About External Funding Sources
Research at Memorial University is often funded by external sources, including federal funding agencies, provincial and federal government, business and non-profit organizations. Specific funding opportunities can be found in the funding opportunities database.
Common sources of funding include:
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
NSERC is a federal research funding agency that aims to make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for the benefit of all Canadians. The agency supports university students in their advanced studies, promotes and supports discovery research and fosters innovation by encouraging Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects. NSERC researchers are on the vanguard of science, building on Canada’s long tradition of scientific excellence.
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
SSHRC is a federal research funding agency that promotes and supports post-secondary-based research and training in the humanities and social sciences.SSHRC-supported research enhances our understanding of modern social, cultural, technological, environmental, economic and wellness issues. It raises profound questions about who we are as human beings, what we need in order to thrive in complex and challenging times, and where we are headed in the new millennium. By focusing on developing talent, generating insights and forging connections across campuses and communities, SSHRC strategically supports world-leading initiatives that reflect a commitment to ensuring a better future for Canada and the world.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
CIHR is the federal government's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 14,100 health researchers and trainees across Canada. CIHR was created to transform health research in Canada by funding more research on targeted priority areas; building research capacity in under-developed areas such as population health and health services research; training the next generation of health researchers; and focusing on knowledge translation, so that the results of research are transformed into policies, practices, procedures, products and services.
Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI)
The CFI funds leading-edge research projects that build the nation’s capacity to innovate, compete and prosper in a knowledge-based global economy. CFI is a federal agency that focuses on state-of-the-art infrastructure, including equipment, laboratories, databases, specimens, scientific collections, computer hardware and software, communications linkages and buildings necessary to conduct leading-edge research.
Canada Research Chairs (CRC)
The Canada Research Chairs program stands at the centre of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world's top countries in research and development. It is a Government of Canada program to establish 2,000 research professorships—Canada Research Chairs—in eligible degree-granting institutions across the country. The Canada Research Chairs program invests $300 million per year to attract and retain some of the world's most accomplished and promising minds. Chairholders aim to achieve research excellence in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences. They improve our depth of knowledge and quality of life, strengthen Canada's international competitiveness, and help train the next generation of highly skilled people through student supervision, teaching, and the coordination of other researchers' work.
Learn more about the CRC program.
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
ACOA is a federal agency that works to create opportunities for economic growth in Atlantic Canada by helping businesses become more competitive, innovative and productive, by working with diverse communities to develop and diversify local economies, and by championing the strengths of Atlantic Canada.
Industry, Energy and Technology (IET)
The Department of Industry, Energy and Technology (IET) is the lead for innovation, economic development and diversification in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The department focuses on creating a competitive environment to support private sector investment and business growth; and supporting industries in Newfoundland and Labrador such as mining, energy and technology. Working closely with key stakeholders, the department also develops and monitors supporting regulatory and benefits activities.
Energy Research & Innovation
Energy Research & Innovation Newfoundland & Labrador is a not-for-profit organization that identifies collaborative research, development and demonstration (RD&D) opportunities and facilitates projects on behalf of Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil and gas industry.
With safety as the foundation of our industry and the work we do, Energy Research & Innovation directs RD&D to support the offshore industry’s sustainability through technology development and innovation.