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). Full applications submitted to this NSERC program will be reviewed by a tri-agency interdisciplinary peer review committee .
In partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), NSERC is piloting this interdisciplinary peer review mechanism. The shared peer review committee will assess all full applications submitted to NSERC’s Discovery Horizons program, as well as relevant applications submitted to SSHRC’s Insight 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. NSERC’s eligibility requirements for faculty can provide more information on the role of applicants and co-applicants. 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.
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
|
Important Dates |
Related Information |
|---|---|
| June 12, 2023 | 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 12, 2023. |
| June 16, 2023 | NSERC deadline for Letter of Intent submission. |
| October 11, 2023 | Queen's Internal deadline for mandatory application review (if invited to apply). |
| October 18, 2023 | NSERC deadline for the full application (by invitation only). |
- Letter of intent (LOI) instructions
- Full application instructions (to be updated in August 2023)
A limited number of applicants will be invited to submit a full application based on a relevance review of their LOI. - Webinar on May 24, 2023
- Slide deck (PDF 405 KB) - (French pages 1 - 10, English pages 11 - 20)
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 the Smith Engineering and all other faculties
beicai@queensu.ca
Adam Jeziorski
Research Projects Advisor
for researchers in the Faculty of Arts and Science
adam.jeziorski@queensu.ca
Frequently asked questions:
Given the hyper competition seen in the first 2 years of the Discovery Horizons pilot (842 and 411 Letters of Intent received in year 1 and year 2) and the overall goals of the program, we are aligning the Discovery Horizons pilot with the Discovery Grants program in year 3. Active DG holders are therefore not eligible. However, if their DG expires in 2024 or are automatically extended without additional NSERC funds they can apply to DH.
The change in eligibility is forward facing only, meaning that grantees from the 2022 and 2023 DH competition are still eligible to apply to the DG program while holding their DH grant.
Individuals can apply to both programs, i.e. submit an LOI to DH and a NOI to DG, but those invited to submit a full proposal to DH will have to choose which program they would like to submit a full application, depending on the nature of the proposed research.
Yes, those holding a Discovery Development Grant are eligible to apply for Discovery Horizons.
As long as the faculty members meet all eligibility requirements they can be from any departments. However, in the Discovery Horizons proposal, they must work towards advancing knowledge in the NSE.
DG holders must terminate their DGs before the June 16 deadline for submission of a Letter of Intent to DH. Termination of a grant is final, should their DH LOI or application not be successful, they will not be able to reinstate their DG grant, nor will they be able to apply to the current DG competition. They will have to wait till next summer to apply to either DG or DH program again.
SAP Individual and SAP Project funds holders are not eligible to apply for DH.
Research involving Indigenous Peoples and communities is particularly welcome in Discovery Horizons, but it is not a requirement.
No, Discovery Horizons applications must be rooted in the NSE and integrate elements from the social sciences and humanities and/or health and wellness.
Although the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) was also created to fund interdisciplinary research in response to the Fundamental Science Review’s recommendations, it is focused on high-risk, high-reward, and fast-breaking research and supports research that proposes novel interdisciplinary approaches that bring together disciplines that do not traditionally work together. Please see the New Frontiers in Research Fund website for more details. Discovery Horizons, as well the other funding opportunities reviewed by the Tri-Agency Interdisciplinary Peer Review Committee will complement NFRF by focusing instead on investigator-initiated interdisciplinary research projects that are aligned with the core funding programs at each of the three major funding councils, including research projects that use existing interdisciplinary approaches.
No, applicants may not identical or essentially identical applications to more than one funding opportunity participating in the pilot of the Tri-Agency Interdisciplinary Peer Review Committee, NSERC’s Discovery Horizons, SSHRC’s Insight Grants and CIHR’s Project Grants. In addition, all applications must meet the eligibility requirements and guidelines of the funding opportunity to which they apply, including those related to multiple applications. As a result, it is important to consult the funding opportunity’s webpage.
Applicants should apply to the agency funding opportunity that supports the dominant research area of the proposal.
No, applications that fall entirely within the research areas of one agency should be directed towards existing committees or evaluation groups, based on the practice and criteria of each agency. For example, interdisciplinary research solely within the natural sciences and engineering, with no social science, humanities, health, and/or wellness components should be directed towards another NSERC program, such as the Discovery Grants Program.