2024 NordForsk-led International Joint Initiative on Sustainable Development of the Arctic: Registration guide

This guide is intended to be used in conjunction with the information in the 2024 NordForsk-led International Joint Initiative on Sustainable Development of the Arctic competition overview.

Your registration must be received by the deadline date. Your institution may have earlier internal deadlines. Check with your research administrator regarding internal deadlines for your institution. The research administrator at your institution is responsible for submitting your registration.

All team members, including nominated principal investigators (NPIs) co-principal investigators (co-PIs), and co-applicants if applicable, should inform the research administrator at their institution of their involvement in the application.

On this page

• Before completing the registration
• Completing the registration
• Required information
• Submitting an registration
• Submitting the registration as the research administrator
• Contact information

Before completing the registration

Read the Sustainable Development of the Arctic: Call for pre-proposals and the NFRF annex (NordForsk-led International Joint Initiative on Sustainable Development of the Arctic competition overview) to ensure your project fits this funding opportunity.

Ensure you are eligible to apply as an NPI, co-PI, or co-applicant. If an NPI is considered ineligible, the application will be withdrawn from the competition. Participants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will be removed from the application.

Note that for this competition, individuals can participate in only one application as a nominated principal investigator, co-principal investigator, co-applicant or collaborator.

If you are the NPI, consult the research administrator at your institution’s research grants office (RGO) regarding internal deadlines. The research administrator is responsible for submitting your registration by the deadline date. Late registrations will not be accepted. A registration cannot be changed after the research administrator has submitted it.

Completing the registration

You must complete your registration using the Convergence Portal. The Portal is only supported on the latest versions of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari and Mozilla Firefox. If you do not yet have a profile in the Convergence Portal, you will be prompted to create one the first time you access the Portal.

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

The NPI must complete all sections of the registration within the Convergence Portal (no attachments are accepted at this stage) and submit the registration via their institution’s research administrator.

Co-PIs must each complete their own profile before the NPI submits the registration to the research administrator. Co-PIs will be able to see and edit all sections of the registration.

Required information

You must include the following content to complete a registration.

Completed profiles for the research team

All registrations must include at least one NPI and one co-PI. Other team members (co-PIs and co-applicants) may be added at this registration stage or the full application stage. Each team member must include the following in their profile:

• Eligibility profile
  Include information about participation in any other 2024 NordForsk-led International Joint Initiative on Sustainable Development of the Arctic applications or awards, as well as your affiliations, early career researcher (ECR) status, and the eligibility of the institution.
• Equity, diversity and inclusion
  In setting up their profile, each participant must complete the equity, diversity and inclusion questionnaire once.
• Fields of research
  The fields of research here are your areas of expertise. These do not need to be directly related to the project. Select a minimum of two fields (maximum of five), of which at least one must be a primary area of research.
• Keywords
  List between Five and 10 keywords that best describe your main areas of research.

  Note: Once the research administrator has submitted the registration, the NPI and co-PIs cannot remove themselves from the project to join a different project within the 2024 NordForsk-led International Joint Initiative on Sustainable Development of the Arctic Competition.

Registration content

Application details

• Application title
  Provide a short, descriptive title that can be used for publication purposes. You can use common abbreviations (e.g., DNA). But, avoid uncommon or discipline-specific abbreviations, as well as company and trade names.
• Language of the application
  Indicate which official language will be used for the registration and the full application.
• Indigenous research
  Indicate whether the project involves Indigenous research. Research conducted in Canada for this competition must demonstrate co-leadership and co-development with Indigenous communities.
• International call details
  
  • Primary Application ID
    Provide the NordForsk application number.
  • Primary application - Lead applicant
    Provide the name of the Project Leader as provided in the NordForsk application form. If the Project Leader is from USA or Canada, provide the name of the Nordic contact person.
  • Proposed role of Canadian participants in the proposal submitted to NordForsk (maximum 2,500 characters)
    Describe the role of the Canadian participants (NPI, co-PIs, and co-applicants, if applicable) in the proposed research.
• Invitations
  Use the “Invite Participant” button to invite co-PIs and co-applicants to participate in the project. Your invitee will receive an invitation to complete the eligibility process. Their status will appear in the Participants section.
• Participants
  Invited co-PIs and co-applicants will appear in this section. Co-PIs and co-applicants may be added at this stage or at the application stage. To be eligible, the Canada-based team must have a minimum of two members, including the NPI and a co-PI who is a representative of the community or region where the research will take place and/or the community that has requested and will benefit from the research findings.
• Collaborators
  Use the “Add Collaborator” button to add collaborators. Collaborators may be added at this stage or at the application stage. Collaborators may include individuals affiliated with a federal, provincial, territorial or municipal government department but they may not be associated with a for-profit organization.
• Socioeconomic Objectives
  You may add up to a maximum of five socioeconomic objectives.
• Fields of research
  From the Canadian Research and Development Classification codes, select up to five fields of research that relate to the research project. Include at least two primary fields of research, each from a different group (discipline).
• Keywords
  List between five and 10 keywords that best describe the proposed research.
• Summary of the proposal (maximum 2,500 characters)
  The summary should include the objectives of the proposed research project, and a summary of the research approach. Highlight the novelty and expected significance of the work.
  
  If your application is successful, this summary will be used for promotional purposes outside the research community to inform the government, media and members of the public who request information about research funded by the NFRF program.
• Proposed budget
  Enter the planned amount of funds to be spent in each category (direct and indirect costs) for each year of the project. The direct costs and indirect costs for each year cannot exceed $1,000,000. The maximum budget for direct costs is $800,000 per year for 4 years. The maximum budget for indirect costs is 25% of the direct cost for that year. Contact your research administrator for direction on how much to request for indirect costs.
• Suggested reviewers, and reviewer exclusions
  

  You may suggest reviewers to be contacted to review the proposal. These individuals must not be in a conflict of interest with any member of the team as defined by the Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy of the Federal Research Funding Organizations. The team can also suggest individuals who they would prefer not be considered to review the proposal.

Submitting the registration

Review your registration to ensure it is complete.

From the Finalize Application section in the Convergence Portal, follow the prompts to submit your registration.

After you accept 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 ask your research administrator to return the registration 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 from this point on.

Submitting the registration as the research administrator

When you receive a registration submitted by an NPI at your institution, you will be asked to approve the application and submit it. Before being able to forward the application, the research administrator, on behalf of the institution, must confirm that:

• the NPI meets the definition of ECR, if applicable;
• the participants meet the eligibility requirements; and
• the proposed research project meets the eligibility requirements.

By forwarding the application, the research administrator, on behalf of the institution, will also be certifying that the NPI:

• is affiliated with the institution or organization;
• has the necessary time and resources to carry out the activity; and
• will email NFRF-FNFR@chairs-chaires.gc.ca if there are any changes during the tenure of the grant, including changes in the composition of the partnership, such as the addition of new co-PIs, etc.

Contact information

If you have questions:

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