Discovery Grants – Northern Research Supplements program

Description

The NRS program is aimed at NSERC-funded researchers who intend to conduct Discovery research in Canada's North. Successful applicants will receive a supplement to their Discovery Grant (DG) in the range of $10,000 to $25,000 per year, for the duration of their DG. Awards at the upper end of this range will be made to those with higher logistical costs and to recognize outstanding contributions to outreach, engagement and collaboration with northerners (note: in the context of this program, “northerner” refers to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members).

Recipients of NRS awards are not restricted to the specific activities described in the application, but they must pursue research interests in the North. Only costs associated with working in the Canadian North are eligible expenses. In order to reduce field costs, researchers may also consider Natural Resources Canada’s  Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP), which provides logistical support for field projects. Other federal funding opportunities for northern research can be found through Polar Knowledge Canada’s  Funding for Researchers page.

Eligibility

NRS funding is only accessible to researchers who meet NSERC’s Eligibility criteria for faculty, who are applying to the current DG competition, and whose research endeavors will take them to work in the Canadian North.

For the purposes of this program, Canada's North is defined as the land- and ocean-based territory north of the southern limit of isolated patches of permafrost from northern British Columbia to Labrador, including the entirety of the three territories. Geographic eligibility does not include the stretch down the central Rocky Mountains along the BC/AB border and several other non-contiguous pockets further to the south. For a map outlining the location of permafrost (shown in bands of yellow, green, blue, purple and red), visit Natural Resources Canada’s  Permafrost page.