activity

For the NCE program: Action taken, or work performed, through which inputs, such as funds, technical assistance and other types of resources, are mobilized to produce specific outputs.

administrative centre

The central administrative office of the NCE-funded organization.

agency/granting agency

Any one of Canada’s three federal granting agencies: the  Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR); the  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC); and the  Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

annual report

A document approved by the NCE-funded organization’s board of directors, detailing its operations during the preceding fiscal year and its planned operation for the subsequent fiscal year conforming to requirements of the funding agreement.

avoidance

The action of refraining, or withdrawing, from participation in activities or situations that place an individual participating in the network or centre in a potential, apparent or actual conflict of interest relative to his or her duties and responsibilities.

award letter

The letter sent by the NCE Secretariat to the network or centre confirming the fiscal year allocation of the grant.

BL-NCE

1. Abbreviation of the federal Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence program, which is managed by the NCE Secretariat.
2. Abbreviation designating any one of the NCE-funded Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence.

board member

A member of the board of directors or governing board of the NCE-funded organization.

board of directors/governing board

The group of persons that is responsible for the overall management of the NCE-funded organization.

business plan

The NCE-funded organization’s formal statement of business goals, associated rationales, and operational steps for reaching those goals.

capital expenditure

A fixed, one-time expense incurred for the purchase of equipment to be used in the production of goods or in the rendering of services.

CECR

1. Abbreviation of the federal Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research program, which is managed by the NCE Secretariat.
2. Abbreviation designating any one of the NCE-funded Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research.

clinician

A health professional who works as a primary care giver of a patient in a hospital setting, pre-hospital setting, or clinic setting. (See also “health professional.”)

commercialization

The series of activities to transform knowledge and/or technology into new goods, processes or services to satisfy market demands.

conflict of interest

A situation, real or perceived, where an individual or organization is, or may be, in a position to use intellectual property, research knowledge, authority or influence for personal or family gain (financial or other) or for the benefit others.

contributor

An organization providing cash or in-kind contributions in support of the activities of an NCE-funded organization.

corporate member

A member of the corporation, as defined by each NCE-funded organization’s bylaws, in accordance with the  Canada Not-for-profit Corporations act or provincial acts.

development of products and services

Activities aimed at creating, improving, elaborating or expanding products or services that could be brought to market.

direct investment

For the CECR and BL-NCE programs: Funds invested in a company (e.g. equity investments or repayable loans) that help the company generate revenue for the NCE-funded organization and support the development of the company by having a material impact on its commercialization activities.

disclosure

The act of notifying in writing the board of directors, through the administrative centre, of any direct or indirect financial interests and positions of influence held by an individual participating in the network or centre that could lead to a potential, apparent or actual conflict of interest.

divestment

The sale at arm’s length, or the placement in trust, of assets, where continued ownership by an individual participating in the network or centre would constitute a potential, apparent or actual conflict of interest with the participant’s duties and responsibilities.

federal source

Any “department” or “departmental corporation” as defined in section 2 of the  Financial Administration Act (FAA) and any “agent corporation” or “Crown corporation” as defined in subsection 83(1) of the FAA.

fiscal year

A twelve (12)-month period, commencing April 1 and ending March 31 of the following year, unless otherwise specified.

funding agreement

The agreement signed by the NCE-funded organization, the host organization (if applicable) and the granting agencies outlining the roles and responsibilities of all parties for the use and administration of NCE grant funding.

goal

For the NCE program: The higher-order objective to which a development intervention is intended to contribute. (See also “objective.”)

health professional

A physician, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a nurse, etc. (a non-exhaustive list of eligible health professions is available on  the CIHR website), involved in clinical practice.

highly qualified personnel

For the NCE program: Trainees and research staff, such as undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates, research assistants, and technicians.

host organization

The organization that provides space and may provide additional services to the administrative centre of the NCE-funded organization.

impact

For the NCE program: Positive and negative, primary and secondary long-term effects produced by an intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended.(See also “outcome” and “output.”)

independent member

A member of the board of directors or governing board who has no material relationship with the NCE-funded organization (or its members) that would impair, or appear to impair, his/her ability to think and act in an independent manner that is in the best interests of the organization or who will not benefit directly from the activities of the NCE-funded organization.

indicator

For the NCE program: A variable that measures a phenomenon of interest to the evaluator, such as an input, an output, an outcome, a characteristic, or an attribute.

industrial contribution

A cash or in-kind contribution made by an industrial partner in support of the activities of the NCE-funded organization. (For reporting purposes, provincial utilities [such as Hydro-Québec] and Crown corporations are considered industrial partners.)

in-kind contribution

Cash-equivalent goods or services that represent an incremental expense that the contributor would not usually incur and which would have to be paid for by the NCE-funded organization if not provided by a contributor.

intellectual property

All materials, concepts, know-how, formulas, inventions, improvements, industrial designs, processes, patterns, machines, manufactures, compositions of matter, compilations of information, patents and patent applications, copyrights, trade secrets, technology, technical information, software, prototypes, and specifications, including any rights to apply for protections under statutory proceedings available for those purposes, provided they are capable of protection at law.

knowledge mobilization

Specific activities and tools designed to put available, evidence-based knowledge into active service by creating impacts that benefit society.

large organization

An organization that has 500 employees or more or that makes $50M or more in sales per year.

matching funds

For the BL-NCE and CECR programs: Revenues generated from the NCE-funded organization (such as fees for services) or cash and in-kind contributions received from eligible contributors that are spent on eligible expenses and fulfill the program matching requirements.

member

See “board member,” “corporate member,”or “network member.”

NCE

1. Abbreviation of the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence program, which includes the NCE Knowledge Mobilization initiative and the Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence initiative and is managed by the NCE Secretariat.
2. Abbreviation designating the NCE Secretariat and the suite of programs that it manages on behalf of the three federal research granting agencies, which includes the Networks of Centres of Excellence program, the Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research program (CECR) and the Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence program (BL-NCE).
3. Abbreviation designating any one of the NCE-funded Networks of Centres of Excellence.

NCE Monitoring Committee

The committee that assesses the annual progress of all five-year NCE networks, NCE knowledge mobilization networks and the Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence.

NCE Secretariat

The administrative centre and staff that conduct the day-to-day administration of the NCE programs.

NCE Standing Selection Committee

The committee assembled by the granting agencies to evaluate applications to the NCE program and make funding recommendations based on a peer-review process.

NCE Steering Committee

The governing body that has overall responsibility for the NCE programs, comprised of the three granting agencies’ presidents, the Deputy Minister of Industry Canada, and the Deputy Minister of Health Canada, with the President of the Canada Foundation for Innovation sitting as observer.

network agreement

The agreement between a network and its network members, which sets out the rights and obligations of each party with respect to the funds provided to the network members and of which the terms and conditions are consistent with the terms and conditions of the funding agreement.

network member

For the NCE program: Academic institution eligible to receive funds from at least one of Canada’s granting agencies that are signatories of the network agreement.

For the BL-NCE program: Private-sector organization that meets program eligibility requirements, is a signatory to the network agreement and has substantial R&D operations in Canada, and academic institution eligible to receive funds from at least one of Canada’s granting agencies that are signatories of the network agreement.

network researcher/network investigator

For the NCE and BL-NCE programs: A person employed by a university or another organization with significant experience in conducting research and with the ability to lead a team of research associates.

objective

For the NCE program: Specific results or effects of a program’s activities that must be achieved in pursuing the program’s ultimate goals. (See also “goal.”)

organization served

For the CECR program: An organization that receives direct investment or support from the NCE-funded organization.

outcome

For the NCE program: Changes or benefits resulting from activities and outputs. Short-term outcomes produce changes in learning, knowledge, attitude, skills or understanding. Medium-term outcomes produce changes in behaviour, practice or decisions. Long-term outcomes produce changes in condition. (See also “impact.”)

ouput

For the NCE program: The products or results of the process. These might include, for example, how many people a project has involved, their ages and ethnic groups, the number of meetings held and the ways in which the findings of the project are disseminated. (See also “impact.”)

participating organization

An organization (such as a contributor, a network member, a partner or any organization served) that interacts with the NCE-funded organization in the delivery of its mandate.

partner

An organization that helps the NCE-funded organization carry out its mandate. A partner may be a contributor or any other organization that assists in other ways (e.g. research collaborations).

Private Sector Advisory Board

The advisory board assembled by the granting agencies to evaluate applications to the CECR and BL-NCE programs and make funding recommendations to the granting agencies based on a review process. The board also assesses the adherence of CECRs and BL-NCEs to program objectives and requirements.

provincial department/provincial agency

A permanent organization in any of the provincial or territorial governments in Canada responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions.

R&D capacity

The ability of a firm to invest human and financial resources in R&D to generate new knowledge or deliver new technologies.

R&D receptivity

The ability of a firm to acquire, assimilate , transform, and exploit R&D results produced by an external source.

research associate

For the NCE and BL-NCE programs: A researcher (non-trainee), typically with a PhD, who is responsible for specific research tasks but does not direct an independent program of research.

research institute

A not-for-profit or government organization that conducts research independently of universities, but that can be associated with an existing university, college or hospital.

revenue

All income generated by the NCE-funded organization’s activities, excluding grants or contributions from any partner, for example a fee-for-service contract with a government department or agency is considered revenue.

salaried professional

A professional (such as an engineer, a software developer or a graphic designer) engaged in non-research projects.

self-sustainability

For the CECR program: The ability of a centre to continue its core activities beyond the CECR funding period. The centres can achieve financial sustainability by using a range of models, such as partnerships, memberships, other government support, and other revenues generated by a diversified portfolio of products and services.

small or medium organization

An organization that has less than 500 employees or that makes less than $50M in sales per year.

spin-off company

A company created when the division of a company or organization becomes an independent business or when a group of employees leaves an existing entity to form an independent business. A spin-off company generally takes assets, intellectual property, technology and/or existing products from the “parent organization.”

stacking limit

The maximum limit on the level of total Canadian government funding (from federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments) that is permitted under a transfer payment program for any one activity, initiative or project of an NCE-funded organization. (Refer to program guides for program-specific stacking limits.)

start-up company

A newly created company with a limited operating history in the first stages of its operations. Companies in a range of developmental stages can be considered start-up companies.

technology evaluation

The evaluation of the technical, economic, and competitive value of a technology.