Competition

NSERC Pre-announcent:

We would like to inform you of an upcoming joint international collaborative research funding call focused on wildfires in the wildland-urban interface (see news release). The Enhancing Resilience to Wildfires in the Wildland-Urban Interface call, led by the Natural Environment Research Council-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is anticipated to officially launch in late June or early July.

 NSERC will be offering information sessions for university researchers and RGO staff on July 7, 2026, at 11:00 AM ET (French) and July 7, 2026, at 2:00 PM ET (English). Interested researchers are also encouraged to attend UKRI’s webinar planned for July 9, 2026, at 12PM (ET). Links to these information sessions will be provided when the call launches.

 This collaborative opportunity seeks to improve understanding of and resilience to wildfire in the wildland-urban interface. Innovative research is needed to develop new frameworks that better explain current fire behaviour, assess emerging risks and impacts, and guide more effective prevention, mitigation and adaptation strategies.

 Interdisciplinary projects are encouraged, reflecting the complex and interconnected challenges posed by wildfires in the wildland-urban interface. Funding for eligible Canadian researchers will be provided by NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR. NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR each expect to allocate $3M to this call (total approximate Canadian investment of $9M).

 Canadian university researchers will be required to partner with UK researchers and may also partner with US researchers. Through a lead agency model, the UK project lead will submit a single collaborative proposal on behalf of the UK, Canadian and, if applicable, US research teams. Proposals will undergo merit review by UKRI. Collaborators and partner organizations from outside academia (industry, public, not-for-profit) will be permitted.

 Full eligibility and program information will be available at call launch. For questions, please contact RP-Initiatives-PR@nserc-crsng.gc.ca. Thank you for your help in distributing this information to your research community and updating your calendars accordingly!

Full eligibility and program information will be available at call launch. For questions, please contact RP-Initiatives-PR@nserc-crsng.gc.ca. Thank you for your help in distributing this information to your research community and updating your calendars accordingly!

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.