There is no established ratio of cash vs in-kind in the CECR Program. What is important is the total value of the contributions, which must cover the 50% of commercialization cost and 25% of the other eligible costs.

If a stakeholder is not providing financial contributions, can the applicants use their original letter from the LOI stage or do they need to obtain new letters for the application stage?

The stakeholder letter must confirm a contribution. If the letter obtained from the LOI stage confirmed a contribution, it can be included.

Are contribution confirmation letters required from provincial or other granting organizations at the full application stage?

Such letters are not obligatory. When available, contribution confirmation letters from key funding organizations, including any provincial governments, should be included in Book 2 of the Full Application Package, as follows:

For provincial or other government funding already in place and continuing over the course of CECR funding, the letter must clearly specify the terms of funding;
For requests currently in front of a provincial or other government funding agency, the letter from that agency must confirm that they have received the proposal, explain the general terms of their funding program, and indicate when they expect to make a decision on the proposal;

N.B.: such letters should not be requested from the federal granting agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR and CFI) whose presidents are members of the NCE Steering Committee. Where appropriate, CECR proposals will be distributed to these granting agencies and other relevant organizations for consultation and comment.

Application Content and Presentation

Is there a specific format in which you want the application to be bound (e.g. three-ring binder)? Or is this up to the groups submitting? Does the original need to be bound as well?

Format is up to the applicants to decide. The original does not have to be bound, but if it is, this is also acceptable.

On the Excel form for Section E2, there is a section not described in the CECR Full Application Guide: row 25 labeled "Section C: Preliminary Budget Details (Use only space provided)" and rows 26 through 33 are the spaces. Is this section to be filled in along with the requested detail pages?

“Section C” of the Excel sheet is where the applicant would include brief notes on each of the line items listed (1 to 6), and specify the nature of items entered under “other”. This space is meant to be used in addition to the separate pages allowed per item.

The Expert Panel Meeting

What will be the format of the Expert Panel Meeting?

The meeting will last 3 and ½ hours, including presentations by the Centre representatives and questions (at least 2/3 of the time) from Expert Panel members. A pro-forma template of the agenda will be included in a document titled “Advice to Applicants” which will be sent to Centre Directors over the coming days.

When will our Centre know the composition of the Expert Panel and when will the identity of members of the Private Sector Advisory Board (PSAB) become public?

The names of Expert Panel members will be communicated to individual centre applicants within the week preceding the meeting.
The names and affiliations of the members of the Private Sector Advisory Board will be included in its final report. This report will be available at www.nce-rce.gc.ca after the new Centres are announced.

The NCE Secretariat has offered up to $15K per Centre for the reimbursement of expenses related the preparation of the full application. How much time do we have to spend these funds and how can they be used?

This reimbursement is valid between September 19 and November 16 or beginning from the formal invitation to submit a Full Application until the Expert Panel review. The funds can be used for application-related expenses such as travel, communications and workshops, as well as for secretarial, clerical and co-ordination services. Application-related expenses may include participation in the Interdisciplinary Expert Review Panel meeting. Please note that reimbursement will only take place when supported by appropriate receipts and no new expenses or new commitments incurred after the Interdisciplinary Expert Review Panel will be eligible for reimbursement.