact NSERC (email colleges@nserc-crsng.gc.ca or ccsif-fiscc@nserc-crsng.gc.ca) if there are any changes during the tenure of the grant, including changes to the composition of the research team (applicants and co-applicants), partnership or collaborators