Effective October 29, 2020, the following changes will take effect:
CCI/Mitacs joint funding opportunity
NSERC and Mitacs have developed a joint application submission and review process for colleges seeking support for community innovation projects from both the College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) and Mitacs Accelerate. Applicants are invited to include a request for additional support through Mitacs Accelerate internships as a component of the training of highly qualified personnel (HQP) in their CCSIF application, if relevant. Please read the program description below for more information.
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Value | Up to $120,000 per year |
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Duration | One to three years
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Application deadline | February 1, 2021
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How to apply | See below |
Application forms |
To view instructions, select PDF Forms and Instructions. To create or access online applications, select online system login. |
For more information | Contact NSERC at ccsif-fiscc@nserc-crsng.gc.ca. |
The College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) is managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), in collaboration with the Social Sciences Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). CCSIF proposals can be multidisciplinary and may fall under the research domains of the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and/or health sciences. Applications exclusively in the social sciences and humanities, in health sciences, or in the natural sciences and engineering, will be funded by SSHRC, CIHR, or NSERC, as appropriate. Multidisciplinary grants containing a natural sciences and engineering research component will be funded by NSERC. All applications must be submitted to NSERC.
CCSIF grants are intended to foster community innovation by connecting the talent, facilities and capabilities of Canada’s colleges and polytechnics with the research needs of local community organizations. CCSIF proposals should facilitate collaborative and innovative research that brings together researchers, students and partners to address challenges in community innovation in the social sciences, humanities, health sciences, natural sciences and engineering research fields.
The CCSIF program enables colleges to increase their capacity to work with communities, with the goal of developing partnerships that foster community innovation in areas such as the integration of vulnerable populations, community development, education and training, climate change, environmental degradation, as well as health and well-being.
Canada’s colleges and polytechnics are well equipped to contribute to community innovation initiatives by tapping into the knowledge, experience, facilities and community connections available through their departments and programs.
CCSIF grants support well-defined and focused community innovation projects undertaken by college researchers with their partners from the public, private or not-for-profit sectors. Direct project costs are shared by the partner(s) and the funding agency. Projects may range from one to three years in duration.
Community innovation refers to the development of new ideas or the use of existing ideas to find solutions to community challenges. Community innovation involves an initiative, product, process or program that creates positive social and/or health outcomes for societies. It can result in more effective, fairer and more durable solutions to complex social problems. It aims to produce benefits for the community, not only for some individuals. It increases the ability of communities to act collectively and promotes solutions to accelerate technological innovation.
All proposals require evidence of
CCSIF grants are institutional grants. Consequently, the applicant is expected to be a senior manager in the administration of the college. In addition, the college must identify a project director responsible for the intellectual direction of the research and research-related activities. The project director must be affiliated with the host institution (the college) at the time of the application and must be qualified to undertake the research independently.
Colleges can submit a maximum of five applications in each competition.
Achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding, and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-agency statement on equity, diversity and inclusion.
Applicants are encouraged to consider sex, gender and diversity in the project’s research design. Diversity and gender equity should also be considered when developing the research team and considering how to promote and support a variety of forms of mentoring to ensure trainees’ equitable participation and growth. Applicants should refer to the Guide for applicants: Considering equity, diversity and inclusion in your application for more information.
Partner organization(s) may be Canadian organizations from the public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors. Individuals from partner organizations can be part of the research team as collaborators for a CCSIF proposal and must bring their organization’s resources to the project.
Partner organization(s) are expected to participate actively in the project and contribute in a meaningful way to its success. Partner organization(s) must provide contributions (cash and/or in-kind) directly related and relevant to supporting the activities of the project.
It is expected that the partner organizations will have the capability and willingness to implement and exploit the results of the research to the benefit of the college’s local community and/or Canadian society.
Canadian colleges that have been declared eligible to administer grants according to the eligibility requirements for colleges of at least one of the three federal granting agencies (NSERC, CIHR and/or SSHRC) may submit an application. If the proposed research and knowledge or technology transfer activities lie entirely within the mandate of a single agency (NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC), the college must be declared eligible to receive funding from that granting agency:
A list of eligible expenditures is detailed in the CCI Tri-agency Financial Administration Guide.
In addition, a salary research allowance can be requested for a not-for-profit organization that has an employee listed as a collaborator on the application. Salary research allowances are a contribution from the college to a not-for-profit organization to help compensate for the time an employee will spend participating in a CCSIF-funded research project. Applicants may request up to 50% of the total salary costs, including benefits, of the employee, to offset some of the costs of hiring a replacement employee.
Applicants may include in their CCSIF application a request for additional support through Mitacs Accelerate internships as a component of the training of highly qualified personnel (HQP). Note that Mitacs internships cannot be the only mechanism for student and HQP training, and Mitacs internships require an eligible partner cash contribution.
Applicants who wish to include Mitacs Accelerate internships in their CCSIF application should contact their local Mitacs Business Development Representative to obtain the Mitacs-NSERC joint application form. The Mitacs-NSERC joint application form must be submitted with the NSERC application Form 103 (see the Instructions for completing an application – form 103).
CCI-Mitacs CCSIF applications require the following information when outlining the training of highly qualified personnel:
NSERC will conduct the peer review of the joint application, and funding decisions will be communicated to the applicants jointly.
CCSIF applications are adjudicated through a competitive process. Each CCSIF grant application is reviewed by a multidisciplinary committee that includes relevant expertise from the public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors. The exact number and composition of the review committee membership will be determined by the number and nature of the proposals received. Committee members are required to have no conflict of interest with the applicant, partners or any team members. They are asked to evaluate the proposal and make a funding recommendation to NSERC based on the selection criteria below.
Applications are evaluated based on the following criteria:
The reporting requirements vary with the project duration: