Small Equipment Grants

Important dates

Overview

The Small Equipment Grant (SEG) stream aims to help Alberta institutions attract and retain outstanding talent in the context of significant international competition.

The SEG supports leading edge research infrastructure that enables talented faculty to undertake innovative research programs.

Applications should align with the Alberta Technology and Innovation Strategy provincial priorities. They should address strategic infrastructure needs to maintain or enhance the competitiveness of a proponent’s and institution’s research programs.

Funding

RCP will fund up to 40% of the total eligible project costs for successful applications.

Eligible applicants

Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions recognized by CFI as eligible.

Eligible applicants include institutions that have a CFI John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) award. Submissions are restricted to:

• October 2022 JELF Award winners
• February 2023 JELF Award winners
• June 2023 JELF submissions

However, if an application is declined at the CFI, it will be removed from the SEG competition.

CFI requests associated with JELF partnerships, for which a decision is expected at or prior to the November 2023 CFI Board meeting, are eligible. Eligible joint JELF partnerships include:

• Canadian Research Chairs (CRC)
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Council (NSERC)
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

See the CFI’s Policy and Program Guide for more details.

How to apply

The RCP is institutional in nature. Applications must be completed by researchers and submitted by the institution.

Note: Application submissions must be uploaded via a secure portal. Institutions must contact [email protected] to receive further instructions.

Submitting proposals

The proposal should clearly present the project’s merits and excellence. Provide enough information to enable reviewers to evaluate the proposal according to the assessment criteria and competition objectives. Do not include scanned copies of documents, other than signature pages.

The proposal package must include the following:

1. A cover letter authorized by a designated institutional representative.
2. A listing the individual application submissions using the provided RCP Application Submission Template.
3. PDF of each full application. Each PDF application must contain the following in order:
   1. RCP Alberta Alignment Module
   2. CFI Application
   3. Curriculum Vitae (where required by the CFI)

RCP uses an electronic secure transfer portal to support submissions and all submissions must be uploaded via this method. Institutions must contact the program area at [email protected] at least 2 weeks prior to the proposal submission deadline to receive access to the portal.

If you must make changes to the team leaders or applicant institution after submitting a proposal, contact [email protected] as soon as possible. This is to avoid introducing potential conflicts of interest with reviewers.

After you apply

Your application will be reviewed by RCP’s Multidisciplinary Review Panel. The review process occurs in 3 stages:

1. Expert review (where applicable, CFI and grant-specific partnership agency expert reviews are used)
2. Independent review by the Multidisciplinary Review Panel
3. Decisions by the Minister of Technology and Innovation

Funding for successful applications will be conditional on:

• securing the balance of project funding from partners
• submitting the CFI’s award finalization documentation, within 9 months from the time of approval

Contact the Research Capacity Program if meeting this timeline is difficult.

Reporting requirements

Awarded projects will be given a contractual grant agreement. This agreement outlines the terms and conditions of support and must be signed by both parties prior to the release of payment.

As a part of this agreement, institutions must regularly report on the financial status of projects and on the outcomes achieved.

The schedule and reporting requirements will be outlined in the agreement. Both parties must agree to any significant variations in project scope or other requirements of the contract.

Reporting requirements for awarded projects consists of two components:

1. RCP Financial Report Template
   • A copy of the CFI approved report in lieu of the RCP Financial Report is acceptable.
2. RCP Outcomes Report Template

Contact

Inquires, requests and reporting submissions can be directed to:
Email: [email protected]