Emergency Research Support Program

Updated: October 2025

Purpose

The Emergency Research Support Program provides temporary assistance to full-time continuing UTM-appointed faculty whose recent grant applications to external funding bodies have been unsuccessful and who have a demonstrable urgent need for funding to continue critical research activities.

The program seeks to provide urgently needed funding to as many in-need faculty as is possible, and thus applicants are encouraged to request the minimum amount of funding required to enable the continuation of critical research activities. There is limited funding available for this program, thus not all requests can be supported. Each application will be reviewed by the OVPRI leadership team, taking into consideration the below-noted matters and the degree of alignment between the purpose of the proposed funding and current UTM OVPRI strategic priorities, which include increasing total external research revenues and Tri-Council funding held at UTM.

NB: This is a pilot program that will be re-evaluated after the current cycle.

 

Eligibility Guidelines

Applicants must: 

  • hold a full-time, continuing status, primary faculty appointment at UTM 
    Graduate-only appointments, other types of cross-appointments, CLTA, LTA, and emeritus faculty are not eligible
  • are actively pursuing suitable funding support from external sponsors and have been unsuccessful in those efforts.
  • have explored other options and sought to secure funding support from all other possible internal sources (e.g., Departmental funding, faculty start-up funding, PERA)
  • have a clearly articulated, compelling and urgent need for the requested funding (i.e., it is essential to avoid a problematic disruption to the applicant’s critical research activities)
  • demonstrate a strong potential for securing sustainable funding

NB: meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee that one will receive funding.

 

Adjudication Process and Evaluation Criteria 

  1. The UTM OVPRI senior leadership team will review and evaluate all nominations and adjudicate based on applicant needs and the program funding available.
  2. Applications will be assessed on the below-noted evaluation criteria and weightings:
    • Demonstrated need for funding (40%): the application clearly demonstrates that absent the requested funding the applicant’s ability to successfully continue their critical research activities would be problematically hindered.
    • Plan to address identified application/funding deficiencies (30%): the application offers a specific plan for addressing reviewers’ comments/committee feedback from previous unsuccessful grant applications AND/OR a plan (including a schedule) for pursuing external funding (especially from relevant Tri-council grant programs) to support future funding needs.
    • Appropriate budget (30%): a reasonable/realistic budget and all necessary associated details and justification are provided. The provision of matching support from the applicant’s home department will be evaluated favourably.
  3. Nominations will be judged solely on the basis of the requested information supplied in the submission – i.e., additional information/documentation will not be considered.

 

Application Format and Submission Deadline

Applications will provide the following information: 

  • a cover sheet that includes applicant’s name, department, email, appointment status, total amount requested, and CC/CFC account number
  • a description (maximum 1 page in length) of the research activities/equipment/resources the requested funding will support, their necessity for continuing the applicant’s critical research activities, and a list of all faculty members and/or students/trainees who will directly/indirectly benefit from the requested funding support
  • a budget justification (maximum 1 page in length) that:
    • identifies the cost and clearly explains the purpose and essentiality of the activities/equipment/resources for which funding is being requested
    • provides a list of:
      • other sources of funding that have been approached/considered to secure support, including recent grant applications that have been submitted
      • external funding support that the applicant will be pursuing in the immediate future (including approximate application submission date[s]) and the degree to which the proposed grant(s) will amplify the funding provided through this program

Deadline for submitting applications is Friday, January 9, 2026. Please submit application materials as a single PDF file via an online application form (link to come). File name should be: ERSP Application_Applicant’s Last Name_Applicant’s First Name.

 

Conditions

Funding recipients must commit to: 

  • applying as a primary applicant to an external (i.e., non-U of T) grant funding competition within 6 months of receiving the funding or otherwise at the earliest possible opportunity; and
  • contacting the UTM OVPRI within one month of receiving their funding to discuss their required grant application and, in turn, submit the related grant application to the UTM OVPRI for internal grant-editing review.*

*Please contact Ana Pogoutse (a.pogoutse@utoronto.ca), or Kate Steinmann (kate.steinmann@utoronto.ca) to discuss proposed grant application, and submit for review/feedback a complete draft of the application to grants.ovpri.utm@utoronto.ca at least 2 weeks before the Research Services Office (RSO) deadline or sponsor deadline – whichever occurs first.

 

Competition Results

Notification of the outcome of their application will be emailed to BIREF applicants by the Office of the Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation (OVPRI). To respect the confidentiality of adjudicators, individual scores/rankings will not be provided, but if adjudicators have provided comments on an application, that feedback can be shared with applicants upon request. 

 

Post-Award Details

Successful applicants will have their funding transferred to their faculty member’s commitment fund centre (CFC).

Requirement: Upon acceptance of funding from the CRGP, successful applicants will be required to participate as application reviewers in at least two OVPRI-adjudicated funding competitions (e.g., Research Seed Grant, Black and Indigenous Research Excellence Fund, Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, UTM Postdoctoral Fellowship Award).

Final Report: recipients of CRGP funding are required to submit a 1-page final report that describes the grant program(s) to which they applied, and the results of the application(s). This report should be submitted to the OVPRI (funding.ovpri.utm@utoronto.ca) no later than one year following notification of a successful application. Failure to submit a final report could result in funds being withheld in a subsequent OVPRI internal funding competition for which one applies and is successful.

 

Questions

Questions about the program, eligibility, the application process, deadlines, etc., should be addressed to funding.ovpri.utm@utoronto.ca.