Competition

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

The Belmont Forum is a partnership of funding organizations, international science councils and regional consortia committed to advancing transdisciplinary science. Guided by the Belmont Challenge, the Belmont Forum aims to support international transdisciplinary research that generates knowledge for understanding, adapting to and mitigating global environmental change. As a mechanism to support international collaboration, the Belmont Forum issues collaborative research actions (CRAs) that mobilize funding partners around shared research priorities.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is participating in the Belmont Forum Collaborative Research Action (CRA) “Towards the ocean we want: biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability for nature and human well-being” (Ocean 2), along with other Belmont Forum partners. This CRA aims at coordinating actions and projects through a transdisciplinary approach, fostering co-creation, co-design, and co-implementation of innovative solutions to address global environmental challenges related to the ocean, its biodiversity, from genes to ecosystems. The CRA will fund multinational research teams based on a two-step competition.

NSERC will provide funding through an Alliance-type grant to eligible Canadian researchers in the natural sciences and engineering to support their participation in the funded research projects. For more information about the competition and application process, visit the Belmont Forum website.

This CRA is administered by France’s Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR).

This CRA focuses on the following areas:

• Biodiversity conservation and nature-based solutions

• Ocean-biodiversity-climate integration

• Nature futures, ocean governance, and ethics for sustainability

See the call text on the Belmont Forum website for a full description of the areas and priorities. Proposals must include elements from at least one of the three areas listed above.

This CRA is a formal contribution to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (“The Ocean Decade”). As such, each proposal must clearly identify the Ocean Decade Challenges being addressed and explain how the proposed project contributes to overcoming them. Challenge 10: Ensuring society has the capacity and conditions to achieve the Ocean Decade’s objective is a mandatory requirement for all projects.

Registration

Registrations must be submitted by the Research Consortium Lead through the BFGo portal before 23:59 UTC on March 5, 2026.

The Canadian principal applicant must submit a letter of intent (LOI) to NSERC through the NSERC online system before 8:00 p.m. ET on March 5, 2026.

Full proposals (by invitation only)

Full proposals must be submitted by the Research Consortium Lead through the BFGo portal before 20:00 UTC on September 17, 2026.

The Canadian principal applicant must submit a simplified application to NSERC through the NSERC online system before 8:00 p.m. ET on September 17, 2026.

Registration: The Registration (EOI/LOI/NOI) does not require review from HSS or RIS. However, please e-mail a pdf of the submitted EOI/LOI/NOI to an HSS Grants Facilitator: Heather C. O’Brien (HSSResearchAdmin@mun.ca or 864-8603) or Matthew Milner (HSSResearchGrants@mun.ca or 864-8050).

If invited to a full application: In addition to the external funding agency’s submission procedures, this opportunity must also be submitted for Departmental, HSS Faculty, and Research Initiatives and Services (RIS) institutional reviews and approvals via Memorial's Researcher Portal (RP). In order to facilitate the HSS Faculty’s administrative review, please ensure "Heather C. O'Brien (Grants Facilitator)" and “Matthew Milner (Grants Facilitator)” are added as "Team Members" on your RP file. 

In accordance with University-wide approval protocols, all tabs of the RP file must be completed, the completed application must be uploaded to the “Attachments” tab, all supporting documentation including support for cash and in-kind commitments and/or letters of support must also be uploaded, and “Submit” must be pressed prior to the HSS internal deadline listed below. HSS cannot guarantee completion of an administrative review for application files that are incomplete and/or are submitted after the HSS deadline. For more detailed submission instructions and information, please consult the HSS Research Support Services website.

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.