INTRODUCTION
Funding is available to establish Industrial Chairs and associated research teams in information science and engineering at Alberta universities.
iCORE joins with private companies and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to create collaborative Industrial Chairs working in target areas of computing science, computer engineering, mathematics, physics or other areas related to information and communications technology.
Industrial Chair Establishment (ICE) grants are intended to recruit outstanding researchers who have world-class research and development records demonstrating industrial relevance.
Industry funding is required, and in most cases an iCORE ICE grant will be accompanied by a senior NSERC Industrial Research Chair (IRC) grant.
Proposals are accepted at any time and are reviewed monthly. Accepted proposals are forwarded for external review, a process that may take up to five months.
PROGRAM DETAILS
iCORE Industrial Chairs provide companies access to the highest caliber internationally competitive research with costs shared by federal and provincial partners. The sponsor company (or companies) are expected to demonstrate a willingness and ability to collaborate closely with the research team, and to exploit proposed research in Alberta. The level of industry funding is negotiable and may include in-kind support. Intellectual property constraints are not imposed by the conditions of this award.
iCORE Industrial Chairs also help universities build on existing strengths to achieve the critical mass required for major research endeavors in industry-relevant areas of information science and engineering. It may also assist in the development of research efforts not yet established at Canadian universities that are important to industry partners.
Funded research teams may vary in size from one to ten or more members, and may include a Chair, professors, research associates, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and research staff. The funds may also cover operating and equipment costs.
Chair candidates may be external (from a university, industry or government) or internal (already in a tenured position at an Alberta university), although limited funds are available for internal awards. Awards to internal candidates cannot be used to supplement salaries of current Alberta faculty, but may be used to fund new research positions on the Chair's team.
ICE grants are normally awarded for two to five years, and are renewable on a competitive basis.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Excellence of the candidate:
the international stature, research competence, leadership ability, industry research track record and experience of the proposed candidate(s);
Quality of the proposal:
the scientific merit, originality, technical feasibility and industrial relevance of the proposed research;
Appropriateness of the setting:
the adequacy of physical and financial resources to support the Chair, and the potential to collaborate;
Incremental benefits to the university:
the extent to which the Chair will enhance the university's research capacity, training, and industrial interactions;
Industrial relevance and benefits:
the relevance of the research and the benefits that will accrue to the sponsors and the Alberta economy;
Training of highly qualified personnel:
the opportunities for recruiting and training graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research assistants and others, including company personnel, in areas relevant to the sponsoring company's needs;
NSERC senior Industrial Research Chair award:
the extent to which the candidate's track record and proposal meet NSERC criteria for a senior IRC award.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
Applicants should complete the NSERC forms 100, 101 and 183A and submit them electronically in PDF format to iCORE.
REVIEW procedures
- Although NSERC and iCORE conduct separate reviews and make independent award decisions, they will attempt to conduct joint, parallel review processes whenever feasible.
- All proposals are reviewed by a site visiting committee. Applicants will be contacted by NSERC and iCORE regarding the timing and agenda for a site visit.
- Proposals submitted before a Chair candidate is identified will be assessed by written review. If the initial review is positive, universities have 12 months to recruit a Chair candidate.
- Final NSERC recommendation for funding is made by its advisory committee, which meets in February, June, September and December. Final iCORE decisions are made by its Internal Review Committee, based on recommendations from an arms-length peer review coordinated by an External Review Committee.
Proposals must be endorsed by a university and be submitted electronically in PDF or Word format to proposals@icore.ca.
Endorsement by a university must be indicated through signed letters of support from the Faculty Dean and Chair/Head of the department. As well, a copy of the proposal and all related documents must be filed with the Research Services Office of the supporting university.
For more information, visit www.icore.ca, call 403-210-5335 or send email to info@icore.ca.
Note: The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency recognizes cash contributions to NSERC Industrial Research Chairs as Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) expenditures under the Income Tax Act. For details, see Application Policy SR&ED 99-01, available from the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.