Applying for research funding

Calls for research proposals come from many places. Faculty researchers may become aware of opportunities through their own research networks. In addition, notices/announcements received from various sources are sent out (usually weekly) by the Faculty Research Coordinator in Environment. These notices are basically reminders of upcoming grant opportunities.

Find funding on the Office of Research website has a full list of funding opportunities, call for proposals, deadline dates, and the name of the relevant contact person in the Office of Research (OR) for each grant.

• After determining the grant opportunity you wish to pursue, please discuss the project with Co-P.Is and Collaborators if applicable.
• If the grant requires an NOI/LOI, please complete the relevant form.
• Prepare the draft application/proposal and budget.
• If applicable, you can send your application for review to the relevant Office of Research (OR's) Funding Manager who administers the selected grant). These names can be found on OR's website.
• When the application, budget and overhead requirements are met and finalized, submit all documents following the Sponsor or Agency's submission guidelines*
• Complete the Electronic Cover Sheet (EC): research-coversheet.uwaterloo.ca

(Please ensure that all supporting documents are uploaded).

* Essential: Failure to follow this step may delay processing of your application/proposal.

If you would like feedback on the substance of your proposal, you may contact the relevant funding manager in OR using this link: Find funding on the Office of Research website.

Anyone with a UWaterloo login ID and Password can create an EC by logging in and confirming their profile information, which auto-creates their account. An EC can be created by anyone on behalf of the PI, or the PI can create it for themselves. However, only the PI can submit the EC for approval. (Note: The PI’s acceptance, approvals from the Chair/Director and ADR/Dean replace physical signatures.)

When an EC is submitted into workflow via the online OR System, the PI and the respective Chair/Director are alerted via e-mail. The Faculty Research Coordinator (FRC), who is delegated as Env’s Administrator for ECs, is also alerted via e-mail of the submission. (Note: The system automatically assigns a number to each EC making it easier to retrieve later on.)

The FRC will then review the EC before sending it to the ADR/Dean for approval. Note: If the EC is incomplete or the grant application and overhead supporting documents are not uploaded, the EC will be returned to the PI (and EC creator) for revisions.

Electronic Coversheet procedures and Approvals (EC): EC Procedures and Approvals (DOCX)

Budget section

• Check the budget section against the budget figures stated on the final application and make sure the numbers are the same. Note: If the main applicant on the grant is from another university, the portion that the University of Waterloo will be receiving is the amount that is put in this section, not the full amount of the grant.
• When completing the budget, please use the suggested compensation rates for students, etc. Please consult with your department graduate officers with respect to graduate student funding.

Overhead

Please indicate on the cover sheet whether overhead will be paid by the granting agency. If overhead does not apply, please obtain supporting documentation from the Sponsor and upload this to your EC. Any exception to UW's overhead guidelines* must be referred to the ADR/Dean.

Note: Some agencies, such as the Federal Tri‐council funding agencies, do not pay overhead directly. Others, however, will allow overhead to be charged directly. Please see *guidelines in Appendix A (DOCX) and Formula for calculating overhead in Appendix B (DOCX).

If you are asking to have overhead waived or reduced (from an agency that would normally pay overhead), you must make this request to the ADR/Dean at least one week ahead of your deadline; please provide a rationale.

Note: If the funding agency to which you are applying, does not pay overhead, or if that agency has a lower maximum overhead rate other than the University's standard rate, you must indicate this on the EC and upload the supporting documentation.

Where appropriate, you must check that research ethics and field risk management guidelines are adhered to in your proposal. Research ethical issues will likely apply mostly to research proposals targeted to research in the social sciences and humanities, although it may also apply to research in the physical and natural sciences. Fieldwork risk management issues cross-cut both social and natural sciences.