Sponsor

Funding for the Canadian academic team is provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

Program

Towards the Ocean We Want: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sustainability for Nature and Human Well-being (CRA Ocean 2)

Belmont Forum program website [1]

NSERC program website [2]

For More Information

Alliance grants: Equity, diversity and inclusion in your training plan [3]

Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern [4]

Tri-agency guidance on the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships [5] 

U of G Guide for Completing the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ Risk Assessment Form [6]

Description

The Belmont Forum [7] is a partnership of funding organizations, international science councils and regional consortia committed to advancing transdisciplinary science. Guided by the Belmont Challenge [8], the Belmont Forum aims to support international transdisciplinary research that generates knowledge for understanding, adapting to and mitigating global environmental change. As a mechanism to support international collaboration, the Belmont Forum issues collaborative research actions (CRAs) that mobilize funding partners around shared research priorities.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is participating in the Belmont Forum Collaborative Research Action (CRA) “Towards the ocean we want: biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability for nature and human well-being” (Ocean 2 [1]), along with other Belmont Forum partners. This CRA aims at coordinating actions and projects through a transdisciplinary approach, fostering co-creation, co-design and co-implementation of innovative solutions to address global environmental challenges related to the ocean, its biodiversity, from genes to ecosystems. The CRA will fund multinational research teams based on a two-step competition.

This CRA focuses on the following areas:

• Biodiversity conservation and nature-based solutions
• Ocean-biodiversity-climate integration
• Nature futures, ocean governance, and ethics for sustainability

This CRA is a formal contribution to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development [9] (“The Ocean Decade”). As such, each proposal must clearly identify the Ocean Decade Challenges [10] being addressed and explain how the proposed project contributes to overcoming them. Challenge 10 [11]: Ensuring society has the capacity and conditions to achieve the Ocean Decade’s objective is a mandatory requirement for all projects.

See the call text on the Belmont Forum website [12] for a full description of the areas and priorities. Proposals must include elements from at least one of the three areas listed above.

Eligibility

Canadian university researchers eligible [13] to receive NSERC funding may apply independently or as a team. If applying as a team, co-applicants must also be academic researchers from Canadian universities who meet NSERC’s eligibility requirements. The principal applicant must be working in a research area supported by NSERC, and must meet the eligibility requirements at the time of application. Researchers from colleges who meet NSERC’s eligibility requirements may participate as co-applicants.

Important

Given the complexity and scope of these challenges addressed by this CRA, each research consortium must be truly transdisciplinary, including a minimum of three consortium researchers or partners, including one from each of the following areas:

     a) Social sciences, humanities or economics

     b) Natural sciences, physical sciences, engineering or technology

     c) Societal partners (for example, citizens, industry, civil society organizations or conservation organizations)

The research consortium must request funding from at least three different funding agencies participating in the CRA and must include participants from at least three different countries. Additional knowledge holders may join the research consortium once these minimum criteria are met. See the individual annexes [1] of each funding agency for detailed requirements.

Each research consortium must designate a Research Consortium Lead who facilitates collaboration and communication and is responsible for submitting the registration form, full proposal and annual reports to the Belmont Forum. The Research Consortium Lead must request funding from a participating funding agency and may not participate in a self-financed or in-kind capacity.

Funding Availability

Up to $100,000 per year for the Canadian academic team

Indirect Costs

0%

Project Duration

3 years

Special Notes

Total expected equipment cost, including operation and maintenance, must be well justified and must not exceed 30% of the total NSERC grant budget.

Belmont Forum-funded projects are expected to participate in coordinated activities throughout the project’s duration, such as attending the CRA kick-off, mid-term and end-term meetings, which may be held at an international conference.

Funding decisions for this CRA will be made by NSERC and the other Belmont Forum funding partners based on the results of the merit review and each agency’s program requirements.

How to Apply

Participation in this CRA involves a two-stage process. The Research Consortium Lead must submit materials through the Belmont Forum Grant Operations (BFGo) portal, while Canadian applicants must also submit documents to NSERC through the NSERC online system.

1. Registration stage
   1. The Research Consortium Lead must submit a registration form to the Belmont Forum
   2. The Canadian team must submit the letter of intent (LOI) to NSERC
2. Full proposal stage (by invitation only)
   1. The Research Consortium Lead must submit the full proposal to the Belmont Forum
   2. The Canadian team must submit a simplified application to NSERC

Please see the program website for additional information [2] on how to apply.