FAQs for Researchers

Which external grants should I consider applying for?

• Tri-council (SSHRC, CIHR, NSERC)
• CFI, NFRF, Ministry of Universities and Colleges Early Researcher Award, IDRC, MITACS, other government grants, private foundations, etc.

Major funding agencies are listed on this ORIS site

Please follow the following steps:

• Discuss your application with the ORIS grant program coordinator prior to the deadline (ask questions, seek feedback)
• Follow the following guidelines for your budget
• Submit your draft by the internal deadline to the relevant ORIS grant program coordinator and ADR.
• Review feedback
• Revise
• Submit your revised application online
• Submit an internal form on the ERSO portal.

If you’re negotiating a research contract, please contact the following office.

The following process is used to set up a new account:

• The ORIS coordinator communicates it to the Research Finance Office
• Certification (REB, other) is completed by the researcher
• The Research office sets up and communicates to the researchers the information on the grant account.
• SAVE the account number; you will need it for processing expenses and research personnel forms.

1. University of Windsor Course Buy-out Policy

The University of Windsor buy-out policy, set by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic,  provides guidelines on course buy-outs.

At the discretion of the Dean, following a recommendation by the AAU Head and Associate Dean, Research, faculty members may use externally funded grants, research leadership chairs, contracts and endowed chairs to “buy out” courses they would otherwise teach as part of a regular teaching load.  Currently, the minimum charge to buy out a course is $18,162.26.  This rate is normally updated May 1 each year.

Some external grants allow for course buy-outs to be included in the budget request.

Researchers are encouraged to review the granting agency’s eligible expenditure policy and, if possible, to include this item in their budget.  Please remember that the value of the course buy-out tends to increase annually, and a multi-year grant budget should list projected values. 

2.Indirect costs

For tri-agency grants, the federal government provides Research Support Funds (RSFs) to cover such indirect costs as grant administration and accounting, REB reviews, and research labs. Unfortunately, no RSFs are received for other external grants.

However, some external granting agencies consider indirect costs to be an eligible expenditure to be included in the budget.

When applying for external grants, researchers are encouraged to review the agency’s eligible expenditure policies and, if allowed, include indirect costs in their budget.

3.Timing of course buy-outs

Course buy-outs will not be implemented by the Dean’s office until the funds have been received by the University of Windsor. Once the transfer of funds is confirmed by the Research Finance office, the researcher may request that the AAU Head or Director approve a course buy-out. Once approved, the request is to be forwarded to the Associate Dean, Research.  If funds are received after teaching loads have been set for the upcoming academic year, course buy-outs may not be possible until the year that follows. Under special circumstances, a course buy-out can be granted even after teaching loads have been assigned. A request detailing special circumstances is to be forwarded to the AAU Head or Director and, if approved, to the Associate Dean, Research, for consideration and final approval.

4. Procedure

Before submitting an external grant proposal, please discuss your buy-out requests and indirect costs with the Associate Dean, Research and obtain a letter confirming the commitments in principle. The letter will be filed with the Dean, Financial Coordinator and AAU Head/Director and is subject to change should there be any material changes with the grant funding.