UW NSERC RIF – Program Guidelines: This internal program is by invitation only
The Research Incentive Fund (RIF) Program for NSERC Discovery Grants addresses the most common issues that result in a discovery grant being unfunded: insufficient HQP and publications. However, a few faculty members have different discovery grant issues (e.g. Merit of Proposal) and may also utilize this program to bridge the time between grants.
UW NSERC RIF program offers three funding options to invited applicants. Just as with a regular discovery grant, all funding options come with a one-year automatic no-cost extension.
Option A: $15,000 for one year. Open budget so long as NSERC eligible.
Option B. $15,000 per year for up to 2 years*. The recipient must commit the budget to graduate student stipend. The remaining funds to be used for any other NSERC eligible expenses.
*If a re-application to the next competition is successful, the funding would end, and the student would be supported in the subsequent years by the Discovery grant. If no re-application to the next competition year is submitted, or if the re-application is unsuccessful, the next installment would be provided.
The UW NSERC RIF program is funded by the recipients’ home Faculty and the Office of Research at an 80/20 split level.
Eligibility
Invited applicants must be tenure or tenure track faculty — not adjunct or term appointments (e.g. Research Assistant Professors and Lecturers are not eligible.) — and fall within one of the following three categories to be eligible for the UW NSERC RIF program:
- RIF-ECR: Must be tenure-track , full-time Waterloo faculty who meet NSERC’s definition of an ‘Early Career Researcher’, and not successful in the current competition. RIF-ECRs must re-apply for Discovery Grant within one year of receipt of the RIF funding (next Discovery Grant cycle).
- RIF-ER: Must be tenured or tenure-track, full-time Waterloo faculty who have held a Discovery Grant in the last 5 years but were not successful in the current competition. RIF-ERs must re-apply for Discovery Grant within two years of receipt of the RIF funding.
Furthermore, to be eligible to hold the funding support, RIF recipients are required to:
- Provide an annual progress report and a final progress report, upon a successful Discovery Grant application.
- Re-apply for Discovery Grant within the timeline provided above.
- Have their applications in for review at the various levels (Peer review, Departmental and/or Faculty and Office of Research) to ensure the strongest possible application.
- Submit an updated CCV and a first draft of their Discovery Grant application to the Office of Research for review by mid-September.
Application Package
- Message to Applicants (Comments from DG Evaluation Group)
- External Reviewers’ Comments
- UW NSERC RIF application form
- Copy of unsuccessful Discovery grant full application (Office of Research will provide to Committee)
- CCV (Office of Research will provide to Committee)
- DG cover sheet (on file). No new cover sheet is required.
Review Process
Applications for UW NSERC RIF will be reviewed by an internal review committee consisting of faculty representatives who have previously served on NSERC DG evaluation committee. The committee is chaired by an associate vice-president and supported by the UW NSERC Team: Senior Manager for UW NSERC (Kelley Moran) as advisor, Interim UW NSERC Grants and Contracts Manager (Joanna Cleary) as advisor, and UW NSERC Coordinator (Maeve Eason Hubbard) as secretary.
For more information, please email uwnserc@uwaterloo.ca