Sun-Earth System Sciences Mission Co-Investigator 2021-2022

3.1 Eligible recipients

For this AO, only Canadian universities are eligible.

For the purposes of this AO, the term "Applicant" refers to the Canadian university that will submit the application. The term "Co-Investigator or Co-I" refers to the individual employed by the Applicant who would lead the proposed scientific activities (i.e. they would be the Principal Investigator on the CSA grant). The Mission Co-I must:

• hold a PhD obtained from a recognized institution;
• hold a permanent, term, or contract position at the Applicant institution for the duration of the funding agreement. The position may be paid or unpaid. This includes Adjunct Faculty that may be employed by industry; and
• may not be paid from the grant.

These conditions must be satisfied at the time of application.

The Mission Co-I must be an approved member of the mission science team with a formally defined role on an eligible mission (see Section 3.2). The official status of the Mission Co-I can also be contingent on the receipt of CSA funds, provided that the commitment to that status is clearly expressed in a support letter provided by the mission's or its Agency's official. For all missions, a recent letter from the mission or instrument PI or from the relevant international space agency representative is required as demonstration of the Co-I's status on this science team, science working group, science consortium, science development team, or instrument development team. The letter must identify the mission and science investigation as appropriate, the anticipated dates of launch and beginning of operations, and must include a confirmation of the status (or invited status) and a summary of the role and responsibilities of the proposed Mission Co-I.

The involvement of graduate students supporting a Co-I in the proposed activities is actively encouraged. Students do not need to be named in the letter demonstrating science team membership status, but it is the Co-I's responsibility to ensure that work conducted as a result of this funding complies with relevant mission agreements, such as Rules of the Road for data sharing and similar mission agreement documents.

International collaboration is also actively encouraged and is expected to be conducted through no exchange of funds, except as stated in Section 6.2.

3.2 Eligible Projects

To be eligible for CSA funding, projects must consist of:

• Research activities of interest to Canada related to space science and technology disciplines and their applications.

In addition, projects must satisfy each of the following criteria.

3.3 Links to CSA priorities

To be eligible, projects supported under this AO must contribute to investigations addressing the following CSA space science objective:

• Increase knowledge from research projects in priority space science and technology areas as defined in Section 3.2.2

3.4 Links to G&C Program objectives

To be eligible, projects supported under this AO must contribute to the achievement of the following objectives:

• to support the development of science and technology relevant to the priorities of the CSA and;
• to support information gathering, studies, and research related to space.

4.1 Required documentation

Applicants must submit a completed Application as described below.

The Application must include the following:

• A completed typed original application form signed by the Duly Authorized Representative;
• One (1) signed copy of the application proposal;
• A copy of the document(s) confirming the legal name of the Applicant;
• Letters from other funding contributors confirming their contributions (if applicable);
• Declaration on Confidentiality, Access to Information Act and Privacy Act form signed by the duly authorized representative (refer to the Applicant Declaration on Confidentiality, Access to Information Act and Privacy Act section included in the application form); and
• For organizations in Quebec, M-30 Supporting Documentation form completed and signed by the duly authorized representative (refer to the M-30 form for organizations in Quebec included in the application form).
• Letter of support from the mission or instrument PI or appropriate space agency representative confirming status of the Co-I on the mission science team (see Section 3.1).

The application must be prepared as a single PDF-formatted file containing all of the above requested documents with all security features disabled. Please order the document with the application form and proposal first. The proposal and supporting documents must be included in the file as searchable PDF-formatted documents (PDF/A-1a or PDF/A-2a formats preferred). If there are any accessibility issues with the submitted PDF file, all consequences reside with the Applicant.

Any missing supporting document or any incoherence between the requested documents and the information provided within the documents may lead to the rejection of the proposal on that sole basis.

It is the Applicant's responsibility to ensure that the application complies with all relevant federal, provincial, and territorial legislation and municipal bylaws.

4.2 Service Standards – Complete Applications

Applicants will be notified in writing of decisions regarding their application. Selected applications will be announced on the CSA website. The CSA has set the following service standards for processing times, acknowledgement of receipt, funding decisions and payment procedures.

• Acknowledgement: The CSA's goal is to acknowledge receipt of proposals within two (2) weeks of receiving the completed application package.
• Decision: The CSA's goal is to respond to the proposal within eleven (11) weeks of the AO's closing date and to send a grant agreement for signature within four (4) weeks after formal approval of the proposal.
• Payment: The CSA's goal is to issue payment within four (4) weeks of the successful fulfillment of the requirements outlined in the grant agreement.

Compliance with these service standards is a shared responsibility. Applicants must submit all required documentation in a timely fashion. Service standards may vary by Announcement of Opportunity.

The Applicant should plan for a nominal award start not sooner than March 15, 2022.

5.1 Eligibility Criteria

Applications must satisfy the following eligibility criteria:

• Represents an eligible recipient as defined in Section 3.1;
• Represents an eligible project as defined in Section 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4;
• Meets program funding provisions Section 6.1.

5.2 Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation committee will evaluate eligible applications according to the following criteria. These are further described in appendix A.

The minimum overall score required to be considered for funding is 60 points.

5.3 Evaluation Process

Only applications that have passed the eligibility assessment listed in Section 5.1 will be given further consideration.

Once the eligibility criteria are confirmed, evaluators will assess the screened applications according to the criteria listed in Section 5.2. Evaluators shall be experts in the fields relevant to the applications and may include representatives of Canada and other countries, and representatives of other government and non-government agencies and organizations. If applicable, a multidisciplinary evaluation committee will be formed when applications from several different disciplines are competing in order to provide a uniform final score and ranking of proposals.

Before a final decision is made, the CSA's Program Managers responsible for this AO may seek input and advice from other organizations, including (but not limited to) federal, provincial, territorial and municipal government agencies and organizations.

6.1 Available Funding and Project Duration

The total maximum funding amount given in the form of a grant for each project will be $75,000 in Canadian dollars over a maximum period of three (3) years. One year agreements are also encouraged for certain international missions in atmospheric sciences that will launch in 2022 and therefore would be a maximum of $25,000 in Canadian dollars over a maximum period of one (1) year, depending on which option is selected by the applicant. The maximum amount that may be requested from the CSA per government fiscal year (April 1st to March 31st) is $25,000.

The number of projects under this AO will depend on funding availability. Subject to available funding, it is anticipated that the projects could be extended for an additional one (1) to two (2) years. However, submitted proposals should plan to be completed within the maximum period given above.

An Applicant may be funded for more than one (1) project under this AO provided each project has a different Mission Co-I. The CSA will award at most one (1) grant per Mission Co-I.

The CSA reserves the right to reject any proposals or reduce the amount of the grants at its entire discretion.

Approved proposals will be eligible for a total amount of government assistance (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal) of up to 100% of total project costs in the case of other eligible recipients.

To determine the amount of funding to be allocated, consideration will be given to the availability of CSA funds, the total cost of the project, and the other confirmed sources of funds provided by other stakeholders and the Applicant.

Respecting budget availability, the intent is to award a balanced number of grants in each discipline or at least one in each discipline. However, should there be fewer or no qualified application in one discipline, than more could be awarded to the other discipline.

Applicants must identify all sources of funding in their applications and confirm this information in a funding agreement if the project is selected for funding. Upon completion of a project, the recipient must also disclose all sources of funding.

6.2 Eligible Costs

Eligible costs are direct expenses that are associated with the delivery of the approved project and that are required to achieve the expected results of the project. Expenses will be covered subject to the Applicant signing a funding agreement, in the form of a grant, with the CSA.

Eligible costs for grants under this AO are the following:

• Access fees;
• Accommodation and meal allowances;
• Acquisition, development and printing of materials;
• Acquisition or rental of equipment (1);
• Bursaries;
• Consultant services;
• Costs related to obtaining security clearance;
• Data acquisition;
• Data management;
• Laboratory analysis services;
• License and permit fees;
• Marketing and printing services;
• Materials and supplies;
• Overhead (administrative) costs (not to exceed 10% of eligible costs for universities);
• Participation fees at conferences, committees and events;
• PST, HST and GST net of any rebate to which the recipient is entitled and the reimbursement of any taxes for goods and services acquired in a foreign country net of any rebate or reimbursement received in the foreign country;
• Publication and communication services;
• Registration fees;
• Salaries and benefits;
• Training;
• Translation services; and
• Travel (2).;

1. Laboratory or field instrumentation (including computers) is an eligible cost under the category equipment purchase or rental.
2. Up to $5000 over the term of the grant may be used for travel to Canada of an international collaborator for the purpose of the proposed work.

7.1 Payments

The CSA and each successful Applicant (the funding recipient) will sign a funding agreement. This is a condition for any payment made by the CSA with respect to the approved project.

For grant agreements, payments will be made in a lump sum or instalments as described in the signed agreement. Grant funding agreements will include a clause stipulating the recipient's obligation to confirm—once a year in the case of multi-year agreements—their eligibility for the G&C Program – Research Component and inform the CSA in writing of any changes to the conditions used in determining their eligibility for this component.

7.2 Audit

The recipient of a funding agreement shall keep proper records of all documentation related to the funded project, for the duration of the project and for six (6) years after the completion date of the project, in the event of an audit. This documentation shall be available upon request.

7.3 Conflict of interest

In the funding agreement, the recipient will certify that any current or former public office holder or public servant it employs complies with the provisions of the relevant Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders and the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector respectively.

7.4 Intellectual Property

All intellectual property developed by the recipient in the course of the project shall vest in the recipient.

7.5 Organizations in Québec

An organization in Quebec whose operations are partially or fully funded by the province of Quebec may be subject to the Act Respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif, R.S.Q., Chapter M-30.

Under Sections 3.11 and 3.12 of this Act, certain entities/organizations, as defined in the meaning of the Act, such as municipal bodies, school bodies, or public agencies, must obtain authorization from the Secrétariat du Québec aux relations canadiennes (SQRC), as indicated by the Act, before signing any funding agreement with the Government of Canada, its departments or agencies, or a federal public agency.

Consequently, any entity that is subject to the Act is responsible for obtaining such authorization before signing any funding agreement with the Government of Canada.

Quebec Applicants must complete, sign and include the M-30 Supporting Documentation form with their application.

7.6 Performance Measurement

The CSA will ask the recipients to report on certain aspects of their projects such as:

• Knowledge Creation
  • Knowledge production (including publications)
  • Presentations
  • Intellectual property (including patents)
• Capacity Building
  • Project's research team (including highly qualified personnel supported)
• Collaboration
  • Partners' contributions
  • Partnerships
  • Multidisciplinarity

7.7 Open Access Publications

In the event that publications result from the project, the CSA wishes to promote the dissemination of findings that results from the projects it funds as quickly and to the greatest number of people as possible. Improved access to scientific results not only allows scientists to use a broader range of resources and knowledge, but also improves research collaboration and coordination, strengthens citizen engagement and supports the economy.

Thus, the CSA promotes the use of open access publication and archiving by recipients in order to facilitate the widest dissemination of findings that results from its funded projects. Thus, recipients are invited to publish, in a timely matter, their articles by using one of the following methods:

1. Accessible online repository (institutional or disciplinary) so that the publication is freely accessible.
2. Journal offering open access to articles.

It should be noted that these two methods are not mutually exclusive and that recipients are encouraged to use both.

Finally, the CSA wishes to receive, as a courtesy, a copy of the publications (if not freely accessible) or the hyperlink (if freely accessible) and its digital object identifier (DOI). These will be use to improve accessibility by including them in the CSA publications directory.

Scoring and weights

Each criterion will be rated on a letter scale from A to D, with A being the highest score. A numerical weight is associated with each letter.

There is an overall minimum score of 60 to pass, as well an individual minimum requirements on all criteria individually. The Applicant is advised to read Evaluation Criteria carefully when preparing the proposal.

1. Benefits to Canada

2. Results

3. Resources

4. Feasibility of the project

5. Risk and mitigation strategies - Project risks (financial, managerial, scientific and/or technical) and mitigation strategies.

Total