Competition

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

NOTE: 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). Register here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/52a255f0-46a9-4151-96de-7d0ae05c2218@fbef0798-20e3-4be7-bdc8-372032610f65. Interested researchers are also encouraged to attend UKRI’s webinar planned for July 9, 2026, at 12PM (ET).

Key points:

• Projects must include Canadian and UK researchers (can also have US researchers); submission and review is handled through UKRI.

• The call is published on NSERC’s site, but projects may request budget from one, two or all three Canadian funding agencies. Each agency’s maximum budget request for a project is $750K total ($250K per year, per agency (i.e. CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC)).

• 2-stage submission, both stages requiring Memorial internal reviews through ROMEO:

  • Mandatory Expression of interest due to UKRI: Thursday 30 July 2026 4:00 pm BST (HSS deadline July 20; RIS deadline July 27)

  • By Invitation, Full proposal due to UKRI: Thursday 1st October 2026 4:00 pm BST (HSS deadline Sept. 17; RIS deadline Sept 25 (to account for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept 30)) See RFT entry here: https://www.hss.mun.ca/funding/competitions/3928

This is a joint initiative between the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). This initiative will support collaborative research to improve understanding of and resilience to wildfire occurrence and impacts in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Research teams are encouraged to adopt interdisciplinary and intersectoral approaches.

Please consult the call Enhancing Resilience to Wildfires in the Wildland-Urban Interface  on UKRI’s website  for complete details on this initiative. Through a lead agency model, the UK project lead must submit a single collaborative expression of interest and, if invited, a full proposal on behalf of the UK, Canadian and, if applicable, US research teams. Proposals will undergo merit review by UKRI, the lead agency. 

Research objective

Canada and other G7 nations resolved to boost global cooperation to prevent, fight and recover from wildfires, including through collaborative research to enhance wildfire resilience, as stated in the Kananaskis Wildfire Charter . Building on the complementary interests and research expertise in Canada, the UK and the US, 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.

The objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

• catalyse new and existing collaborations and strengthen capacity among researchers from across various jurisdictions in Canada, the UK and the US 

• enhance resilience to wildfire risk (for example, environmental, structural, health and community) at the local, regional and national scale 

The funding opportunity will achieve these objectives through the following three aims:

1. enhance knowledge and understanding of the risk and vulnerabilities of wildfire occurrence, intensity, behaviour and spread within the WUI under evolving and future fire regime scenarios 

2. investigate impacts (for example, environmental, social, cultural, human health, economic, and/or built environment) of wildfire occurrence in the WUI 

3. develop interventions and solutions for adaptation, mitigation and recovery to wildfire in the WUI 

Proposals are required to demonstrate how they will advance knowledge and produce solutions-focused outcomes aligned with the program aims. Proposals must address at least two of the program aims and must include Aim 3.

Research teams are encouraged to adopt interdisciplinary approaches, including those that integrate perspectives at the intersection of human, animal, environmental and built environment systems, to meaningfully bridge disciplinary and sectoral silos and enhance collaboration.

Where appropriate, projects are encouraged to directly engage with relevant stakeholder groups outside of academia to strengthen impact. Where appropriate, research should be informed by local knowledge, lived experience and understanding of wildfire and wildland fire events, such as from disproportionately impacted populations and Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) perspectives. Projects are encouraged to engage a variety of communities, Knowledge Holders, first responders and decision makers to promote innovative and forward-looking approaches to wildfire and wildland fire science.

When relevant to the proposed research, projects are expected to recognize the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous self-determination and self-governance, such as following the First Nations Principles of OCAP®  (i.e., Ownership, Control, Access and Possession), the CARE Principles  for Indigenous Data Governance, and/or employing a distinctions-based (i.e., First Nations, Inuit or Métis communities) approach. The research team is expected to have the necessary knowledge, expertise and experience in Indigenous research. More guidance on this topic is available from NSERC, SSHRC  and CIHR 

In addition to the external funding agency’s submission procedures, this Intent to Apply (EOI/LOI/NOI) 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. If invited to full application, HSS and RIS reviews will again be mandatory.

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.