The New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) is a tri-agency program, managed by SSHRC, that funds high-risk/high-reward, interdisciplinary and international research across all disciplines funded by the three federal granting agencies.
A 2021 Innovative Approaches to Research in the Pandemic Context competition of NFRF was recently launched. The goal of the funding opportunity is to accelerate the exploration of new approaches and the development and testing of new directions in research methodologies, to respond to challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a documented disruptive effect on researchers’ ability to continue planned research activities, particularly community and field-based research. However, the pandemic also provides a unique opportunity to explore new directions in research methodologies, such as innovative approaches to increasing research inclusiveness through the proactive engagement and empowerment of community and other stakeholders to conduct research themselves.
Amount: $250,000 (over 1 year; including indirect costs)
Deadlines: The competition has 2 stages (Notification of Intent to Apply (NOI) and Full Application)
NFRF NOI: September 21
Faculty Research Office: 1 week prior to NFRF deadline. (If you wish to have feedback on your application allow at least two weeks – contact Karen Kueneman)
Western Research: 1 week prior to NFRF deadline
NFRF: October 26
Eligibility: Applicants must hold an eligible academic research appointment at Western. Applications to this call may be submitted by either a nominated principal investigator (NPI) alone or by a team, which may include up to one co-principal investigator (co-PI) and any number of co-applicants and/or collaborators.
NOTE (Subject matter): These rapid response grants support the exploration and development of novel and innovative research methodologies. The project may involve any discipline, thematic area, approach or subject area for funding across the three agencies. For this call, it is not required for projects to be interdisciplinary; however, the applicant is encouraged to consider how the development of a new methodology could be applied to different disciplines, if appropriate. Eligible projects include those with specific objectives that are attainable within the short term.
More information and applications… Applications must be submitted through the Convergence Portal and are forwarded by Western Research. Applications must be accompanied by a completed ROLA.
Webinars: Webinars took place on Aug 12 and were recorded. They will be made available along with the presentation slides to research administrators.
Please contact Karen Kueneman if you intend to apply.
