Funding Opportunities

Faculty of Science

Conference Grant
  • seed /supplemental funding for organizing local, national, or international conferences
  • applicants should seek conference funding from a number of other sources (e.g., from VPA Conference Grants, corporate sponsors, academic societies, relevant institutes, academic departments)
  • requests will be accepted three times / year
  • deadline for requests is the Friday of the fourth week of each academic term
  • awards are subject to annual availability of funds
  • FoS support is to be acknowledged in all pertinent material regarding the conference
  • application form
  • submit application via email
Equipment Grant
  • provides funds to:
    • replace aging equipment
    • acquire new, unique equipment
    • support installation of newly acquired equipment
    • match/supplement other equipment funding requests (e.g. NSERC RTIs)
  • priority given to heavily used, multi-user equipment
  • long-term maintenance / service contract costs are ineligible
  • funds are also to be sought from the researchers' Departments
  • application procedure:
    • submit application to PI's Department for initial ranking
    • Department submits ranked list of equipment applications to FoS ADR
  • requests accepted annually
  • FoS deadline: Jan 31; decisions made Apr 1
  • awards are subject to annual availability of funds
  • awards paid from the FoS office (submit final quote to the ADR for the Purchase Requisition)
  • application form
Catalyst Grant
  • provides funds:
    • for reagents and/or services for getting preliminary data
    • for salary support for student / staff to acquire preliminary data
    • to support workshops or researcher meetings that aid in the submission of collaborative grants
  • development of new research areas and collaborations are encouraged
  •  within 1 year of receiving the FoS grant, the awardee must use it as a basis for an application to an external funding agency
    • prior to submission, this new grant must undergo internal review (e.g., peer-review, grants facilitator review)
    • the award outcome of the submitted grant must be reported to the FoS
  • funding requests are accepted any time
  • awards are subject to annual availability of funds
  • application form
  • submit application via email
Retirees Research Fund
  • to fund direct costs of research, publication costs and/or conference attendance
  • awards of up to $2,000
  • contact: Susanne Stockdill in the Faculty of Science(scbudget@sfu.ca; 778-782-9585)

SFU Funding

SFU - VPA Conference Grants
  • September call for applications
  • mid-October submission to Departmental Chair
  • mid-December decision
  • average award is ~$2,000
  • funding opportunity link
SFU Community Trust Endowment Fund (CTEF)
VPR Major Research Project Application Preparation Grants
  • no deadline
  • funds to assist SFU faculty members with the preparation of applications to major external research grants
  • up to $5K
  • funding opportunity link
SFU Open Access Fund
  • no deadline
  • funds to assist SFU authors publishing in fully open access journals that charge Article Processing Charges
  • up to two articles/year
  • up to $2500/article
  • funding opportunity link
Scholarly Digitization Fund
  • no deadline
  • funds for costs associated with digitizing scholarly materials for deposit in the Library’s Research Repository or another publicly accessible repository operated and maintained by the SFU Library
  • eligible costs include scanning, creation of descriptive information, other activities
  • up to $5K/project/year
  • funding opportunity link
Teaching and Learning Development Grants
  • no deadline
  • to fund investigation of new or innovative teaching and learning practices
  • open to continuing or limited term full-time SFU faculty
  • up to $5K
  • funding opportunity link

Funding Opportunity Databases

University Databases of Funding Opportunities
Databases of National Funding Opportunities
  • Grant Connect: searchable Canadian directory to foundations and corporations
Databases of International Funding Opportunities
  • CORDIS: European Union sponsored Research & Development
  • Grants.gov:  US-based agencies (eligibility of foreign applicants depends on agency)
  • AAAS List of Funding Databases: searchable databases for US-based agencies; focus is on medical & biological sciences
  • Non-NIH Funding Opportunities: a variety of international grants & fellowships in biomedical & behavioral research (maintained by Fogarty International Center)
  • SPIN: (world's largest database of sponsored funding opportunities)

FAQs

What grants am I eligible for?

SFU generally administers research grants and contracts only on behalf of faculty members. See ORS for details on eligibility, and consult SFU Policy R 10.01, External Research Grants and Contracts. Also contact the Faculty of Science Research Grants Facilitator for help with finding funding for your research.

Is there SFU funding for my research?

The SFU Office of Research Services maintains a list of SFU grants and includes eligibility information, deadlines, forms and instructions.

How do I find out about funding opportunities?

The Office of Research Services offers a searchable research funding and awards opportunities databaseSubscribe to receive periodic updates on opportunities that match your needs.