Return to this web page for updates from funding agencies related to application deadlines and other process changes and announcements. ORS will continue to share information here as we receive it.
Current COVID-19 related funding opportunities are listed at the bottom of this page.
Please also visit the UBC Vice President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) web site for research information related to COVID-19.
Tri-Agency Funding Updates
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
CIHR is continually updating all program-specific information in relation to COVID‑19, including available funding initiatives, application deadline extensions and review timelines. Review the full CIHR updates at https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/51917.html
July 27, 2020: The Tri-Agencies (SSHRC, CIHR, NSERC) recently announced new funding to eligible research grant holders to support research trainees and personnel whose work is interrupted due to COVID-19 between April 1 and June 30. You are encouraged to review the CIHR announcement to understand more about the scope of this support. The agency will contact eligible grantees directly. Grantees will have a deadline of August 13th, 2020, to respond to this offer of a supplement.
June 11, 2020: The Tri-Agencies (SSHRC, CIHR, NSERC) recently announced new funding to eligible research grant holders to support research trainees and personnel whose work is interrupted due to COVID-19 between April 1 and June 30. You are encouraged to review the FAQs at https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/NewsDetail-DetailNouvelles_eng.asp?ID=1160#FAQ to understand more about the scope of this support.
May 28, 2020: CIHR has announced that the Spring 2020 Project Grant competition has been reinstated. All applications submitted to the competition will be reviewed over the Summer, with decisions expected to be released in early Fall. Read the full announcement at https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/51987.html
April 21, 2020: The Tri-Agencies jointly shared the following information regarding funding ongoing and incremental costs of research activities during COVID-19:
- Continuing to pay any members of the research team, eligible to be paid from an agency grant, is an eligible expense in the context of COVID-19 despite remote, revised and reduced work.
- The agencies will defer to administering institutions to determine if COVID-19 related incremental costs that would not normally be incurred (for example, compensation and travel) related to agency-funded research activitiesare consistent with the principles and directives set out in the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration (and if they are, then those expenses will still be eligible to be paid from grant funds). If you have questions about the eligiblity of specific incremental costs at UBC, please contact tri-agency.renewal@finance.ubc.ca.
Please visit https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/news_room-salle_de_presse/covid-19-eng.aspx (under the "General Information" heading) to read the full announcement.
April 2, 2020: CIHR has announced several measures in response to COVID-19, including the following:
(NOTE: Per the CIHR announcement made on May 28, 2020, the Spring 2020 Project Grant competition has been reinstated. Read the full announcement at https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/51987.html)
- Cancellation of the Spring 2020 Project Grant competition. In light of this decision:
- CIHR will offer an additional year of funding to researchers who hold an active Investigator-Initiated Research grants scheduled to expire between June 30, 2020 and March 30, 2021 AND who submitted an application to the now cancelled Spring 2020 Project Grant competition.
- The amount provided will be equivalent to one year of the grant’s average annual value.
- Those who accept the extension will not be allowed to apply as an NPA to the Fall 2020 competition to help ease some of the pressure on this competition
- Additionally, CIHR will offer an additional 6-months of funding to researchers who received a bridge grants in the Fall 2019 Project Grant competition AND who submitted an application to the now cancelled Spring 2020 Project Grant competition.
- The amount provided will be the equivalent of 6 months of their bridge grant amount.
- NPIs who are provided this bridge grant extension will be allowed to apply in the role of NPA to the Fall 2020 competition.
- NPAs from the Spring 2020 Project Grant competition will be given the option to bring their submission forward automatically to the Fall 2020 Project Grant competition, including the ability to provide a one-page supplement for additional support data or publications. NPAs will also have the option to withdraw their application and resubmit a new or updated application to the Fall competition.
- CIHR will offer an additional year of funding to researchers who hold an active Investigator-Initiated Research grants scheduled to expire between June 30, 2020 and March 30, 2021 AND who submitted an application to the now cancelled Spring 2020 Project Grant competition.
- An automatic one-year extension to the authority-to-use-funds date for all active grants. This will give researchers an additional full year to use any residual funds not yet spent to compensate for disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be applied automatically to all eligible UBC accounts.
- CIHR will place a moratorium on all existing and any new strategic/institute-driven funding opportunities during the next three months. The exception is that any funding competitions related to COVID-19 will continue to go forward.
Please read CIHR's full announcement at https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/51927.html. Researchers impacted by the cancellation of the Spring 2020 Project Grant competiton should also review the CIHR FAQs on this decision at https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/51917.html#faq-spg2020
March 8, 2020: See the Tri-Agencies' announcement regarding the cancellation of travel due to COVID-19 and the reimbursement of non-refundable travel fees: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/ProgramNewsDetails-NouvellesDesProgrammesDetails_eng.asp?ID=1133
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
NSERC is continually updating all program-specific information in relation to COVID‑19, including available funding initiatives, application deadline extensions and review timelines. Review the full NSERC updates by visiting the agency's online Media Room at https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/NewsDetail-DetailNouvelles_eng.asp?ID=1139.
March 29, 2021:
NSERC announced on March 15, 2021, that administering universities will have the authority to automatically provide additional 12-month no-cost extensions to grant recipients who request them because of COVID-19.
This applies to:
- Grants in their automatic extension period, or
- Grants that already received an extension to their automatic extension period
This includes all NCEs and University programs, with the exception of: Advancing Climate Change Science in Canada; Canada-UK Artificial Intelligence Initiative; Joint Canada-Germany 2+2 call on Advanced Manufacturing-Industry 4.0; Joint Canada-UK projects on quantum technologies; Whale Science for Tomorrow; Ship Time program; Belmont Forum; Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling Initiative; DND/NSERC Discovery Grant Supplements, WaterWorks Joint Call. Please also note that this does not apply to funds awarded as part of the three-month supplement for the support of trainees (students, postdoctoral fellows) and research support personnel.
If you are the lead PI on an eligible NSERC grant in an extension period and you require a further extension because of COVID-19, please send an extension request via email to ors@ors.ubc.ca (UBC Vancouver) or researchoffice.ubco@ubc.ca (UBC Okanagan) and include the following information:
- UBC GR #
- Number of months of extension requested (up to 12 months)
For more information, please visit https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/NewsDetail-DetailNouvelles_eng.asp?ID=1139 to read NSERC’s full announcement.
If you have any further questions, please direct them to the Office of Research Services – Vancouver at Director@ors.ubc.ca or the Office of Research Services – Okanagan at ResearchOffice.UBCO@ubc.ca. UBC Okanagan PIs may have already received this notification from their local ORS rep; this announcement will not impact any extensions already underway.
March 15, 2021:
In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NSERC and SSHRC provided an opportunity to researchers with grants ending on or before March 31, 2021, to request an extension of the grant’s tenure period beyond the automatic one-year extension prescribed in the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration. For most funding opportunities, the period for this initial pandemic-related provision will end shortly, on March 31, 2021.
Given the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we recognize that research activities may have been delayed considerably over the past year. Therefore, we are pleased to inform you that NSERC and SSHRC will allow, on request, a one-year extension to grants ending after March 31, 2021, regardless of whether they have received a previous time extension of any length for any reason. Please note that this extension does not apply to funds awarded as part of the three-month supplement for the support of trainees (students, postdoctoral fellows) and research support personnel.
This latest one-year COVID-19 extension applies only to grants awarded under the following funding opportunities:
NSERC:
- University programs (with the exception of Advancing Climate Change Science in Canada; Canada-UK Artificial Intelligence Initiative; Joint Canada-Germany 2+2 call on Advanced Manufacturing-Industry 4.0; Joint Canada-UK projects on Quantum Technologies; Whale Science for Tomorrow; WaterWorks Joint Call; Ship Time Program; Belmont Forum; Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling Initiative, DND/NSERC Discovery Grant Supplements)
- College and Community Innovation program
- Networks of Centres of Excellence
July 23, 2020: The Tri-Agencies (SSHRC, CIHR, NSERC) recently announced new funding to eligible research grant holders to support research trainees and personnel whose work is interrupted due to COVID-19 between April 1 and June 30. You are encouraged to review the FAQs at https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/NewsDetail-DetailNouvelles_eng.asp?ID=1160#FAQ to understand more about the scope of this support. The agency will contact eligible grantees directly. Grantees will have a deadline of August 13th, 2020, to respond to this offer of a supplement.
April 21, 2020: The Tri-Agencies jointly shared the following information regarding funding ongoing and incremental costs of research activities during COVID-19:
- Continuing to pay any members of the research team, eligible to be paid from an agency grant, is an eligible expense in the context of COVID-19 despite remote, revised and reduced work.
- The agencies will defer to administering institutions to determine if COVID-19 related incremental costs that would not normally be incurred (for example, compensation and travel) related to agency-funded research activitiesare consistent with the principles and directives set out in the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration (and if they are, then those expenses will still be eligible to be paid from grant funds).
Please visit https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/news_room-salle_de_presse/covid-19-eng.aspx (under the "General Information" heading) to read the full announcement. If you have questions about the eligiblity of specific incremental costs at UBC, please contact tri-agency.renewal@finance.ubc.ca.
April 16, 2020: The results of the 2020 Discovery Grant competition have been delayed until the week of April 20; ORS will distribute the results to departments as soon as they are received.
April 8, 2020: To lessen the impact due to COVID-19, NSERC has announced that all active Discovery Grants can elect to receive a one-year extension with funds at their current funding level ("active" grants are defined as those due to receive payment for the 2020-2021 fiscal year or later, including the Discovery Grants awarded in the recent 2020 competition). Grantees due to apply in competition 2021 can elect not to apply for funding this summer/fall during these tumultuous times. NSERC will contact eligible grantees directly to confirm. The 2021 Discovery Grant competition is expected to continue without disruption for new applicants and those who choose not to accept the funded extension. For details read NSERC's full announcement at https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/NewsRelease-CommuniqueDePresse_eng.asp?ID=1139 and visit the FAQs at https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Professors-Professeurs/FAQ-FAQ/DG-SD_eng.asp. Update: By early July, grantees who hold an active Discovery Grant with an end date of March 31, 2021, should have received an email directly from NSERC prompting them to accept or deny the one-year funding extension. The deadline for response is September 15, 2020 at 5 pm EST. If you did not receive this email, please contact NSERC at resgrant@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.
March 20, 2020: NSERC has announced that administering universities will have the authority to automatically approve an end date extension of up to 12 months to grants with an end date between February 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, inclusively. This applies to all grants, including those previously extended for any length or any reason (including, where applicable, automatic extensions). If you are the lead PI on an NSERC grant with an end date that falls within this period and you require an extension, please send an email to ors@ors.ubc.ca (UBC Vancouver) or researchoffice.ubco@ubc.ca (UBC Okanagan) and include the following information: (1) UBC PG # and (2) Number of months extension (up to 12). Note that this extension authorization does not apply to GRF funding.
March 16, 2020: NSERC has announced program information in relation to COVID‑19, including the application deadline extensions listed below. Note that the release of Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) and Discovery Grant results should not be impacted and is scheduled for mid-April (update: results are now expected the week of April 20). After results have been released, the deadline to submit a Discovery Grant appeal has been extended till June 30, 2020. Read the full NSERC announcement at https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/NewsRelease-CommuniqueDePresse_eng.asp?ID=1139
- Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) – letter of intent: The application deadline for the letter of intent has been extended to June 1, 2020.
- Synergy Awards: The application deadline has been moved to June 1, 2020.
- Idea to Innovation (I2I) grants: The March 30, 2020, I2I application deadline has been postponed to June 22, 2020. The evaluation of I2I applications submitted in January 2020 will not be affected by these changes.
- Canada Graduate Scholarships – Masters (CGS-M): The opening of the Research Portal for students to accept or decline awards has been delayed until April 15, 2020.
- Call for joint Canada-UK projects on quantum technologies (QT): The expression of interest deadline has been extended to June 8, 2020. The two funding agencies will respond jointly to expressions of interest by June 12, 2020.
March 8, 2020: See the Tri-Agencies' announcement regarding the cancellation of travel due to COVID-19 and the reimbursement of non-refundable travel fees: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/ProgramNewsDetails-NouvellesDesProgrammesDetails_eng.asp?ID=1133
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
SSHRC is continually updating all program-specific information in relation to COVID‑19, including application deadline extensions and review timelines. Review the full SSHRC updates at https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/news_room-salle_de_presse/covid-19-eng.aspx.
March 29, 2021:
SSHRC announced on March 15, 2021, that administering universities will have the authority to automatically provide additional 12-month no-cost extensions to grant recipients who request them because of COVID-19.
This applies to:
- Grants in their automatic extension period, or
- Grants that already received an extension to their automatic extension period
in the following SSHRC programs:
- Connection Grants
- Partnership Development Grants
- Partnership Grants
- Partnership Engagement Grants
- Insight Grants
- Insight Development Grants
Please note that this does not apply to funds awarded as part of the three-month supplement for the support of trainees (students, postdoctoral fellows) and research support personnel.
If you are the lead PI on an eligible SSHRC grant in an extension period and you require an extension because of COVID-19, please send an extension request via email to ors@ors.ubc.ca (UBC Vancouver) or researchoffice.ubco@ubc.ca (UBC Okanagan) and include the following information:
- UBC GR #
- Number of months of extension requested (up to 12 months)
For more information, please visit https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/news_room-salle_de_presse/covid-19-eng.aspx to read SSHRC’s full announcement.
If you have any further questions, please direct them to the Office of Research Services – Vancouver at Director@ors.ubc.ca or the Office of Research Services – Okanagan at ResearchOffice.UBCO@ubc.ca. UBC Okanagan PIs may have already received this notification from their local ORS rep; this announcement will not impact any extensions already underway.
March 15, 2021:
In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NSERC and SSHRC provided an opportunity to researchers with grants ending on or before March 31, 2021, to request an extension of the grant’s tenure period beyond the automatic one-year extension prescribed in the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration. For most funding opportunities, the period for this initial pandemic-related provision will end shortly, on March 31, 2021.
Given the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we recognize that research activities may have been delayed considerably over the past year. Therefore, we are pleased to inform you that NSERC and SSHRC will allow, on request, a one-year extension to grants ending after March 31, 2021, regardless of whether they have received a previous time extension of any length for any reason. Please note that this extension does not apply to funds awarded as part of the three-month supplement for the support of trainees (students, postdoctoral fellows) and research support personnel.
This latest one-year COVID-19 extension applies only to grants awarded under the following funding opportunities:
SSHRC:
- Connection Grants
- Partnership Development Grants
- Partnership Grants
- Partnership Engage Grants
- Insight Development Grants
- Insight Grants
July 23, 2020: The Tri-Agencies (SSHRC, CIHR, NSERC) recently announced new funding to eligible research grant holders to support research trainees and personnel whose work is interrupted due to COVID-19 between April 1 and June 30. You are encouraged to review the FAQs at https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/NewsDetail-DetailNouvelles_eng.asp?ID=1160#FAQ to understand more about the scope of this support. The agency will contact eligible grantees directly. Grantees will have a deadline of August 13th, 2020, to respond to this offer of a supplement.
April 21, 2020: The Tri-Agencies jointly shared the following information regarding funding ongoing and incremental costs of research activities during COVID-19:
Continuing to pay any members of the research team, eligible to be paid from an agency grant, is an eligible expense in the context of COVID-19 despite remote, revised and reduced work.
The agencies will defer to administering institutions to determine if COVID-19 related incremental costs that would not normally be incurred (for example, compensation and travel) related to agency-funded research activitiesare consistent with the principles and directives set out in the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration (and if they are, then those expenses will still be eligible to be paid from grant funds). If you have questions about the eligiblity of specific incremental costs at UBC, please contact tri-agency.renewal@finance.ubc.ca.
Please visit https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/news_room-salle_de_presse/covid-19-eng.aspx (under the "General Information" heading) to read the full announcement.
March 20, 2020: SSHRC announced that administering universities will have the authority to automatically approve an end date extension of up to 12 months to grants with an end date between February 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, inclusively. This applies to all grants, including those previously extended for any length or any reason (including, where applicable, automatic extensions). If you are the lead PI on a SSHRC grant with an end date that falls within this period and you require an extension, please send an email to ors@ors.ubc.ca (UBC Vancouver) or researchoffice.ubco@ubc.ca (UBC Okanagan) and include the following information: (1) UBC PG # and (2) Number of months extension (up to 12). Note that this extension authorization does not apply to GRF (Fostering Research Partnerships Fund Grants), or Hampton funding.
March 8, 2020: See the Tri-Agencies' announcement regarding the cancellation of travel due to COVID-19 and the reimbursement of non-refundable travel fees: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/ProgramNewsDetails-NouvellesDesProgrammesDetails_eng.asp?ID=1133
Other Funding Updates
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR)
May 26, 2020: MSFHR announced the following change to eligible expenses for Research Trainees: They may use their research and travel allowance for furniture to improve working conditions in their home environment. Note that Research Trainees will still need to follow their host institution’s policies on furniture purchases.
In addition, MSFHR is relaxing its policies on Conditions of Award (COA) requirements. Specifically, this means greater flexibility on deadlines for various reporting requirements and relaxing the requirements to apply for external salary awards from major national or international funding agencies, and hold in-person meeting(s). No-cost award extensions will also be approved upon request. Please contact Kate Wilczak, Manager, Research Competitions, at kate.wilczak@msfhr.org to arrange any change requests for your award.
These changes will be in effect until August 31, 2020.
March 20, 2020: MSFHR announced the following program updates due to COVID-19:
Scholar/Research Trainee
- Full applications have already been received by MSFHR and are under peer review.
- Peer review meetings will be conducted virtually. We are confident that high quality peer-review can be achieved through virtual meetings and we have experience doing this with a few review panels last year.
- We are moving ahead with our initial timelines and anticipate that the awards will still be announced this summer, and maintain their original award start dates of July 1, 2020 for Scholar and September 1, 2020 for Research Trainee.
Innovation to Commercialization (I2C)
Application deadlines have been extended by three months; the new application deadlines are:
- Deadline to submit to Host Institution: June 30, 2020
- Deadline for HIs to submit to MSFHR: July 7, 2020
- New award start date: January 1, 2021
Health Professional-Investigator (HP-I)
Application deadlines have been extended by three months; the new application deadlines are:
- Deadline to submit to Host Institution: July 17, 2020
- Deadline for HIs to submit to MSFHR: July 24, 2020
- New award start date: January 1, 2021
Reach and Convening & Collaborating (C2)
Application deadlines have been extended by five months; the new application deadlines are:
- Deadline to submit to Host Institution: September 28, 2020
- Deadline for HIs to submit to MSFHR: October 5, 2020
- New award start date: February 1, 2021
Please visit the MSFHR Funding web page for full details: https://www.msfhr.org/funding
Vancouver Foundation
Vancouver Foundation has posted an update on its web site regarding upcoming grant application deadlines and payments to existing grants. Visit https://www.vancouverfoundation.ca/whats-new/our-response-covid-19 to read in full.
Current COVID-19 related funding opportunities