Sponsor

Joint initiative between the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Program

Enhancing Resilience to Wildfires in the Wildland-Urban Interface

For More Information

For additional information, please visit the following program websites:

• NSERC Funding Opportunity page [1]
• UKRI Funding Opportunity page [2]

Researchers are also encouraged to attend the following webinars about the program. 

• NSERC webinar: Tuesday, July 7, 2:00pm to 3:00pm ET (slides and/or recordings from the session will be shared here once available)
• UKRI webinar: Thursday, July 9, 12:00pm to 1:00pm ET (register here [3])

Description

Canada and other G7 nations resolved to boost global cooperation to prevent, fight and recover from wildfires, including through collaborative research to enhance wildfire resilience, as stated in the Kananaskis Wildfire Charter [4]. This collaborative opportunity seeks to improve understanding of and resilience to wildfire in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Innovative research is needed to develop new frameworks that better explain current fire behaviour, assess emerging risks and impacts and guide more effective prevention, mitigation and adaptation strategies.

The objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

• catalyse new and existing collaborations and strengthen capacity among researchers from across various jurisdictions in Canada, the UK and the US
• enhance resilience to wildfire risk (for example, environmental, structural, health and community) at the local, regional and national scale 

The funding opportunity will achieve these objectives through the following three aims:

1. enhance knowledge and understanding of the risk and vulnerabilities of wildfire occurrence, intensity, behaviour and spread within the WUI under evolving and future fire regime scenarios
2. investigate impacts (for example, environmental, social, cultural, human health, economic and/or built environment) of wildfire occurrence in the WUI
3. develop interventions and solutions for adaptation, mitigation and recovery to wildfire in the WUI 

Proposals are required to demonstrate how they will advance knowledge and produce solutions-focused outcomes aligned with the program aims. Proposals must address at least two of the program aims and must include Aim 3.

Eligibility

If you are a Canadian university researcher eligible to receive Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) [5], Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)  [6] or Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)  [7] funds, you can apply (as Canadian project lead in the UKRI application) either independently or as part of a team.

Additional CIHR eligibility criteria:

• the applicant must be an independent researcher  [8] and have their substantive role in Canada  [9] for the duration of the requested grant term
• if the institution paid is not on the list of CIHR eligible institutions  [10], contact CIHR’s Contact Centre   [11]in advance to inquire about the authorization process and timelines

The project must include at least one UK academic collaborator (UK project lead) who is eligible to receive funding from UKRI. You may also optionally include at least one US academic collaborator (US project lead) who is eligible to receive funding from NSF.

You may participate as Canadian project lead (NSERC, SSHRC and/or CIHR applicant) on only one application, but you may be a co-applicant or collaborator on multiple applications.

Funding Availability

NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR each expect to allocate $3M to this call (total Canadian investment of $9M). Each agency expects to fund four projects, with a duration of three years.

Maximum Project Value

Projects may request budget from one, two or all three Canadian funding agencies. Each agency’s maximum budget request for a project is $750K total ($250K per year, per agency). The maximum level of Canadian support for a three-year interdisciplinary project would be $2.25M if the maximum budget was granted from NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR. 

Indirect Costs

The indirect cost rate is 0% for funding provided by NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR. 

Project Duration

3 years

Special Notes

A budget and justification for each request to NSERC, SSHRC and/or CIHR must be included as supplementary documents in the UKRI proposal, using the budget templates provided (one per funder). Proposals should budget for travel and related costs for at least one team member to attend one international cross-program meeting per year for the duration of the project.

Proposals will undergo merit review by UKRI, the lead agency. The participating Canadian researchers must ensure that all information required by NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR is included in the collaborative submission to UKRI. 

How to Apply

Through a lead agency model, the UK project lead submits a single collaborative expression of interest (mandatory) and, if invited, a full proposal on behalf of the Canadian and UK research teams, with optional participation from the US.

One Canadian project lead should be clearly identified in the UKRI submission as project co-lead (international). The Canadian project lead is the primary applicant for the NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR grants and is responsible for including the following information in the UKRI submission as an attachment in the Canadian Component section:

• Budget document(s), using the provided templates for NSERC  [15], SSHRC [16]and CIHR  [17]. Attach one for each agency from which a budget is requested
  • In the first tab, provide the proposed expenditures and budget justification
  • In the second tab, provide the requested information for each member of the NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR-supported research teams, as well as partner organizations (if any)
• Determine whether the grant application aims to advance a sensitive technology research area [18]
  • If you answer “yes”, you must submit an attestation form [19]for each researcher who will have a named role in the NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR grant application (i.e., applicant, co-applicants and collaborators, including the UK project lead and any others who will be directly involved in the NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR research activities)
• Identify if the application includes at least one partner organization from the private sector who will be involved in the NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR-funded research activities.
  • If you answer “yes,” you must complete and attach the Risk Assessment form  [20]

More details on the information required in the full application can be found on the UKRI program webpage [2], under 'How to apply'.

Attachment(s)

Attachment	Size
NSERC budget and justification form [21]	29.28 KB
SSHRC budget and justification form [22]	28.36 KB
CIHR budget and justification form [23]	27.74 KB