In July 2021, the Government of Canada introduced the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships. These guidelines integrate national security considerations for certain funding opportunities where researchers are working with one or more private sector partner organizations (inclusive of industrial associations and producer groups), including when they participate alongside other partner organizations from the public and/or not-for-profit sectors.
Funding opportunities will indicate if the NSGRP applies. Currently, the NSGRP applies to the following programs.
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC): Alliance grants, including special calls and joint funding opportunities, where identified in the funding opportunity literature
- Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR): Project Grant Program, starting with the Fall 2024 competition
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC): Canada Biomedical Research Fund (Stage 2)
- Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI): A project, involving a private sector partner, that meets the following criteria.
- Has an active role in the research activities described in the proposal (e.g., sharing of intellectual property, providing expertise, actively participating in research activities, contributing financially to the research activities) or
- Houses part or all of the research infrastructure
- Contributes more than $500,000 to the infrastructure through a cash or in-kind contribution to any single item
For funding opportunities where the NSGRP apply, researchers are required to complete The National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships’ Risk Assessment Form (NSGRP RAF) as part of the application process. The NSGRP RAF includes identifying possible risks associated with the research and the partner and, if required, identifying appropriate mitigation strategies.
When granting agencies conduct NSGRP reviews, they will analyze all partners and all listed individuals identified on the application for research security risks. Likewise, when conducting bibliometric reviews, granting agencies may consider all co-authors on a paper. The review will consider partners of the partner to be in-scope.
If the applicable granting agency determines that additional information is required to address research security concerns, the agency will contact the researcher directly. Researchers can request the Research Security Team’s (RST) assistance with this process via the VPRI Contact listed on this page.
For more information, please consult the Tri-agency guidance on the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and CFI’s Research Security page.
For assistance in conducting due diligence on private sector partners or in completing the NSGRP RAF, please contact the RST at the email below.
