2023 International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: Full application guide

On this page

• Completing the application
• Required information
• Submitting an application
• Submitting the application as the research administrator
• Contact information

Completing the application

You must complete your application using the Convergence Portal. The Portal is only supported on the latest versions of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari and Mozilla Firefox.

Follow the instructions provided in the Portal to complete your application. The information needed to complete an application is outlined below.

All sections of the full application must be completed in the Convergence Portal and submitted via the research administrator at the NFRF-eligible co-PI’s institution. Any new team members (co-PIs and co-applicants) must each complete their own profile in the Portal before the application is submitted to the research administrator. All co-PIs have full access to all sections of the full application. Co-applicants will be able to see all sections of the application but will not have edit access. Only the NFRF-eligible co-PI can finalize and submit the full application.

The page lengths and formatting of any attachments uploaded to the application must be verified before submission. Should a submitted application contain one or more attachments that do not comply with the page length or formatting standard, the application may be withdrawn from the competition.

Required information

All relevant information from the NOI will be prepopulated in the full application. You must include the following content to complete an application within the Convergence Portal.

Completed profiles for any additional members of the research team

Complete profiles include:

• eligibility profile
  • information about participation in another international joint initiative application, and affiliation;
• fields of research and keywords
  • fields of research and keywords that relate to your area(s) of expertise/research; and
• equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) self-identification.

After co-PIs and co-applicants have completed their profiles, they will be listed as “Complete” in the Participants screen. While a participant’s status may show as “Accepted” in the list of invitations, a status of “Pending eligibility” in the Participants screen indicates that they have not completed their profile.

1. Proposed budget

   Fill in the table with the total amount requested each year from the relevant Consortium Partner in the appropriate currency. Ensure that the amount requested is less than the maximum allowable amount as noted in the Consortium Partner annexes.

2. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research Design (EDI-RD)

   Indicate whether EDI-RD considerations have been integrated into the proposed research.

3. Certifications, licences and permits

   Answer the questions as they relate to the proposed research project. Consult the Requirements for Certain Types of Research for more information or clarification, if needed. With the exception of research taking place outdoors, which may require submission of an Impact Assessment at the time of application (follow the instructions in the Portal), no forms or certifications are required at the time of application. If you are awarded a grant, the necessary certification requirements must be met in accordance with the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions.

4. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research Practice (EDI-RP)

   Applications must not include any self-identifying information about members of the research team in the EDI-RP section. Focus on the team’s commitment to EDI, not on its EDI profile. See NFRF’s Best Practices in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research guide for more details.

   Applicants may draw on institutional EDI policies and practices where these exist, but they must be tailored to the particular context of the fields and teams involved. Applicants are encouraged to be specific and concise.

   In this section, provide the following:

   1. Information about the team’s specific circumstances related to EDI-RP, including identification of structural biases that could affect members of underrepresented groups (character limit: 2500);
   2. the best practices that will be applied to each of the following elements (character limit: 250):
      • team composition and recruitment processes
      • training and development opportunities
      • inclusion

   For each, a brief explanation must be provided, including: how each practice applies to the team’s specific context; how it will be implemented; the expected impacts; and how the impacts will be measured (character limit: 2500).

   Information that reveals team members’ affiliations (including departments, lab groups, etc.) can be included in this section, if relevant.

5. Supporting documents
   1. Proposal (maximum 20 pages if written in English; maximum 24 pages if written in French)

      Applications may be written in either English or French, Canada’s official languages. The following sections must be included in one document and uploaded following the instructions for attachments. The page limits indicated for each section are suggestions, but the maximum limit of 20 pages for proposals written in English or 24 pages for proposals written in French is firm. The order of the sections must be followed, and the use of headings is highly encouraged. Use language that can be understood by a multidisciplinary review panel.

      • Introduction/overview (maximum 2 pages if written in English; maximum 2.4 pages if written in French)
        • Describe which key risks the project will address and how they will be addressed from an interdisciplinary and trans-sectoral perspective.
        • Explain how the problem affects the vulnerable group involved in the proposed research project.
        • Explain the approach to addressing the challenge and its potential to have real and lasting change.
        • Describe how the approach is different from other approaches (its novelty) and how it incorporates different disciplinary perspectives in addressing the challenge.
      • Biographical information about team members (maximum 4 pages if written in English; maximum 4.8 pages if written in French)
      • Applicants must protect the privacy and confidentiality of all team members. Do not provide information about the composition of the research team in a way that can reveal any member’s personal information (i.e., race, colour, place of origin, religion, immigrant and newcomer status, ethnic origin, ability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and age). Refer to the Best Practices in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Guide for guidelines on privacy and confidentiality.
        • Provide an overview of the research team, demonstrating that it has the required knowledge, background and expertise to execute the interdisciplinary approach.
        • Identify the anticipated contributions of each team member (co-PIs, co-applicants and collaborators, as applicable) and explain how their contributions will be coordinated and integrated.
        • If a team member’s self-identification (gender, Indigenous identity, disability or racial background) is relevant to the research project, that self-identifying information may be included here, but only with their consent.
      • Research proposal (maximum 7 pages if written in English; maximum 8.4 pages if written in French, including diagrams and illustrations)
        • Describe the proposed research project, outlining the major short-, medium- and long-term changes that are expected, the likelihood of their achievement, and who (or what) will be affected by the changes.
        • Describe the anticipated scientific impact of the project across fields and/or disciplines.
        • Describe the research methodology and design, including:
          • how interdisciplinary perspectives will be applied and integrated;
          • how they relate to current and relevant research, prior art or knowledge;
          • how they incorporate contextual expertise; and
          • how the approach minimizes the environmental footprint of the research.
        • Provide a work plan with a timeline.
        • Discuss the approach to co-production with vulnerable groups; and
        • Describe how the project will engage with potential end users and/or other measures the project will use to position the research for uptake.
      • Equity Diversity and Inclusion in Research Design (EDI-RD) (maximum 1 page if written in English; maximum 1.2 pages if written in French)
        • Explain how the research design has been informed by EDI-RD (refer to Merit Indicators for the Review Process). The research design/methodology should showcase how EDI-RD considerations have been embedded within the design and implementation of the proposed solution.
      • Management plans (maximum 3 pages if written in English; maximum 3.6 pages if written in French)
        • Describe how various aspects of the project will be managed, including:
          • governance/management approach (how the project will be managed and the grant administered);
          • performance measurement plan, including risk assessment and management and results frameworks (how achievement of short-, medium- and long-term anticipated outcomes will be monitored and assessed according to established indicators and timelines; mitigation plans);
          • data management (how research data from the project will be managed and safeguarded; for guidance on research data management considerations to include in the research proposal, refer to the NFRF Research Data Management page); and
          • training (the training, development and mentoring plan for students and other highly qualified personnel).
      • Budget justification (maximum 3 pages, if written in English; maximum 3.6 pages if written in French)
        • Provide a breakdown and explanation of the direct costs of the project. Use a separate section to justify the funds requested from each Consortium Partner. Provide sufficient information to allow reviewers to assess the appropriateness of the requested resources and the value for money. If needed, this section can also describe other resources, including funding, materials or equipment that will also contribute to the project.
   2. Budget table

      Use the budget table provided in the Supporting Documents section. The document must be downloaded, filled in, then uploaded as a pdf. Enter the planned amount of funds to be spent in each category (direct and indirect costs) for each year of the project, as well as the level of in-kind support anticipated.

      There are three tables on each tab, one each for direct costs, indirect costs and in-kind support. The three tables should be completed for each Consortium Partner from which funding is requested; a different tab should be used for each.

      Applicants are encouraged to ensure that the requested amounts conform to the policies of the relevant Consortium Partner, including related to eligible expenses and maximum total amount requested.

      • UK-based applicants requesting funding from UKRI should provide UKRI contributions (i.e. the 80%) in the Direct/Indirect costs table and their RO’s respective contributions (i.e. the 20%) in the In-Kind Support section.
      • Teams requesting funding from NSF must note that the Federal government in general, and NSF specifically, do not permit indirect costs to be recovered on certain types of costs. Commonly excluded costs include: equipment and capital expenditures; the portion of subawards or subcontracts that exceed $25,000; and participant support costs. Awardees must have a detailed understanding of their terms and conditions related to the indirect cost rates or award specific rates to correctly calculate indirect cost recovery charges and any potential post-award adjustments.
      • Teams requesting funding from DFG should not include indirect costs in the German budget: 22% of the eligible direct project costs will be added automatically to the budget by DFG to cover (part of) the indirect costs.
   3. Literature references (maximum 5 pages if written in English; maximum 6 pages if written in French)

      Provide a list of literature references cited in the application. This document will be uploaded separately from the proposal.

   4. Supplementary information for consortium partners (if applicable)

      If funds are being requested from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany), the Research Council of Norway (RCN) and/or the National Research Foundation (South Africa) CVs must be uploaded for the team member(s) eligible to receive funds from those organizations. Sufficient information must be provided for the Consortium Partner to determine the applicant’s eligibility based on the criteria described in the Consortium Partner section of the competition overview.

   5. Other documents

      Any additional information requested by Consortium Partners (see Annexes) may be uploaded here. The document uploaded here will not be included in the application package evaluated by the external reviewers or the multidisciplinary-multisectoral review panel.

Submitting the application

Only the NFRF-eligible co-PI is able to submit the full application.

Review the application to ensure that it is complete.

From the “Finalize Application” section, follow the prompts to submit your application.

After accepting the terms and conditions, the status of your submission will change to “Received by Administrator.” If you want to make any changes at this point, you may request that your research administrator return the application to you.

Once your research administrator has approved and submitted your application, the application status will change to “Received by Agency.” No changes can be made at that point and your application will not be returned to you.

Submitting the application as the research administrator

When you receive an application submitted by an NFRF-eligible co-PI at your institution, you will be asked to approve the application and submit it. By submitting it, you are confirming that:

• the NFRF-eligible participants meet the eligibility requirements; and
• the proposed research project meets the eligibility requirements.

Contact information

If you have questions:

• about the NFRF program, contact NFRF-FNFR@chairs-chaires.gc.ca;
• about the Convergence Portal, contact the Online Services Helpdesk at websupport@convergence.gc.ca or 613-995-4273.