McGill.CA / D2R / Funding Opportunities

Foundational Projects

The Foundational Projects program is designed to encourage excellence and innovation in fundamental research across all Foundational Axes that sustain the D2R Initiative. The Foundational Projects program aims to support high-risk, early-stage projects with the potential to be game-changers in the fields of D2R’s areas of interest. The program also welcomes novel ideas or directions in ongoing research. It emphasizes the pursuit of proof-of-concept projects that may attract industrial partners and/or secure additional funding including from other research sponsors, including the Tri-Agencies and provincial agencies. Additionally, it aims to strategically address scientific gaps in the D2R Initiative’s discovery-to-implementation chain.

This program supports projects that demonstrate:

  • Alignment with D2R’s Mission: Projects must be aligned with the priorities of at least one of the D2R Foundational Axes.
  • Innovation Beyond Traditional Boundaries: Projects should fill scientific gaps or provide proof-of-concept for initiatives that pursue new directions of ongoing research. Proposals should explore unique or unconventional research avenues that may be too exploratory for funding by traditional funding agencies.
  • Novelty and Non-Duplication: Projects should neither duplicate nor simply expand on currently funded work.
  • Impact and Potential for Further Funding: Projects should have the potential to have a high impact and be well positioned to attract additional funding from industrial or other partners.
Key dates
  • Competition Launch: February, 2024.
  • Registration deadline: March 12, 2024 at 5:00 PM Eastern time.
  • Full Application period: March 13 at 9:00 AM to March 26, 2024 at 5:00 PM Eastern time.
  • Anticipated results announcement: July 2024.
Application Process

The competition comprises two stages:

  • Registration: Mandatory to submit a full application.
  • Full Application: The full application submission form will open after the registration closes.
Eligibility

Principal Investigator (PI) Eligibility

  • McGill University faculty members
  • Eligible to hold Tri-Agency research funding.

Co-Investigator (Co-I) Eligibility

  • McGill University faculty members.
  • Researchers from D2R’s partner institutions (McMaster University, University of British Columbia, University of Ottawa, and Université de Sherbrooke). These researchers must be included in the list of researchers which was provided by the partners and approved by D2R.
  • Eligible to hold Tri-Agency research funding.

Collaborators

  • Individuals from McGill, other academic institutions, industry, government, or community organizations, who contribute meaningfully to the project. Collaborators are not eligible to receive funding from D2R.
Award value per project
  • Research Budget: Maximum of $200,000.
  • Training Budget (Supplemental from Training Awards Envelope): Maximum of $150,000. This budget is optional and will be awarded based on the needs and merit of the proposed research.
  • Maximum Total Award Value: Up to $350,000 over two years.
Application package For the complete call for proposal, please click the button to sign in with your McGill Username and Password.
Foundational Projects Application Package
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