Canada–G7–Nordic Quantum Technologies Grant 2026: Up to CAD 750,000 for International Research Teams

Canada–G7–Nordic Quantum Technologies Grant 2026: Up to CAD 750,000 for International Research Teams

The Canada–G7–Nordic call for proposals on quantum technologies is an open international research-funding competition led by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). It is designed for university-based teams whose work advances quantum science and technology and whose collaboration genuinely connects Canada with eligible researchers abroad. The proposal is submitted once by a Canadian principal applicant through NSERC; each participating country funds its own eligible researchers under its own rules.

This is not a general startup pitch competition and it is not a personal scholarship. It is a research grant for a Canadian university researcher or research team that can assemble a credible international project. At least one collaborator eligible for funding in the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, or a Nordic country is mandatory. U.S. collaborators can join, but their support follows the National Science Foundation’s existing international-supplement route rather than a new standalone award in this call.

The official deadline is September 24, 2026, before 8:00 pm Eastern Time. That is the NSERC deadline, not necessarily the deadline that matters most in practice: applicants must also ask their university research office for its earlier internal submission deadline. The call was published on July 27, 2026 and projects are intended to begin in 2027 after coordinated review and national funding decisions.

Key details at a glance

What the grant is intended to support

The participating funders describe this as a joint initiative for bilateral or multilateral collaborative projects in quantum science and technologies. The research must have a real quantum-technology thrust; a project that is merely adjacent to quantum work does not qualify. The stated areas are quantum algorithms and encryption, including post-quantum cryptography; quantum communications; quantum computing; quantum materials; and quantum sensing. A project can combine one or more of those areas with wider natural-science or engineering questions, as long as the quantum component remains central.

The call is open to non-confidential, unclassified, university-based research. It may include dual-use technologies, but it cannot support secret or classified research. That matters for teams working in security, communications, sensing, or advanced materials: an exciting application still needs an open research plan that can meet the participating funders’ integrity and security expectations.

For Canadian costs, NSERC lists examples of eligible direct research expenses: research-trainee salaries, technicians and research professional personnel, materials and supplies, activities that enable collaboration and knowledge mobilization, and activities to develop the international partnership. Equipment can be included when it is essential, incremental to existing capability, and stays within 30% of the total Canadian grant budget. Project management costs can be eligible up to 10% of total direct research costs when the need is explained in the budget justification.

The funding is deliberately national rather than pooled. Canadian award money is paid to the eligible Canadian university and supports Canadian activities. International teams request support from their own national funders. The Canadian proposal must nevertheless show the international budget in enough detail for reviewers to judge whether the whole project is feasible and balanced. Do not mistake the CAD 750,000 ceiling for the entire consortium budget.

Who is a strong fit

The practical target is a Canadian university research group with a specific research question that improves through a committed international partnership. A Canadian university researcher eligible to receive NSERC funding can apply independently or with eligible academic co-applicants. College faculty and certain adjunct professors may join as co-applicants under the call’s conditions, but the official eligibility rules should be checked with the institution before assigning roles.

The team must include at least one collaborator eligible for funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), UK Research and Innovation’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UKRI-EPSRC), or a Nordic funder coordinated through NordForsk. Canada plus one of those places is enough for a bilateral proposal; Canada plus two or more other countries is encouraged but not mandatory. U.S. collaborators may participate using existing resources or NSF international supplements.

This requirement should shape your decision before any writing begins. A good partner is not simply a prestigious name attached near the deadline. Reviewers will assess the added value and rationale for the selected international collaborators. The collaboration should make the research stronger in a way that each group can explain: a complementary experimental facility, a needed materials capability, a security or algorithmic specialty, a validation setting, access to a distinct data or hardware environment, or a training exchange that would not exist in a Canada-only project.

Industry, government, and non-profit partners are permitted, not required. If a private-sector partner is included, the call adds a national-security risk-assessment requirement. Partner cash contributions are not required; however, an included partner is expected to provide active in-kind support. That is a reason to keep optional partners genuinely useful rather than treating them as logos.

There are also country-level constraints that cannot be generalized away. For example, the UK component is limited to an FEC of £500,000 and UKRI funds 80%; Japan’s JST applicant must be a principal investigator or co-investigator on an eligible CREST project continuing through March 31, 2029 or later. Read the appropriate country annex before promising a collaborator that a particular budget or role is available.

Funding structure and project timing

For the Canadian applicant, the headline ceiling is CAD 750,000 per project, capped at CAD 250,000 per year, for a project of up to three years. NSERC indicates an approximate Canadian investment of CAD 19.5 million and 26 projects. These figures describe the Canadian portion; selections and funding remain subject to coordinated approval by the participating national funders.

The official page also identifies the funding position of several partner jurisdictions. Nordic teams may have up to NOK 7 million per project for three years, subject to their country annex. Germany has an approximately EUR 2 million total investment but no stated per-project maximum on the call page. JST lists up to JPY 60 million per project and a maximum two-year term without a no-cost extension. The UK route allows a maximum £500,000 FEC for the UK part, with UKRI meeting 80% of that cost. The relevant national funder—not NSERC—decides what its researchers may claim.

The timeline is compressed. The call opened July 27, 2026, and the deadline is September 24. NSERC says it expects the assessment process to take about three months. UKRI states that UK teams recommended through the international review are expected to be invited to submit their UK cost application in January 2027, with successful projects anticipated to start by the end of March 2027. Treat those as planning markers, not an excuse to defer partner decisions: the scientific proposal, roles, and full consortium budget must be coherent at the September submission.

How to apply through NSERC

Only the Canadian principal applicant submits the complete collaborative application to NSERC. Start in NSERC’s online system by creating a new Form 101, selecting Research partnerships programs, then Alliance Grants, choosing Full proposal, and selecting the call type International-Collaboration-G7-Nordic-Quantum. The official call says the Canadian team does not need to submit a duplicate proposal to UKRI in parallel; other international participants should still check their own national funder’s instructions.

NSERC lists the core submission package clearly. It includes Form 101; a collaborative proposal written jointly by the Canadian and international teams; a Form 100A personal-data form with Canadian Common CV attachment for the Canadian principal applicant and every Canadian co-applicant; CVs or biosketches for international collaborators, Canadian collaborators, and applicable partner-organization key staff; and a budget with justification for Canadian and international requests.

The collaborative proposal must use the call-specific template. Its limit is 10 pages in English or 12 pages in French. International collaborator biosketches or CVs are capped at two English pages (or 2.4 French pages). These limits mean a team should agree early on what must be in the narrative, instead of trying to solve a multi-country explanation through appendices that reviewers may not be allowed to consider.

The Canadian budget justification must append the requests from international collaborators as a single PDF. Give annual funding requested from each international funder in both the national currency and Canadian dollars, explain each cost category, and show why contributions are balanced and meaningful. If the project includes a private-sector partner, include the required National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships risk assessment. Because the research advances a sensitive technology area, the call also requires STRAC attestations from the applicant, co-applicants, and collaborators.

Build the proposal around the review criteria

NSERC will first conduct an administrative assessment for completeness and compliance. Late or incomplete applications are rejected. Applications that clear that stage go to an expert peer-review committee with input from participating funders. The published criteria offer a useful writing checklist.

First, reviewers assess the research plan: clear objectives and expected results, a feasible approach, an appropriate budget, innovative work, and its potential to advance quantum technologies. State the technical question in ordinary language before the specialist detail. Then show what success would look like, how it will be measured, and what the team will do if a key method does not work.

Second, they assess the research team and collaboration. Match each work package to named expertise. Explain why the Canadian and international groups need each other, what each controls, and how the project will be managed. A vague statement that a partner is “world leading” is weaker than a concrete division of work, shared milestones, data or material flows, and a reason that the interface between teams produces new knowledge.

Third, reviewers assess training. The call specifically values enriched learning and professional-skill opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and, where relevant, other early-career researchers. Outline actual opportunities: joint supervision, visiting-researcher time, shared protocol development, co-authored outputs, software or hardware training, or partner-led seminars. Do not merely list the number of trainees.

Finally, reviewers assess impact and benefits for Canada and every participating country. Be concrete about likely economic, environmental, or societal outcomes without claiming that early-stage research has already produced a deployable product. A strong quantum-sensing project might explain the future measurement problem it addresses and why international validation is valuable; a cryptography project might explain a credible pathway from mathematical result to security relevance.

Preparation plan for the remaining window

Start with a short partner alignment meeting. Confirm that the Canadian lead is eligible, each international collaborator has checked their national annex, and one person owns the NSERC submission calendar. Ask the Canadian research office for its internal deadline immediately; it may be substantially earlier than September 24.

Next, write a one-page collaboration map. Include the research objective, each institution’s contribution, the funding route for each group, proposed trainees, anticipated outputs, and security or intellectual-property issues. This is an internal planning document, not a replacement for the proposal, but it quickly exposes a partnership that is only nominal.

Then build the budget and project plan together. The Canadian and international budget requests need to tell the same story as the methods. If one group requests travel, say what hands-on integration, training, or knowledge exchange it enables. If a costly item is essential in Canada, confirm the equipment cap and show why the capability does not already exist. If an outside partner is present, allow time for the risk assessment rather than treating it as a final upload.

Reserve the final two weeks for compliance. Verify every Form 100A/CCV, CV length, template version, attestation, partner form, and institutional sign-off. NSERC says material or updates sent separately before or after the deadline will not be accepted. Submit early enough to fix a technical or institutional-routing problem, and preserve the final PDF versions and confirmation.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most serious error is building a project without the required international relationship. A Canadian team cannot turn a broad intention to collaborate overseas into eligibility; at least one collaborator must be eligible under a named participating funder. Confirm that in writing with the collaborator’s grants office.

Another common error is treating the partner budgets as an afterthought. The application requires international requests in national currency and Canadian dollars, with justification that allows reviewers to assess whether the full resource plan is appropriate. A Canadian-only budget with a paragraph about overseas work will look incomplete.

Avoid a theme mismatch. Work can be interdisciplinary, but it must advance one or more listed quantum areas. Explain the quantum contribution explicitly in the title, summary, objectives, and methods. The call says projects that do not address a listed quantum area will not be considered.

Do not overlook research-security paperwork. This is sensitive-technology research, so STRAC attestations are mandatory for named research roles. A private-sector partner triggers a risk assessment. Addressing those requirements late creates a preventable administrative failure and can expose unresolved concerns about affiliations, data, equipment, or research agreements.

Finally, do not use a generic impact section. This competition is specifically international. Make the benefit of the cross-border work visible: why it matters for Canada and why it has value for each other participating country.

Frequently asked questions

Can a researcher outside Canada submit the main application?

No. The Canadian principal applicant submits the single collaborative proposal through NSERC. International researchers join the proposal and seek support through their own national funder where eligible.

Is a Canada–United States team enough?

No. The minimum partnership is Canada plus an eligible collaborator from the UK, Germany, Japan, or a Nordic country. U.S. collaborators may participate, but a U.S. relationship alone does not meet the stated minimum.

How much can the full international team receive?

There is no single consortium amount. Each national funder supports its own eligible researchers. The confirmed Canadian ceiling is CAD 750,000 over up to three years; other country caps and rules are on the official call and country annexes.

Are doctoral studentships funded through the UK component?

UKRI states that it will not fund doctoral studentships through its component of this opportunity. The Canadian eligibility rules describe research-trainee salary support among direct research costs, but each group must follow its own national funder’s rules.

What happens after a successful international review?

NSERC and participating funders jointly determine recommendations and fund eligible researchers in their respective countries. UKRI says recommended UK teams will be invited to submit UK costs through its Funding Service; that later step does not involve a new scientific merit review, but standard finance, eligibility, and compliance checks still apply.

Where can applicants ask official questions?

For Canadian program questions, NSERC lists [email protected]. For UK-based remit or eligibility questions, UKRI lists [email protected]. Contact the home university research office as well, especially about its internal deadline and approvals.

Official links and next step

Read the NSERC opportunity page first; it is the authoritative source for the Canadian-led submission and international structure. Then read the Form 101 instructions before assigning tasks. UK teams should also use the UKRI country guidance.

The immediate next step is not drafting prose. It is confirming the eligible Canada-plus-international team, national funding routes, and the Canadian institution’s internal deadline. Once those facts are fixed, write the proposal as a joint, balanced research program with a defined quantum advance, a workable budget, credible training, and a clear reason the international collaboration is indispensable.