Colleges

Terms and conditions of award

These Terms and Conditions for a College and Community Innovation (CCI) program grant establish the responsibilities between the agency and the recipient and highlight important policies affecting the grant.

By drawing on the funds awarded, you confirm that, during the tenure of this grant, you will comply with the following terms and conditions. You will ensure that the terms and conditions of this award are known and understood by collaborating and partner organization(s), as applicable. In addition, you acknowledge their obligation to cooperate in working toward a successful outcome and to meet their reporting and financial obligations.

1. You will use grant funds (including financial contributions from the agencies and the partner organizations) only for the specific purposes for which they were awarded, and only for eligible expenditures in accordance with the Tri-agency guide on financial administration, the program literature and any relevant agency agreements. You are not required to strictly adhere to the budget presented in the proposal, as long as the grant funds are used for the research and training objectives for which they were intended. However, you must ensure that the budget line items (e.g., equipment, overhead, etc.) comply with the Specific rules for the use of grant funds section of the program literature for your grant. You are expected to spend grant funds from both NSERC and the partner organizations in a timely manner throughout the research project or activities.

2. You will provide true, complete and accurate information in any documents related to your grant, and you will represent yourself, your research and your accomplishments in a manner consistent with the norms of the relevant field.

3. You will ensure that individuals who are named in any document(s) related to your grant have agreed to be included and to disclose their personal information in the document(s).

4. If you are a co-recipient, you agree that the recipient has been mandated by the institution to administer the grant and will be accountable to the host institution for coordinating the financial and administrative aspects of the application and grant.

5. You are not currently ineligible to apply for and/or hold funds from NSERC, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), or any other research or research funding organization worldwide because you have breached policies on responsible conduct of research, such as ethics, integrity or financial management policies. If you become ineligible at any time for any of these reasons, you will advise your institutional officials and NSERC immediately, in writing.

6. You will comply with the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research, the Tri-agency guide on financial administration, the Program guide for professors and with any amendments to these that NSERC may adopt.

7. If you are or have been (at any time during the past 12 months) a federal public servant, you have complied with and will continue to respect the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector.

8. You consent to sharing of any and all information, including personal information, in any way related to the application and to the grant, among the three federal granting agencies (NSERC, CIHR and SSHRC), the co-funding organization(s) and any academic institution to which you are, or may become, affiliated.

9. You understand the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and the Use and disclosure of personal information provided to the College and Community Innovation program as they pertain to your information.

10. You will provide contact information and inform all students, fellows and other research trainees paid out of this grant that NSERC may contact them to gather information for statistics and reporting purposes.

11. If your eligibility status changes, you will inform NSERC and your institutional officials immediately, in writing.

12. You will inform institutional officials of any changes in the nature of the research that may have an impact on certification or approvals, such as those in section 2.4 Agency Requirements for Certain Types of Research of the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research.

13. You will inform NSERC and your institutional officials of any changes in the nature of the research that may require an environmental review/assessment or involves the use of human pluripotent stem cells. You will not proceed with these research activities requiring additional certification until you have approval from NSERC.

14. You will inform your institutional officials if your research plan changes to include new activities involving humans or the use of animals. You will not proceed with these research activities until you have approval from your institution.

15. You will provide regular reports to NSERC upon request. If applicable, you may be required to inform partner organizations participating in this grant that NSERC may contact them to gather information for statistics and reporting purposes.

16. You will adhere to the start and end dates of your research project or activities specified in the grant summary. A one-year time extension to use the grant funds beyond the grant end date is automatically provided for all CCI programs. Contact colleges@nserc-crsng.gc.ca for additional information on grant extensions.

17. In agreement with the Treasury Board’s Guideline on the Directive on Transfer Payments, the granting agency may transfer the funds to your institution in a single lump sum or in multiple payments made at regular intervals over the year. Typically, if the instalment is more than $250,000, it is transferred in multiple payments. Note that applications funded through CIHR and SSHRC may experience additional delays due to inter-agency transfer requirements.

18. You will receive the next instalment of your grant on or near the anniversary of the start date, subject to the following conditions:

• Funds are available
• The partner organization(s) are continuing their financial support for the following instalment, as applicable
• You can demonstrate the need for funds when requested by NSERC

NSERC reserves the right to reduce or cancel a grant instalment if the grant recipient fails to demonstrate a continued need for funds.

19. If you decide to pursue commercialization of any results of the research, you will disclose to your institution any potential intellectual property (IP) arising from the research. The grant recipient and co-recipient(s), the institution(s) and the partner organization(s) agree to abide by NSERC’s CCI policy on intellectual property. NSERC considers it a best practice for all parties collaborating in the research project to enter into a research agreement that outlines any IP arrangements and the obligations of all partner organizations involved in the research project.

20. If you disclose any potential IP arising from the research, you and the institution will endeavour to obtain the greatest possible economic benefit to Canada from the resulting commercial activity.

Other considerations

1. Participation of the partner organization(s), as applicable

The grant recipient must remind each partner organization that it must:

• honour its commitment to the project (in cash and/or in-kind) as approved
• provide periodic assessments, as requested by NSERC, to help NSERC evaluate the progress of the research
• make every effort to use the project results to create economic, social, health and/or environmental benefits for Canada and Canadians

* With respect to collaboration(s) with partner organization(s) (if applicable):

• You understand that adherence to the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research includes appropriately identifying and addressing any real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest, in accordance with all participating institutions’ policies on conflicts of interest in research.
• You understand that this collaboration must comply with all participating institutions’ conflict of interest policies for the duration of the grant. Should a real, potential or perceived conflict of interest arise, you will immediately disclose such conflict to NSERC and to your institution.

2. Change of status – Recipient, collaborating and partner organization(s)

You and/or your institution will inform NSERC immediately of significant changes in the status of the recipient, collaborating organization(s) and/or the partner organization(s), as applicable.

These changes include any of the following:

• For recipients: sabbaticals, parental leave, other types of leave or permanent departures from the institution
• For collaborating organization(s), as applicable: contact name at the institution, withdrawal of the institution collaborating on the initiative and new participating organization(s)
• For partner organizations, as applicable: contact name at the organization, change of ownership and subsequent name change of the organization, withdrawal or adjustment of cash support and new participating organization(s)

3. Termination of support

NSERC reserves the right to defer or cancel support at any point:

• if it finds that progress is unsatisfactory
• if the partner organization(s)’ support, as applicable, falls to a level substantially lower than the amount they had committed to at the time of application, or is withdrawn entirely, and the grant recipient cannot find a suitable replacement partner organization
• if there is a determination by the Government of Canada of unacceptable national security risk related to the research, the award recipient or co-recipient(s), and/or the partner organization(s), where applicable
• if the award recipient or co-recipient(s) and/or partner organization(s), where applicable, are subject to criminal investigations, indictments, or convictions which are related to, or have an impact on, the research
• to comply with federal laws, regulations, policies and directives
• for other reasons that may arise

If a grant is terminated early, NSERC will negotiate an orderly phase-out of the research project or activities to ensure minimal disruption, especially for any highly qualified personnel in training. However, if a breach of NSERC policy is alleged or confirmed, the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research applies.

4. Acknowledgment of agency support and public communication about your grant

Colleges are required to acknowledge agencies’ (NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC, as applicable) support in all communications (verbally and in writing) about the research and research results. Furthermore, under Part VII of the Official Languages Act, agencies are responsible for taking positive measures to promote the use of both English and French in Canadian society. Hence, we ask that you acknowledge, verbally and in writing, your agency’s funding in both English and French whenever possible. For sample text and additional information, visit the Acknowledgement and logos (NSERC), Acknowledging CIHR support and promoting your research, or Acknowledging SSHRC support web pages. Before making an official public announcement for both annual and open competition CCI grants, the college must consult with NSERC's, CIHR’s or SSHRC’s communication team.

• Annual competition grants (e.g., Applied Research Tools and Instruments grants, College and Community Social Innovation Fund grants, Mobilize grants, Technology Access Centre grants.)

NSERC, in coordination with SSHRC and CIHR, will make an annual announcement of the recipients of annual competition grants. Colleges are asked to refrain from making any public announcements until after this annual announcement has been made. NSERC will notify applicants (recipients) and college communications offices about this announcement with as much advance notice as possible. This does not prevent you from confidentially sharing information about your funding with your collaborators or referring to CCI funding in applications for other funding.

• Open competition grants (e.g., Applied Research and Development grants)

There is no embargo on announcements about awarded open competition grants. Once the grant is active, applicants (recipients) and colleges are welcome to mention their award on their websites and other communication channels, as well as make a public announcement their grant.

Consent to disclosure of personal information

Maintaining public trust in the integrity of researchers is fundamental to building a knowledge-based society. By accepting funding from NSERC, CIHR and/or SSHRC, you affirm that you have read and you agree to respect all the policies of these agencies that are relevant to your research, including the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research, the Tri-council policy statement: Ethical conduct for research involving humans – EPTC 2 and the Canadian Council on Animal Care policies. In cases of a serious breach of agency policy, the agency may publicly disclose any information relevant to the breach that is in the public interest, including your name, the nature of the breach, the institution where you were employed at the time of the breach, the institution where you are currently employed, and the recourse imposed against you. You accept this as a condition of receiving agency funding, and you consent to such disclosure.

If you do not agree to the disclosure of your personal information, you cannot participate in this grant.

If you have any concerns about your ability to comply with the terms and conditions listed above, contact NSERC staff responsible for the funding opportunity or your institutional official immediately. Do not draw on any funds paid to you or to the host institution until you are certain that you can and will comply with all of the requirements.