Plastics Science and Innovation for a Cleaner and More Sustainable Future (Canada)

This call focuses on research that advances the science around plastic designs and alternatives, the sustainable use of plastics, and plastic waste diversion and recovery. This call will also build on previous research to detect and characterize plastics in the environment and the exposure and effects of plastics on wildlife and human health.

You are encouraged to collaborate with knowledge users (such as government policymakers, stewardship councils, Indigenous communities or organizations, etc.) to support knowledge mobilization. You are also strongly encouraged to bring together inter- or multi-disciplinary expertise within networked project teams (e.g., health researchers to investigate the impacts of plastics on humans, chemists to study plastic-food interactions, or economists to examine conventional versus alternative plastics, etc.).

Funding Information

• $50,000 to $200,000 per year
• 1 to 3 years (these grants will also qualify for an automatic one-year extension but with no additional funding)

Themes

• Theme 1: Detection, quantification and characterization of plastics in the environment
• Theme 2: Impacts on Wildlife, Human Health and the Environment
• Theme 3: Plastic Design and Alternatives
• Theme 4: Sustainable Use of Plastics
• Theme 5: Waste Diversion and Recovery

Eligible Expenses

• Salary support for research trainees (undergraduates, graduates and postdoctoral fellows) to perform research and related training
• Salary support for technicians and research professional personnel
• Materials and supplies
• Activities that support collaborations and knowledge mobilization related to the project
• Activities to develop and grow the research collaborations with the partner organizations
• You can also include the costs of equipment, provided that the equipment is:
  • Essential to achieving the objectives of the research project
  • Incremental to the equipment already available at the university or at the partner organization’s location

Eligibility Criteria

• 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. However, please note that only one application per researcher will be accepted under the call (as either applicant or co-applicant).
• College faculty can participate as co-applicants.

Evaluation Criteria

• Merit of the proposed activities
• Competence of the research team
• Relevance to Canada and outcomes
• Knowledge mobilization and data management plans
• Training

Application Requirements

• A complete application includes:
  • An application for a grant (Form 101)
  • A personal data form with common CV attachment (Form 100A) for each applicant and co-applicant
  • A proposal template
  • A biographical sketch for each collaborator (maximum of 2 pages)
  • Partner organization(s) and other related forms (as required)
  • STRAC attestation form (as required)
  • Risk assessment form (as required)
  • A data management plan (Please see the following document for information on how to prepare your data management plan)
• Instructions for submitting documents and information to NSERC:
  • Log in to NSERC’s online system
  • Select the appropriate Form 101 from your portfolio (Form 101 – ECCC – Plastics, created at the LOI stage)
  • Following the instructions for completing a grant application, fill out the proposal template (maximum 12 pages, excluding references) and complete the other sections of your application
  • In the case where your application aims to advance a listed sensitive technology research area, submit a completed STRAC attestation form for each researcher with a named role (i.e., the applicant, the co-applicants and the collaborators)

For more information, visit Government of Canada.