Eligibility
Applicants:
If you are a Canadian university researcher who is eligible to receive NSERC funds, you can apply on your own or as a team with co-applicants who are also eligible academic researchers. You and any Canadian co-applicants must have an active NSERC peer-reviewed grant, as primary applicant, at the time of application.
For this call, you are limited to one application as either applicant or co-applicant. This limit applies to Alliance International Catalyst Quantum grants and does not count against application limits for other Alliance International grants or calls.
You can apply at any time up until January 31, 2024. As this is a continuous intake process, applications will be assessed upon receipt and funding decisions will be communicated within 5 to 9 weeks from the date NSERC receives the complete application.
Equity, diversity, and inclusion
NSERC is acting on the evidence that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding, and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-agency statement on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
Applicants are encouraged to consider sex, gender and diversity in the project’s research design. Diversity and gender equity should also be considered when developing the research team and considering how to promote and support a variety of forms of mentoring to ensure trainees’ equitable participation and growth. Applicants should refer to the NSERC guide on integrating equity, diversity and inclusion considerations in research for more information.
Summary
Alliance International Collaboration Quantum grants are intended to fund joint international projects that have been peer-reviewed and awarded by the national funding agency of the international academic collaborator(s). If the international project has been awarded a four- or five-year grant, it must be made clear in the international proposal, that the Canadian team will only be involved for up to the first three years. Upon receiving an Alliance International Collaboration Quantum grants application, NSERC will undertake an administrative assessment to ensure the application is complete and that it complies with all requirements. Once the administrative assessment is satisfactorily completed, NSERC proceeds with the merit assessment of the application. For this international collaborative call, collaborators and organizations from outside academia are not permitted. For collaborative research projects involving organizations in the public, private or not-for-profit sectors, please refer to the Alliance Quantum grants or the Alliance Consortia Quantum grants.
Proposals may address any challenges in quantum science, but their thrust must aim to advance one or more of the NQS missions by advancing research in any of the following areas of quantum technologies, or a combination thereof:
- quantum algorithms/encryption, including post-quantum cryptography
- quantum communications
- quantum computing
- quantum materials
- quantum sensing
Proposals may also synergistically couple any of these quantum technology thrusts to other research topics in the natural sciences and engineering. Proposals that do not address one or more of the NQS missions may be removed from consideration; see the Important note below for additional information on what to include in your proposal.