Expense eligibility – common sponsors and grants

NSERC Discovery Grants

NSERC RTI Grants (Research Tools and Instruments)

  • NSERC RTI Grants must be used to buy the specific equipment which was included in the application. A newer model of the equipment may be purchased and/or the equipment may be bought from a different vendor. Any other budget deviations require pre-approval from NSERC.

NSERC Engage Grants

  • The budget included in the grant application must be adhered to; a 20% deviation is allowed per line item. Unless pre-approval is sought from NSERC, expenses are not eligible in a budget category to which no funds were allocated to in the application budget. Due to the short-term nature of these grants, particular attention is paid to the duration of salary appointments. All expenses must adhere to the Tri-Agency financial administration guide.

NSERC Partnership Grants

  • Prior written authorization from NSERC is required for deviations from the original activities of the research project, deviations from the initial total budget, or any re-allocations of resources of more than 20 percent of an approved budget item. All expenses must adhere to the Tri-Agency financial administration guide.

SSHRC Grants

CIHR Grants

  • Most CIHR Grants offer significant flexibility in terms of expense eligibility; some CIHR grants are personnel awards which must be used to remunerate the individual named in the award documentation. All expenses must adhere to the Tri-Agency financial administration guide.

Mitacs Awards

  • Mitacs awards must be used to remunerate the individual named in the award documentation; the timing and duration of the remuneration must also align with the award documentation. Many Mitacs awards also include a budgeted amount of funds for materials and research costs which can be spent on any eligible expense per the Tri-Agency financial administration guide.

CFI – Infrastructure

  • All expenditures on CFI Infrastructure grants must align with the itemized list in the CFI agreement. Particular attention is paid to purchases which contain in-kind contributions. All CFI project spending must be in accordance with CFI and University of Waterloo purchasing guidelines. To be eligible, goods must be received within six months of the end date of the project.  It's recommended that CFI purchases are made using the online purchasing requisition form.

CFI – Infrastructure Operating Funds

  • All expenses must relate to the operation or maintenance of the CFI-funded infrastructure. Eligible expenses include: maintenance and repairs, technician salaries for operating the equipment, supplies, extended warranties, and service contracts. Ineligible expenses include the salary of the researcher, purchases of equipment, and infrastructure upgrades.

Early Researcher Awards (ERA)

  • The following expenses for undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research assistants, associates, and technicians carrying out the research are eligible on ERAs:
    • Salaries and benefits
    • Essential and reasonable travel and expenses related to conferences, workshops, seminars, or offsite research activities for research team only
  • The following expenses are ineligible on ERAs:
    • Salaries, benefits, or expenses of researcher, visiting fellows, or anyone performing contract research
    • Immigration/citizenship expenses of research personnel
    • Travel/conferences for the researcher
    • Purchase of supplies or equipment
    • Operation of equipment or facilities

Matched Funds – Tri-Agency