NBIF Start-up Grants - ORS - University of New Brunswick

NBIF Start-Up Grants for Professors & Researchers

The information presented here is intended to answer the most common questions that ORS receives by providing additional information not found on the NBIF website and by offering advice based on past experience.

What is an NBIF Start-Up Grant?
Who should apply?
When should applications be submitted?
What does the application process entail?
How much should applicants request?
Can the candidate also apply for matching funds for CFI Leaders Opportunity projects?
When will NBIF make a decision?

Template Start-Up Grants

What is an NBIF start-up grant?

The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF), through its Research Innovation Fund (RIF), offers Start-Up Grants for Professors and Researchers to offer extra incentive for candidates who are being recruited by New Brunswick universities.

Who should apply?

NBIF provides funding for hiring outstanding professors and researchers, and investing in some of the resources they will need to succeed. When deciding whether to submit a Start-Up Grant application, the department or faculty should assess the candidates based on the NBIF's statement that “applicant organizations must demonstrate the candidate’s potential to develop innovations that fit with one of NBIF's strategic industries.” The NBIF funds projects that are innovative. The NBIF views innovation as primarily technical or scientific advances—the creation of new products or processes.

Candidates should have a strong research and publication track record relative to the number of years since they completed their PhD. Their proposed research program should have a strong relationship to at least one of NBIF's strategic industries.

When should applications be submitted?

Funding is disbursed to the applicant organization only after the candidate has accepted a tenure-track employment offer. As such, start-up applications should be prepared and submitted to the NBIF once the department and faculty has a clear idea of the successful candidate for the position. The process is as follows:

Recruitment of candidate begins
Notify ORS of intent to apply
Submit application to NBIF via ORS
Notify VP Academic that application has been submitted
NBIF makes conditional offer of award (if successful)
Contract offered to candidate (with conditional offer from NBIF)
Candidate accepts offer and signs contract
Send letter confirming acceptance of offer to NBIF
Final award made by NBIF

What does the application process entail?

Applications are submitted by the university through ORS. The candidates themselves typically have a role in preparing the proposal because they know their work best. This role varies from providing a rough description of their research to drafting the proposal in full. Typically, candidates from outside the province will need support from their department to address the relevance of their work to the NBIF strategic industries and the potential impact on the province. The particular arrangement for any given proposal must be worked out between the department and the candidate. It is essential to initiate these discussions with the leading candidate as soon as he or she has been identified.

The selection criteria and application procedures are on the NBIF website (http://www.nbif.ca/en/research_funding/talent_recruitment_fund). The website includes specific information on what to include in the proposal. It is very important that anyone preparing an application read this information and refer to it as needed. ORS has developed a Start-Up Grants template that has the required section headings, indication of page limits, and required header and footer information. Please see the link near the top of this page.

The Dean or Chair responsible for recruitment must inform the office of the VP Academic that a start-up grant application is being submitted on behalf of a prospective candidate. Preferably, the job offer and contract documents should not be forwarded to the VP Academic until notification of the award has been received.

How much should applicants request?

Funding for new professors is awarded up to $100,000. Up to 50% can be allocated to the candidate’s first-year salary, and funds must be utilized within one year of the date of the transaction. ORS encourages applicants to request an amount that is reasonable and justified in light of the research to be performed, the applicant's track record, strength of relationship to the strategic industry(ies), and the availability of other funds.

This is a matching program. Matching funds can come from a variety of sources: department or faculty start-up funds, the university's portion of the annual salary (i.e., 50%), course release provided by the university, use of laboratory or other specialized university infrastructure, and other grants held or applied for by the candidate (e.g., NSERC Discovery Grant).

Can the candidate also apply for matching funds for CFI Leaders Opportunity Fund projects?

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF) program is designed to assist universities in attracting excellent faculty to Canadian universities as well as retaining the very best of today and tomorrow's leading researchers for Canada. It provides 40% of the costs of research infrastructure and equipment. If the candidate intends to apply to the Leaders Opportunity Fund, the research project proposed in the Start-Up Grant application should be different than the CFI project to allow for a separate NBIF application for 33% matching funds.

Alternately, the Start-Up Grant could be used towards all or part of the total 33% contribution from NBIF. For example, if a Start-Up Grant for $40,000 was awarded and the candidate later put in a $100,000 infrastructure proposal to the CFI, $33,000 from the start-up grant could be used towards the CFI, but no additional NBIF funding could be sought.

When will NBIF make a decision?

NBIF typically makes a decision on Start-Up Grant applications within 8-10 weeks of submission. Once the university has received the award letter, the department must submit written confirmation to the NBIF indicating that the candidate has accepted a tenure-track faculty position and met any other conditions of the award. Awards may be conditional on confirmation of matching funds and/or peer review of the candidate's research program by a federal granting agency (e.g., successful NSERC Discovery Grant application).