INTRODUCTION
Funding
is available to establish Chairs and
Professors, and their associated research
teams, in information science and engineering
at Alberta universities.
Chair
and Professor Establishment (CPE) grants
fund world-class researchers and research
teams working in target areas of computing
science, computer engineering, mathematics,
physics or other areas related to information
and communications technology.
iCORE
also has available complementary recruiting
grants, called ISPR (Informatics Strategy,
Planning and Recruitment) grants, which
may be used to explore potential candidates
for any of iCORE's Chair and Professor
grant programs.
Proposals are accepted at any time and
are reviewed monthly. Accepted proposals
are forwarded for external review, a
process that may take up to five months.
PROGRAM
DETAILS
iCORE
Chairs are exceptional researchers with
outstanding research records that place
them in the top five percent of their
fields. iCORE Professors are mid-career
researchers with outstanding potential
whose record may not yet justify a Chair
position.
CPE
grants are flexible in order to address
a wide variety of needs. For example,
the research teams funded may vary in
size from a single Chair or Professor
working alone to teams with ten or more
members. The research itself can range
from fundamental to applied.
iCORE
funds can be used to cover the salaries
of chairs, professors, research associates,
postdoctoral fellows and graduate students,
as well as some research operating and
equipment costs.
The
requested funding may range from $200,000
to $1,000,000 per year for periods from
two to five years. It is expected that
iCORE grants will represent less than
50 percent of the total budget.
CPE
grants may be used to complement other
programs, such as existing Chairs or
Institutes, from either provincial or
federal bodies.
It
is expected that CPE grants will be
renewable once on a competitive basis.
However, a CPE proposal should contain
a transition plan for funding after
the initial grant period, in the event
that the grant is not renewed.
EVALUATION
CRITERIA
Applications
will be evaluated according to the following
criteria:
Excellence
of the candidate:
the international stature, research
competence, leadership ability, research
track record and experience of the proposed
candidate(s);
Excellence
of identified team members:
the international stature, research
competence, leadership ability, research
track record and experience of the proposed
team members;
Potential
for recruiting other high-quality researchers:
the strength of the proposal to bring
other researchers and collaborators
to Alberta;
Quality
of the proposal:
the scientific merit, originality, technical
feasibility and industrial relevance
of the proposed research;
Incremental
benefits to the university:
the extent to which the proposal has
university and departmental support,
and will enhance the university's research
capacity, training, and industrial interactions;
Training
of highly qualified personnel:
the opportunities for recruiting and
training graduate students, postdoctoral
fellows, research assistants and other
personnel in iCORE's target research
areas;
Actual
and potential funding sources:
the extent to which the proposal identifies
and leverages other sources of funding,
which match or exceed iCORE's investment;
Alignment
with iCORE goals:
the extent to which the candidate's
track record and proposal are consistent
with iCORE's target research areas,
and contribute to the development of
an ICT research cluster.
APPLICATION
PROCEDURES
Proposals
should describe in 15 pages or less
(excluding attachments):
- an
overview of the proposed research
area, plan and goals
- proposed
research leader
- proposed
research team structure and members
- connection
to current Alberta research and researchers
- research
partners and collaborators, in Alberta,
in Canada and internationally
- plan
for recruiting additional research
team members, if applicable
- sources
of other funding or contributions,
if applicable
- proposed
budget and funding request from iCORE
- transition
plan following CPE funding
- attached
curriculum vitae for research leader
and identified team members
- attached
documentation for commitment of other
sources of funds
Proposals
must be endorsed by a university and
be submitted electronically in PDF or
Word format to proposals@icore.ca.
For
more information, visit www.icore.ca,
call 403-210-5335 or send email to info@icore.ca.