Purpose 

The ResearchNB Establishment Grant program is intended to support the establishment of outstanding new researchers in New Brunswick by providing funding to enable them to establish their independent research programs. The applicant and the head of the university department are expected to collaborate in the preparation of the application.

Scope 

The funded research must be in a field related to ResearchNB’s priority sectors: health, energy, forestry, agriculture, or oceans.

Eligibility

To be eligible, the applicant must:

• Be a new researcher; defined as a researcher who has held a full-time research position (e.g., academic appointment providing eligibility to submit grant applications and/or supervise students), for a period of 0 to 60 months. 
• Be an independent health researcher at a New Brunswick institution; confirmation of employment documents from the host institution is required. 
• Not have previously obtained an establishment grant from the ResearchNB. 
• Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or have applied for this status. 
• Be able to devote at least half (50%) of their time to research, i.e. have a written commitment from the host institution for the release of teaching responsibilities. 
• Be sponsored by the appropriate Department Head, Dean, and Vice-President, academic or research, of a New Brunswick institution.

Eligible Expenses

Expenses must be directly linked to the activities of the proposed project and can include:

• Administrative support for research up to half the researcher's salary for the first year. 
• Salary of technicians, research assistants, and research associates. 
• General office expenses and supplies. 
• Research equipment (note: laptop and desktop computers are not considered allowable expenses unless they are connected to a piece of equipment). 
• Reimbursement for use of hospital equipment or personnel for medical procedures. 
• Expenses incurred by research subjects to allow them to participate in the research but not honoraria or payments for participation, except in exceptional circumstances. 
• Technical advice of an unusually complex nature and/or requiring a considerable time commitment that goes beyond what could be expected in a collegial relationship. 
• Field travel required for the project. 
• Communications and knowledge translation. 
• Travel to scientific events related to the project.    

Management or administrative overhead charges or fees are not permissible expenses.

Application Procedure

Before applying, the applicant must:

• Have applied for funding from a national granting agency (such as but not limited to any of the tri-agencies, national charity or international funding agency with a peer review process). 
  • The application must have achieved a score equivalent to 3.75 or more; or equivalent to 3.5 or more and ranked in the highest 50% of the competition. 
• Have received the final Notice of Decision within fifteen (15) months of applying for the Establishment Grant.

Once the items are satisfied above, a researcher must submit an application through the ResearchNB online portal. The application must include:

Project/Program Proposal 

• Outline the proposed research project in adequate detail. Applicants should provide an appropriate description of their proposed research including: research question(s) approaches, methods and literature, data collection and analysis and any preliminary results, conclusions etc.  

• Length of 3-8 pages.  

Relevance of Project to Research in New Brunswick

• Outline how their project impacts the province of New Brunswick and the population.
• Maximum 1 page, plus references.

Budget 

• Maximum 2 pages. 

Copy of Original Application 

• The original application to the agency, the final Notice of Decision and the associated detailed peer-review comments and evaluations must be included in the application to ResearchNB as an attachment. 

Curriculum Vitae (CV) 

• An up-to-date CV in any format, submitted as a PDF.

Evaluation 

Applications are reviewed to ensure that they: 

• Fit with the purpose, scope and requirements of the funding program. 

• Fit within a field related to ResearchNB’s priority sectors, defined under Scope above. 

Award Duration and Reporting

The duration of the award is up to a maximum of two (2) years.

The grant recipient must submit a final report within 90 days of the end of the project, as outlined in the Award Letter from ResearchNB. The Final Report is accessed through the ResearchNB online portal.

Award Size

The award is offered at up to $60,000 per year.

Notice of Decision

Applicants can normally expect to receive a Notice of Decision (NOD) within 6 weeks of the time of submission. NODs will be sent to the institution’s research administration office and the applicant by email.

Fund Contact: Research Services Team at researchservices@researchnb.ca