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Research GPS (Grant Proposal Support)

Home » Faculty Resources & Research Support » Research Commons » Research GPS (Grant Proposal Support)

The Research GPS (Grant Proposal Support) program offers a personalized approach to help hone grant development skills and turn research ideas into written proposals ready for submission. Professors are paired with a GPS Specialist for one-on-one support, receive feedback from Peer Reviewers, and will also work with their Faculty Research Officer for technical and budget support. The program is designed for new grant applications and resubmissions.

Important Dates - Fall 2025 Session

Registration opensThursday, August 7, 2025, 2:00 pm
Drop-In Q&A SessionTuesday, August 12, 2025, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Registration closesTuesday, September 9, 2025, 2:00 pm [extended deadline]
Program launchesMonday, September 22, 2025

What’s On This Page

Contact Research Commons

For questions specific to your Faculty or grant, please contact your Faculty Research Office.

Funding Programs Supported

Summer Session

Begins in May for Fall grant deadlines:

  • CIHR Project Grant
  • NSERC Discovery Grant
  • SSHRC Insight Grant
  • SSHRC Partnership Development Grant

Fall Session

Begins in August for Winter/Spring grant deadlines:

  • CIHR Project Grant
  • NSERC Alliance Grant (< $750k)
  • SSHRC Insight Development Grant

Participation Guidelines

Eligibility

Research GPS is open to all tenure-track and tenured, full-time faculty members (including Librarians). Please note that faculty members with contractually limited appointments and/or True Visitors are not eligible.

Researchers can only hold one spot in the Research GPS program, meaning you cannot receive support for more than one grant.

Priority Criteria

Priority will be given to:

  • Early career researchers, meaning those who are within five years of the date of their first tenure-track or independent research-related appointment (according to definitions provided by the Tri-Agencies [PDF])
  • Researchers transitioning to mid-career, meaning those who have received tenure no more than three years ago
  • Researchers who have not been awarded a Tri-Council grant in five or more years as a Principal Investigator
  • Researchers submitting to any of the Tri-Council agencies for the first time, regardless of past applications to a different agency
Funding

Researchers who fit at least one of the priority criteria will be offered up to 20 hours of GPS Specialist time, fully funded by Research Commons. 

We will also offer a limited number of positions to researchers who do not fit the priority criteria (i.e., established researchers) as part of a self-funded stream. For these researchers, Specialist time is not funded by Research Commons. While Research Commons will process contracts and pay invoices as usual, the researcher will journal funds to Research Commons (with assistance from our Operations Manager) at the end of the Research GPS session. The Research GPS program is designed to provide up to 20 direct consultation hours with a GPS Specialist plus 2 hours of administrative time. The usual rate for GPS Specialists is $125/hour, for a total of $2,750. Please note that HST is refunded by Finance and does not need to be paid by individual departments or faculty members. If any Research Commons funding is remaining at the end of the session, participants in the self-funded option may have their consultation hours partially or fully funded by Research Commons.

Participation Limits 

Participation caps for the Summer 2025 session are as follows:

  • 60 funded participants
  • 5 self-funded participants

Participation caps for the Fall 2025 session are as follows:

  • 25 funded participants
  • 5 self-funded participants
Adjudication

Eligibility is limited to the funding programs supported by Research GPS.

Applicants for the fully-funded stream will be assessed based on the priority criteria. The registration form will include an option to indicate whether you fit the priority criteria or not.

All applicants will be accepted into the fully-funded stream and the self-funded stream on a first come, first served basis. Registering for Research GPS does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Incomplete applications will not be considered. 

Support Offered

Researchers and Faculty Research Officers are invited to attend the Research GPS Drop-In Q&A Session. You are encouraged to first review the information on this webpage and attend the session with any questions you may have.

Research GPS Drop-In Q&A Session

Tuesday, August 12, 2025
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Zoom

Register here

Research Commons, in collaboration with relevant Faculties, will host information sessions on each of the grants supported by the Research GPS program. Faculty Research Officers will provide an overview of the application process, and past award recipients will share their tips and tricks for developing a successful application.

The information sessions are open to all faculty and staff. Stay tuned for registration links.

GrantInfo Session Date & TimeCollaborating Faculties
CIHR Project GrantWednesday, June 4, 2025, 1:00 - 2:30 pmFaculty of Health
NSERC Alliance GrantNovember (TBD)Faculty of Science; Lassonde School of Engineering
SSHRC Insight Development GrantThursday, October 9, 2025, 9:30 am to 11:30 am
Led by Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

The most prominent feature of Research GPS is the opportunity for intensive one-on-one coaching with a GPS Specialist, who is an experienced grant writer and/or editor with knowledge and expertise of the relevant Tri-Council funding program. Research Commons will pair researchers with a GPS Specialist to work with throughout the duration of the program. As you develop your grant proposal, you will hold regular consultations with your Specialist to receive guidance and editing support, as well as work together to integrate feedback from your Peer Reviewers. Researchers should coordinate their proposal development with their Faculty Research Officer, who can also provide technical and budget support. How you consult with your Specialist and Research Officer is up to you, whether you meet in person or virtually, or communicate by email.

Each researcher is offered up to 20 hours of one-on-one consultation time with a GPS Specialist, funded by Research Commons.

Please note that organizing meetings and initiating communications with the GPS Specialist is the researcher's responsibility.

A valuable component of Research GPS is the peer review process. To receive feedback from two Peer Reviewers, a complete draft of the grant proposal must be sent to Research Commons by the peer review deadline indicated in the Milestones section below. Peer Reviewers are internal or external researchers that do not need to be arms-length to the participant.

Peer Reviewers will make comments on your draft proposal document and fill out an evaluation rubric that is adapted from the grant agency’s evaluation guidelines. The turnaround time for peer review is typically 20 working days. You will then integrate the Peer Reviewers’ feedback in consultation with your Specialist.

Please also note that your Faculty may have its own, separate peer review process, and those details should be confirmed by your Faculty Research Officer.

Peer Review Process

Please note the peer review process is facilitated by Research Commons, meaning researchers typically have no direct contact with Peer Reviewers.

You will provide a list of five suggested Peer Reviewers as part of your registration, and we will aim to secure two. We will send prospective Peer Reviewers your project concept note (which you will have submitted as part of your registration) to give them a sense of your research. Once they have confirmed their availability, we will let you know. During this time, we will also provide you a finalized timeline for your peer review process, including the date your draft proposal is due for peer review and the date(s) you can expect to receive feedback.

Researchers are expected to submit their proposal draft as a single Word document (budget not required), along with a CV, to Research Commons to be forwarded to the Peer Reviewers.

Milestones

Event/Task Date(s) Details
Registration opensThursday, August 7, 2025, 2:00 pmFind details on the registration process below. Consult with your Faculty RO before registering, as they will support your grant proposal development.
Attend Drop-In Q&A SessionTuesday, August 12, 2025, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pmDrop in at any time during the hour to ask questions you may have about the program. Register here.
Registration closesTuesday, September 9, 2025, 2:00 pmFind details on the registration process below.
Receive welcome emailMonday, September 15, 2025You will receive a welcome email with information on the GPS Specialist you have been paired with, and will be asked to confirm your participation. Faculty ROs will receive a list of all the participants within their Faculty and will be asked to confirm their support.
Confirm participationWednesday, September 17, 2025You will send confirmation of your participation in the program. Once you have confirmed, we will process your GPS Specialist’s contract before the program launches.
Research GPS launchesMonday, September 29, 2025Your GPS Specialist’s contract will be processed and you can begin consulting with them and your Faculty RO to develop your proposal. See the Proposal Development & Submissions Timeline below.
Event/TaskDate(s)Details
Meet with GPS Specialist and Faculty RO for orientation and workplanShortly after launch date of September 29, 2025Coordinate with your GPS Specialist and Faculty RO to develop a workplan and schedule regular check-ins.
Hold regular consultations with GPS SpecialistLate September 2025 to Spring 2026As you develop your grant proposal, consult with your GPS Specialist to receive guidance and editing support. Consultations can be one-on-one with or without your Faculty RO, and can be in person, virtual, or by email. Initiating and organizing consultations is the responsibility of the researcher.
Check in with Faculty RO (with GPS Specialist)Monthly (suggested), late September 2025 to Spring 2026Review your progress with your Faculty RO (and GPS Specialist), as well as receive technical and budget support from your Faculty RO. Check-ins can be in person, virtual, or by email.
Submit draft proposal for peer review (single Word document), along with CVSee Grant Submission Deadlines belowFind more information on the Peer Review process above.
Integrate Peer Reviewers’ feedback with GPS SpecialistTypically 5 working days prior to Faculty review deadlineConfirm your Faculty deadlines with your Faculty RO.
Review final proposal and budgetTypically 5 working days prior to Faculty review deadline Review your final proposal and budget with your GPS Specialist and Faculty RO, and prepare an ORS checklist. Confirm your Faculty deadlines with your Faculty RO.
Submit final proposal to ORSSee ORS deadlines belowSubmit your final proposal and budget with the ORS checklist to ORS.
Fill out evaluation survey1-2 weeks after ORS deadline Your feedback on the Research GPS program will help us tremendously in planning future sessions.

For internal Faculty deadlines, please consult with your Faculty Research Officer. Please also note that your Faculty may have its own, separate peer review process, and those details should be also confirmed by your Faculty Research Officer.

GrantResearch GPS Peer Review - Draft Submission DeadlineResearch GPS Peer Review - Feedback Return DateORS DeadlineAgency Deadline
CIHR Project GrantJanuary 14, 2026February 11, 2026Day of agency deadline, 10:00 amMarch 4, 2026
NSERC Alliance GrantTBDTBDDay of agency deadline, 10:00 amLate March - Early April 2026 (TBD)*
SSHRC Insight Development GrantDecember 1, 2025January 5, 2026Two working days prior to agency deadline, 10:00 amAround February 2, 2026 (TBD)

*Though the NSERC Alliance Grant has a rolling deadline, Research Commons will assign a single deadline for Research GPS participants to ensure consistency in program tracking.

For internal Faculty deadlines, please consult with your Faculty Research Officer. Please also note that your Faculty may have its own, separate peer review process, and those details should be also confirmed by your Faculty Research Officer.

GrantResearch GPS Peer Review - Draft Submission DeadlineResearch GPS Peer Review - Feedback Return DateORS DeadlineAgency Deadline
CIHR Project GrantJuly 22, 2025August 20, 2025Day of agency deadline, 10:00 amSeptember 10, 2025
NSERC Discovery GrantSeptember 9, 2025October 7, 2025November 3, 2025, 10:00 amNovember 3, 2025
SSHRC Insight GrantAugust 5, 2025September 3, 2025October 1, 2025, 10:00 amOctober 1, 2025
SSHRC Partnership Development GrantSeptember 8, 2025October 6, 2025November 13, 2025, 10:00 amNovember 17, 2025

Registration

Register for Research GPS

Registration for the Fall 2025 session opens on Thursday, August 7, 2025, at 2:00 pm and closes on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, 2:00 pm.

Registration Guidelines

Supporting Documentation

Please upload a project concept note (500 words max): a lay summary of your research proposal, including your research objectives and proposed methodology.

Peer Reviewers

Please provide five suggested Peer Reviewers. They can be internal or external to York University, and they do not need to be arms-length to you. 

After the program launches, we will aim to secure two Peer Reviewers from the suggestions you provide. If all five Peer Reviewers are unavailable, we will ask you to provide further suggestions.