New Frontiers in Research Fund – Exploration Stream

New Frontiers in Research Fund – Exploration Stream is sponsored by Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS). Supports high-risk, high-reward interdisciplinary research.

New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) – Exploration Grants 2025 | Research Alerts New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) – Exploration Grants 2025 Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS), on behalf of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Applicants are encouraged to attend one of the following webinars to learn more about the Exploration stream and the overall application process.

Notice of intent to apply (French): May 22, 2025, 10:00 a. m. ( Link to join webinar ) Notice of intent to apply (English): May 22, 2025, 1:00 p.

m. ( Link to join webinar ) Full application stage webinars are planned for September 9, 2025 (French session: 10:00 a. m.

; English session: 1:00 p. m.) Links will be shared closer to the date.

For more information, please see the following resources: NFRF Exploration 2025 Program Website Frequently Asked Questions Notice of Intent to Apply Guide Best Practices in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research The goal of the Exploration stream is to inspire high-risk, high-reward and interdisciplinary research. Exploration grants support research that pushes boundaries into exciting new areas.

Researchers are encouraged to think “outside of the box” and undertake research that would defy current paradigms; brings disciplines together in unexpected ways and from bold, innovative perspectives; and has the potential to be disruptive or deliver game-changing impacts.

Exploration stream grants support projects that: bring disciplines together beyond traditional disciplinary or common interdisciplinary approaches; propose to explore something new, which might fail; and have the potential for significant impact. Exploration grants support research with a range of impacts — economic, scientific, artistic, cultural, social, technological, environmental or health-related.

This list is not exhaustive; other types of impacts are also recognized. Diversity of perspectives is important, and the fund encourages research proposals led from any discipline, from those in the social sciences and humanities, to health, the natural sciences and engineering. Subject Matter (Fit to program) Exploration grants support projects that are high risk, high reward and interdisciplinary.

They may involve disciplines, thematic areas, approaches or subject areas eligible for funding across the three agencies. Eligible projects include those with specific short-to-medium-term objectives as well as discrete phases in longer-range research programs.

To meet the minimum requirement to be considered interdisciplinary, a proposed research project must combine elements from at least two different disciplines (as defined by a group-level classification based on the Canadian Research and Development Classification ).

Projects that integrate two disciplines with a long and established tradition of working together (e.g., biology and chemistry, or psychology and education) may satisfy the above requirement but not meet the expectations of the program. The onus is on the applicant to explain the novelty of the interdisciplinary approach to justify the fit to program. Interdisciplinarity is evaluated by the multidisciplinary review panel.

The following elements are indicative of projects that do not meet program expectations for high risk and are considered ineligible: research that is the obvious next step; data collection without interpretation of underlying mechanisms or patterns; professional practice or consulting services (contract research); set-up and operational management of an institute or a formal or informal group of researchers (network); curriculum development; organization of a conference or workshop; digitization of a collection or creation of a database; application of existing technology or commercialization of a product/process; routine analyses; and/or acquisition and maintenance of research equipment.

Applications for projects that are the same or similar, in whole or in part, to ones that have been submitted to or funded by other federal research granting agency programs should not be submitted to the NFRF program.

Applications for projects the same as, or similar to, projects that have been unsuccessful in receiving funding from other agency programs may be submitted to the NFRF program in cases where the lack of success is due to the high-risk and/or interdisciplinary nature of the project, rather than limited funds in a highly competitive pool.

Applications not meeting any of the requirements outlined above may be deemed ineligible at any point in the competition, or have their NFRF grant terminated (with the NPI’s primary affiliation being responsible for reimbursing the total amount of the grant). To encourage projects that push the boundaries in terms of interdisciplinarity, proposals must be submitted by research teams with at least two individuals.

In addition to a nominated principal investigator (NPI), the team must include either a co-principal investigator (co-PI) or a co-applicant . Teams may include one co-PI and any number of co-applicants and/or collaborators .

To ensure that Exploration grants support high-risk, high-reward projects across the broadest spectrum of disciplines, individuals can participate in only one application of the NFRF Exploration grants stream at a time, as either an NPI, co-PI or co-applicant.

If an NPI, co-PI or co-applicant also had such a role on a previous Exploration grant-funded project , their final report for the previous project must be submitted and approved at least one month before the full application deadline for the present Exploration competition .

Should the final report from a previous grant not be submitted, the individual(s) will be removed from the application, and the application may be removed if the research team no longer meets minimum requirements. These restrictions do not apply to collaborators, to the NFRF Transformation and International streams, or to special calls.

An individual may simultaneously apply for or be an award holder as a NPI, co-PI or co-applicant for grants under separate streams (Exploration, Transformation, International and special calls).

Other research team members, such as trainees (graduate and other students, postdoctoral fellows, etc.) and research personnel (research associates, technicians, etc.), can participate in the project’s research activities, but are not invited as participants through the Convergence Portal. A proposal is considered to be led by early career researchers (ECRs) if both the NPI and co-PI (if applicable) are ECRs.

An ECR is a researcher within five years from the start date of their first research-related appointment, minus the length of any eligible delays in research (e.g., illness, maternity, parental), as of the first day of the month in which the competition is launched (April 1, 2025, for this Exploration competition), where: “research-related appointments” are defined as those where an individual has the autonomy to conduct research independently; all eligible leaves (e.g., maternity, parental, medical, bereavement) are credited at twice the amount of time taken; and, professional leaves (e.g., training, sabbatical, administrative) are not credited.

Research interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., closures) are recognized as, and may be counted as, an eligible delay (credited at twice the amount of time) beginning March 1, 2020. If a first academic appointment was a part-time appointment/position, years of experience are counted at 50% until the researcher’s appointment to a full-time academic position. More details are available in the Frequently Asked Questions .

A minimum of $22. 5 million over two years Up to $250,000 over two years (including indirect costs) If College-level review is required, your College will communicate its earlier internal deadlines. Tuesday, August 12, 2025 - 4:30pm Notification of Intent to Apply (NOI) The Nominated Principal Investigator must submit their NOI through the Convergence Portal .

Please note, when the Nominated Principal Investigator submits their NOI in the Convergence Portal, the status will change to 'Received by Administrator.' You must submit a signed OR-5 and a copy of the draft NOI to research. services@uoguelph.

ca by the internal NOI deadline in order for the Research Services Office (RSO) to review and formally submit the NOI to the Sponsor. Once RSO submits the NOI, the status will change to 'Received by Agency," which indicates formal submission to the Sponsor. The NOI, reviewed and submitted by RSO, is mandatory to progress to the next stage.

A complete, signed OR-5 form is required at this stage to verify eligibility, etc.. Please estimate the maximum budget, including 25% indirect costs, on your OR-5 form, and it can be updated at the Full Application stage when finalized. Tuesday, August 19, 2025 - 8:00pm RSO will submit the completed NOI directly through the Convergence Portal on behalf of the research team.

Please Note: Once an NOI has been submitted by RSO, the NPI, co-principal investigator and/or co-applicants may not remove themselves from the project to join a different project within the Exploration stream. Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 4:30pm NOIs are not adjudicated, so all teams can proceed with Full Application.

The Nominated Principal Investigator must submit their completed Full Application in the Convergence Portal and notify research. services@uoguelph. ca .

Tuesday, October 21, 2025 - 8:00pm RSO will submit the completed Full Application directly through the Convergence Portal on behalf of the research team. To apply for this Exploration grant, an NPI must submit a notice of intent to apply (NOI) by the listed deadlines. Co-PIs and co-applicants must have accepted their invitations to participate through the Portal prior to the submission of the NOI.

The research team must then submit a full application by the listed deadline. Applicants must complete the NOI and full application using the Convergence Portal and follow the instructions outlined in the NOI and full application guides. NOIs and full applications received after the deadlines or that are incomplete will be removed from the competition.

All NOIs and full applications are first submitted to the research administrator (research grants office or equivalent) at the NPI’s primary affiliation. The administrator must submit the NOI or full application through the Convergence Portal before the relevant deadline. For Questions, please contact NFRF-FNFR@chairs-chaires.

gc. ca Rachel Lee, Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist Alert Classifications Category: Information and Communications Technology Physical Sciences and Engineering Printer-friendly version PDF version