Competition

* Unless explicitly noted, all times indicated for deadlines are for the appropriate NL timezone (NST or NDT)

***Note the updated HSS submission procedures indicated below

NSTP FUNDING: An NSTP award is intended to assist in defraying the additional costs attributed to northern research projects (i.e. transportation, living expenses, freight costs and interpreter fees).  NSTP funds are not intended as a source of primary support for students, nor as on-going support in the form of general scholarships.  Applicants are asked to clearly indicate other sources of funding on the application.

The 2025-2026 NSTP Information Manual can be found on POLAR’s website and on the online application and reporting system Home page.

Additional details can be found on the NSTP website:  Northern Scientific Training Program – Canada.ca

NSTP program offers supplementary funding to assist students in the completion of research projects in the North.  Graduate and senior undergraduate students from any discipline who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents may apply in conjunction with their faculty supervisor. Undergraduate and Graduate students who meet the program eligibility requirements, under the supervision of a full-time faculty member or regular term appointee, are invited to submit an application to the Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP) offered at Memorial.

DURATION OF THE AWARD

• Awarded funding will be made available during the term May 1, 2025 – March 31, 2026.  Award funding not utilized by March 31, 2026 will be returned to NSTP.

AM I ELIGILBE TO APPLY

– Students must be a Canadian Citizen or a permanent resident and must be enrolled in a degree program at a Canadian University. –  NSTP will provide one year of funding for thesis-based research at the undergraduate level, up to two years of funding for thesis-based research at the Masters level and up to three years of funding for thesis-based research at the Doctoral level. Students can apply and be granted funding in any year of their programs. –  Post-doctoral researchers and research assistants are not supported. – Students must discuss the planned Indigenous community engagement with their supervisor because they will be able to provide guidance on how to obtain an Indigenous Agreement in Principle (AiP) for the planned project. – A student cannot be allocated NSTP funds through two universities at the same time. – Students cannot be allocated NSTP funds if they are going to be employed for their research while in the field. Research assistantships, scholarships or other university stipends are not considered as employment or remuneration in this context.

FULL APPLICATION PACKAGE INCLUDES:

1. Student Application Form using the NSTP online application platform at https://nstp-pfsn.smapply.io/, including supervisor recommendation. Once both student and supervisor portions are complete and submitted online, RIS will have access to your finalized submission and the application to be held pending receipt of the other application components by the RIS deadline.

2. RIS Supplementary Information Form (form fillable) for 2025-2026 NSTP Program to be submitted to Research Initiatives & Services via e-mail (internalgrants@mun.ca).

3. RIS Departmental/Faculty Approval Form for 2025-2026 NSTP Program to be submitted to Research Initiatives & Services via e-mail (internalgrants@mun.ca).

*** Please note that your home department and/or the Faculty of HSS Dean's Office may have additional documentation requirements. See details in the submission procedures below.

DEADLINES:

• HSS: Oct. 21, 2024

• RIS: Nov. 1, 2024

• POLAR: The deadline for universities to submit a complete application package is December 2nd, 2024 at 3PM EST.

RIS CONTACT:

Michelle Butt, Internal Grants Coordinator, Research Initiatives & Services mbutt@mun.ca or 709-864-8368.

To ensure fairness in what is becoming a very competitive environment for research grants, completed full applications packages must be received by Research Initiatives & Services by November 1, 2024 at 5:00 pm.

In addition to the external funding agency’s submission procedures (i.e. the Polar Knowledge portal), this opportunity must also be submitted for Departmental, HSS Faculty, and Research Initiatives and Services (RIS) institutional reviews prior to the submission of the application (by Memorial) to Polar Knowledge. The review and approvals will be faciliated via email: NOTE THAT THIS APPLICATION DOES NOT use Memorial's Researcher Portal (RP) until after Polar Knowledge has awarded the grants.

You may choose, in the interests of efficiency, to add Heather C. O'Brien (HSSResearchADmin@mun.ca) as a collaborator to your Polar Knowledge portal application. Heather provides direction to the student applicant and performs the review on behalf of HSS; adding her as collaborator means that she can view the application in the portal. Once all supervisor, department and faculty signatures have been provided on the RIS Signature Form, you will then submit your Polar Knowledge application in that portal; before you submit, remove Heather from it.

STEP 1: complete your application in the Polar Knowledge portal. Recommend adding Heather as collaborator. Do NOT submit yet! Just download a preview of the completed application.

STEP 2: request reviewer reports.

STEP 3: collect all necessary, additional documents (see list below)

STEP 4: By the HSS internal deadline, email a complete application package to Heather, cc'ing your supervisor, including:

• A copy of the application downloaded from the Polar Knowledge portal

• Part 2- supplemental form

• Part 3 - faculty approvals form signed by your supervisor and department

• If applicable, documentation of supervisor contributions (i.e. an email confirming these are being provided, and the grant they are coming from)

• If applicable, clearances or other necessary permits, e.g. Archaeology research permits, drone licences, or Consent from Indigneous groups (as per Memorial's Reserach Impacting Indigenous Groups policy).

• If applicable, a "Master Budget" excel spreadsheet if you are applying to more than one competiting for the same research project

If you plan to apply to this competition or other research funding opportunities (as either PI or CI), e-mail an HSS Grants Facilitator, Heather C. O’Brien (HSSResearchAdmin@mun.ca or 864-8603) or Matthew Milner (HSSResearchGrants@mun.ca or 864-8050), to notify the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of your intent to apply. E-mailing the intent to apply as early as possible will help to facilitate an efficient review. A Grants Facilitator can answer any questions you may have about internal or external submission procedures and may also be able to help with proposal development.