Research Grants and Funding

NAIT leverages its diverse network to access research funds and grant opportunities. These connections support the research we do with our partner organizations.

Research Support Fund

The Government of Canada Research Support Fund helps Canadian post-secondary institutions with the expenses associated with managing research funded by the three federal research granting agencies: 

  1. Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
  2. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
  3. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Research funding provided through the granting agencies is generally limited to direct project costs (e.g., research equipment, researcher salaries, etc.).

Institutions that receive funding for research also incur indirect costs to manage their research enterprise.  See indirect costs policy (pdf).

Research Support Funds are awarded annually and may be used to cover new expenditures to maintain the current level of services, or to support an institution's research environment and improve its management. 

Grants can be used to:

  • maintain modern labs and equipment;
  • provide access to up-to-date knowledge resources;
  • provide research management and administrative support;
  • meet regulatory and ethical standards; or
  • transfer knowledge from academia to the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors

As a public postsecondary institution, NAIT is required to post information about the Research Support Fund publicly.  The Research Support Fund web page provides information on eligible institutional expenses and how grants are disbursed.

NAIT allocation of the 2023-2024 Government of Canada Research Support Fund Grant

NAIT was awarded a grant of $35,935 from the Research Support Fund for 2023-2024. 

As NAIT delivers on its promises to Alberta, industry, students and staff, all of the Research Support Fund grant has been directed to support research management and administration, lessening the burden of research administration on the institution. 

Fiscal

Research Support Fund

2023-2024

                      $35,935

2022-2023

                      $44,454

2021-2022

                      $61,309

2020-2021

                      $58,585

2019-2020

                      $56,084


The grant specifically aided in offsetting the indirect salary costs for:

  • NAIT’s Lead of Grants and Proposals, whose role is crucial in the team-based review of research initiatives and proposals under development
  • Advising Research Leads and Associates about funding opportunities
  • Providing guidance and feedback for grant writing and application activities
  • Allowing for improvement to the Stage-Gate administrative processes 

Centre for Grid Innovation Project Seed Funding

The Centre for Grid Innovation, through The Distributed Energy Management Initiative (DEMI), is offering Project Seed Funding (PSF) to qualifying Alberta businesses and organizations. This funding aims to further innovation initiatives and technology development in Alberta's electricity grid.

Funding of up to $50,000 (cash and in-kind) is available to successful SMEs.

To qualify for the PSF a cash contribution of at least $5,000 is required by the applicant. The cash contribution cannot include any costs associated with labour hours, effort, material procurement, or assets furnished. It must comprise solely of cash on-hand that is to be contributed towards the project. SMEs must also:

  • be incorporated in Alberta with at least two years of corporate filings on record
  • have at least one full-time employee on staff
  • have a business plan to commercialize the proposed innovation or service

Qualifying organizations that can apply for the PSF are as follows:

  • Private small-to-medium enterprises (less than 500 employees)
  • Community enterprises
  • Development organizations

To apply for PSF funding a completed PSF Proposal template should be submitted to the centre for evaluation. Awards and funding amounts will be determined quarterly by the PSF Review Committee. For application information and submission forms, please contact us.