Grant Matching Fund

Updated: April 2026

 

Purpose

The Grant Matching Fund aims to support the development of strategic grant applications that require the applicant to secure matching funds, e.g., NSERC RTI, SSHRC Connection, etc. Applicants may request up to 10% of the amount requested from the external sponsor, to a maximum of $15,000. Funding is contingent upon success in the external funding application.

 

Eligibility

Applicants must have a primary appointment at UTM and eligibility to serve as a Principal Investigator according to University of Toronto policy. GMF funds must be administered through a UTM unit. For applications involving a research team, the lead applicant to the external funding program must be a UTM faculty member.

Applicants to the GMF are expected to have sought funding support from all other possible internal sources, including departmental funds, faculty start-up funds, and PERA funds.

If applicable, applicants must have also sought funding support from relevant external sources such as partner institutions.

 

Adjudication Process

Applications to the GMF will be adjudicated by the OVPRI academic leadership team. The adjudication committee reserves the right to award a lower amount of funding than requested.

 

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based upon the following criteria: 

  1. Significance, quality, and expected contribution to research of the proposed project. Does the application communicate clearly the significance of the proposed research project? Does the project as described seem likely to be competitive for the relevant external funding program?
  2. Alignment of the proposed project with UTM strategic research objectives. To what extent does this project enhance existing and emerging research expertise, resources, and opportunities at UTM? Please be specific and concrete in describing strategic objectives. In the case of SSHRC Connection Grants, applicants should articulate how the Connection Grant will facilitate collaborative research projects beyond the specific event or outreach activity being proposed, including how it might contribute to future UTM-led collaborative research grants such as a SSHRC Partnership Development or Partnership Grant.
  3. Matching strategy. Has the applicant sought funding from all relevant sources beyond OVPRI? Has the applicant clearly considered and made use of in-kind supports as a form of matching? OVPRI may consult with the applicant’s Chair or Director to evaluate the need for funding.
  4. Budget. Does the budget seem appropriate and well justified?  

 

Application Format and Submission Deadline

The application package must include all the following materials in the order listed below:

  1. A cover sheet that includes applicant's name, department, email, and amount requesting.
  2. Proposal (2 pages maximum), including a brief project description that directly addresses the criteria listed above; the name of the grant program to which the applicant(s) will be applying and the value of the grant; the matching funds required by the grant program and the amount (if any) required from the University; the strategic character of the opportunity; and anticipated outcomes of the proposed project.
  3. List of project participants (separate page), including the project lead and/or co-leads, collaborators/partners, and any other participants – name, position, affiliation, role, email address).   
  4. Budget justification (separate page), including an itemized budget with justification of each expense and a list of contributions to the project from other sources. Standard Tri-council expense eligibility requirements apply. 

Please submit your application as a single pdf file via the online application form at least 6 weeks prior to the external sponsor’s deadline for the grant competition to which you plan to apply. Please use 12pt Times New Roman font, with margins set at a minimum of 0.75 in. Use the following format when naming your PDF file: GMF _Last Name, First Name.

 

Post-Award Conditions

Successful applicants must:

  • contact a member of the OVPRI strategic grant development team to discuss the 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 U of T Research Services Office (RSO) deadline.
  • agree to participate in the future as application reviewers in at least two OVPRI-adjudicated funding competitions or as a reviewer on an internal peer-review panel
  • Acknowledge support from the UTM OVPRI in any research outputs arising from the grant supported by this award

 

Application Results 

Results will be communicated to the lead applicant by email. Individual scores and/or rankings will not be provided, but general feedback may be provided upon request.

Successful applicants whose grant application to an external sponsor is ultimately successful will have their GMF funding transferred to the relevant account established by the RSO.

 

Questions 

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