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Home > Funding Programs > NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Advance Program
Through this program, we offer funding to support Alberta university researchers in advancing discoveries to develop emerging technologies.
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NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Advance (Advance) is a partnership program between Alberta Innovates and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). View their website here.
Through this program, we invest in projects that, in alignment with Alberta’s technology and innovation strategies, advance discoveries to develop emerging technologies that can generate economic, environmental, health and social benefits for Albertans and Canadians.
The Advance Program has two streams:
In 2024-25, Alberta Innovates will offer supplemental funding opportunities to NSERC Discovery Grants (Individual) researchers who hold active NSERC Discovery Grants (Individual) in Alberta, awarded in Competition Year (CY) 2023, and have R&D activities focusing on one or more emerging technology subject areas as outlined in Appendix A of the Guide.
Stream II is the general stream of the program. Funding is available to NSERC eligible researchers at Alberta-based universities .
In 2024-25, Stream II targets the following four emerging technology research topics under the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) category:
Please see Appendix B of the Program Guide for detailed description of the four research topics.
The targeted emerging technologies in this program offer transformational promise for challenges across Alberta’s existing sectors and entry into wider global markets. Our investment will augment the Alberta academic researcher’s capacity to accelerate, advance research excellence and create additional HQPs in Alberta’s emerging technology areas. The development of emerging technologies will provide the foundation for economic diversification and job creation into nascent industries in Alberta.
Stream I: Successful applicants will receive 2/3rd of NSERC’s annual Discovery Grants (Individual) award value from Alberta Innovates to a maximum of $20,000 per year per award for a maximum of two (2) years.
Stream II: Individual proposals can request up to $150,000 per year and can be for up to two years in duration. A maximum of $100,000 per year will be provided by Alberta Innovates and NSERC will match the Alberta Innovates contribution at a ratio of 50% up to a maximum of $50,000 per year.
To qualify for funding all Projects must:
Stream I: Researchers with active NSERC Discovery Grants (Individual), currently holding at a post-secondary institution in Alberta for Competition Year 2023 with research focusing on one or more of the emerging technology subject areas as outlined in Appendix A in the Guide. Applicants cannot hold more than one Advance Stream I grant simultaneously.
Stream II: Researchers submitting an application must be from a university on NSERC’s list of Alberta-based universities. To view this list of eligible universities, click here. The researcher must hold an NSERC peer-reviewed grant when they apply and meet NSERC eligibility criteria when applying and when funding is released.
Applicants cannot hold more than one Advance (Stream II) grant simultaneously, and only one application per Primary Applicant (PI) per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) is permitted. Current Advance (Stream II) grant holders, however, may be eligible to apply for Stream I funding, meeting the eligibility requirements of Stream I.
Stream I:
Researchers with active NSERC Discovery Grants (Individual) in Alberta for Competition Year 2023 who are interested in applying for Alberta Innovates supplemental funding should submit the Post-Secondary Investments & Emerging Technologies (PSIET) Intake Form within the Funding Opportunities tab on the AI application portal (SmartSimple).
Stream II:
Stream I: We review all applications internally in the order we receive them. During this process the NSERC evaluation group’s comments will be considered. We will notify applicants after a decision has been made. Applications we approve will receive the Alberta Innovates funding.
Stream II: We review all applications first and then recommend whether they go to NSERC for review. Meeting all evaluation criteria is not a guarantee that an application will be funded as funding will be awarded on a competitive basis. If we recommend that an application goes to NSERC for review, NSERC will review and evaluate using its own review process. Applications that are approved by both NSERC and Alberta Innovates will receive the Alberta Innovates funding. For both streams, the applicants are strongly recommended to demonstrate the practice of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) adequately in their proposed project.
Senior Business Partner, Post Secondary Investments and Emerging Technologies
Registration closed: October 31, 2024 5:00 pm
Stream I: Intake for this program-stream is reopen on July 26, 2024. The Stream I intake deadline has been extended to October 31, 2024. Full Application Stage Deadline: November 21, 2024 Stream II: Intake is reopen on July 26, 2024.