Discovery Horizons grants support investigator-initiated individual and team projects that broadly integrate or transcend disciplines to advance knowledge in the natural sciences and engineering (NSE).
Established in 2021 by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Tri-agency Interdisciplinary Peer Review Committee (TAIPR) is dedicated to the review of interdisciplinary research. This jointly administered tri-agency peer review committee will assess all full applications submitted to NSERC’s Discovery Horizons pilot program, as well as relevant applications submitted to SSHRC’s Insight Grants and Insight Development Grants and CIHR’s Project Grants programs.
In the context of this funding opportunity, the term “interdisciplinary” should be understood to fully encompass all research that connects, crosses or falls in between the traditional disciplines of the three agencies, including transdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, convergence research and other approaches at the interface.
Discovery Horizons grants are expected to be valued from $50K–$100K per year and will be commensurate to the size of the research team. For this competition, NSERC is expecting to award approximately 10–20 grants.
Both individuals and teams may apply to the Discovery Horizons program. The applicant and any co-applicants must all be eligible to hold NSERC funding. One person must be designated to administer the grant; this person is the “applicant” and is responsible for completing and submitting the full application on behalf of the team.
While the research team is expected to have significant expertise in NSE research, not all members need to engage in research in the NSE. College faculty members who meet the relevant eligibility criteria can participate in Discovery Horizons as co-applicants. For an adjunct professor, the same eligibility requirements apply as the Discovery Grants program.
There are no requirements with respect to team size or composition. However, individuals are only allowed to hold or apply for one Discovery Horizons grant as either an applicant or co-applicant. Additionally, individuals participating in a Discovery Horizons grant as an applicant or co-applicant cannot hold both a Discovery Grant and Discovery Horizons grant.
Note that the applicant may add or remove invitations to co-applicants and collaborators at both phases of the application process (LOI and full application).
Important Dates
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Important Dates |
Related Information |
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| June 09, 2025 | Research Services Letter of Intent (LOI) review deadline (optional). Submit a pdf copy of the LOI to the appropriate Research Projects Advisor by 11:59 pm on June 09, 2025. |
| June 16, 2025 | NSERC deadline for Letter of Intent submission. |
| October 13, 2025 | Queen's Internal deadline for mandatory application review (if invited to apply). |
| October 20, 2025 | NSERC deadline for the full application (by invitation only). |
- Letter of intent (LOI) instructions
- Full application instructions (to be updated in August 2025)
A limited number of applicants will be invited to submit a full application based on a relevance review of their LOI. - Webinar on May 20, 2025
Technical Support:
Contact horizons@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
Queen's Contact Information for Discovery Horizons Grant applicants:
Bei Cai
Research Projects Advisor
for researchers in Smith Engineering
beicai@queensu.ca
Adam Jeziorski
Research Projects Advisor
for researchers in the Faculty of Arts and Science
adam.jeziorski@queensu.ca
Merline Fonkwe
Research Projects Advisor
for researchers in all other faculties/schools
merline.fonkwe@queensu.ca