To be eligible for funding, the proposed research project must meet all criteria below:

1. Align with at least one of the seven economic outcomes defined in RNS strategic plan
2. Align with at least one of the three priority sectors
3. Address at least one of the sector objectives within the sector of alignment
4. Demonstrate a credible pathway to impact within Nova Scotia (through adoption, commercialization, or measurable system improvement, for example)
5. Fall into one of the following stages of development/readiness:
   • early-stage R&D projects that are high-potential but are too early or high-risk to secure traditional investor financing (private, public or philanthropic)
   • more advanced stage R&D projects that require the contribution of research providers to develop the invention or innovation for market
6. Meet the RNS definition of research

To be an eligible applicant for funding, applicants and host organizations must meet all the following criteria:

1. Host organization must be a Nova Scotian entity (private, public, or non-profit)
2. Must include participation of an independent research provider, such as the post-secondary sector, non-profit research organization, publicly funded research organization, or private sector research organization
3. The primary applicant must demonstrate commitment to high-quality research and have a history of research productivity
4. The primary applicant must be based in Nova Scotia

Proposals for E2G are completed in 2 stages: (1) a written application and (2) if selected to proceed, a research pitch.

Written applications are completed and submitted through Research Nova Scotia’s online portal, Jura. Before beginning your application, you must have a Jura account with a completed Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) self-declaration. See Key Documents below for specific instructions on how to complete these steps.

To apply, you must:

• In Stage 1
  • Complete and submit the written application through Jura between the published open and close dates
  • Provide all the information requested
  • Address all eligibility and evaluation criteria
  • Ensure your host organization has reviewed and signed off on your application before the deadline
• In Stage 2
  • If selected to proceed, attend a meeting with Research Nova Scotia to present a research pitch and engage in discussion about your project

Refer to the Funding Opportunity Guide for more information on the proposal requirements and submission.

Where to find the Jura Online Application Management System:

Jura can be accessed by clicking the link here: Jura.

Once in Jura, the E2G application can be found under the ‘Funding Opportunities’ section of the Jura homepage.

Once you begin an application, you can find it under ‘In Progress Applications’ if you need to come back to it at a later time.

Mandatory Information:

Once you are in the application, the different sections are displayed as tabs. Ensure you complete each section. 

Mandatory fields are flagged by asterisks (*) and, upon submission, the system will alert you to mandatory fields which have not been completed. It is important to ensure you carefully check the accuracy and completeness of your application as you go along and before submission.

Saving Your Application:

Information entered in Jura is NOT automatically saved. Click the ‘Save Draft’ button frequently to ensure that you do not lose any information.

Text Formatting:

Avoid copying and pasting information into the text boxes and tables in Jura as formatting will often be lost with the copying and sometimes hidden special characters can cause problems when you go to submit.

Uploads:

Jura only accepts document uploads in PDF format; all other file types must be converted accordingly.

Inviting Others to Collaborate:

You may invite others (i.e. co-applicants, collaborators, or partners) to view the submission via the ‘Invitations’ tab on the left side of the submission form. To invite an individual as a viewer:

1. Select the ‘plus button’ to add a new viewer to the application.
2. Provide the contact details of the individual and select the ‘viewer’ role from the role dropdown.
3. Once the contact information is entered for all viewers, select ‘Invite’; the individual(s) will receive an email inviting them to create an account in Jura and will be able to view the submission under the ‘In Progress Applications’ section on their Jura homepage.

If you would like to invite others to edit the application, please contact helpdesk@researchns.ca.

E2G proposals will be evaluated through a five-stage assessment process:

1. Screening (written application only):
   This stage includes an eligibility check and an alignment screen. Applicants that meet these requirements will be invited to a Research Pitch, and their written application will proceed to Assessment and Scientific Merit Review. Applicants not advancing to the Research Pitch will be notified.
   
2. Assessment (written application and pitch):
   Proposals are evaluated against five assessment elements in the RNS Strategic Plan: purpose and pathway to implementation, demand-side interest, value of the work, salience, and capacity to deliver. This assessment is conducted by scientific generalist reviewers with relevant strategic expertise.
   
3. Scientific Merit Review (written application only):
   The written application undergoes an independent review by qualified experts to assess the soundness of the research design, methodology, and theoretical approach. The outcome of this stage is a determination of whether the proposal meets the scientific quality standards required to remain under consideration.
   
4. Submission Ranking (all review components)
   RNS will integrate the findings of the Assessment and the Scientific Merit Review to determine the overall desirability of the proposed investment.
   
5. Integrated Review (whole-competition review):
   RNS conducts a cohort-level assessment to identify the strongest overall combination of proposals within the available competition budget.

For details on any part of this assessment process, refer to the Funding Opportunity Guide.

Successful Applicants:

Stage 1 (Written Application): Successful applicants from Stage 1 will be contacted via email in February 2026. We will reach out to schedule your research pitch to RNS. Pitches will be scheduled during the period of February 23 – March 13, 2026.

Stage 2 (Research Pitch): Following the research pitch and completion of the assessment process, successful applicants will be contacted via email in March 2026 with their Notice of Award. RNS will then reach out to coordinate a formal agreement, ethics review, and gather any other administrative information required.

Unsuccessful Applicants:

Unsuccessful applicants will be notified via email.

Feedback:

On request, applicants will be provided with an anonymized review summary.

E2G is an RNS funding vehicle designed to support research that impacts Nova Scotia’s economic growth. E2G supports shorter-term projects from 6 to 36 months with a maximum investment of $500,000. E2G investments help connect research to end users focused on economic growth and development.

To be eligible to apply for an E2G investment, the applicant must have a history of conducting research and be based in Nova Scotia. The application must name a Nova Scotian entity (private, public, or non-profit) as the host organization and include the participation of an independent research provider such as the post-secondary sector, non-profit research organizations, publicly funded research organizations, or private sector research organizations.

What makes E2G investments different from other funding programs are the two points of focus: early stage R&D projects that are high-potential but are too early or high risk to secure traditional investor financing and advanced stage R&D projects that require the contribution of research providers to develop the invention or innovation for market. Every E2G project must have a clear path to market and be end user-informed.  

The three priority sectors are the only areas in which RNS will make investments. Clear sector alignment and a well-described pathway to impact will be essential to any funding decision.

It is up to the applicant to make the argument that their proposed work achieves at least one of the seven proscribed economic outcomes.

No, a primary or co-primary applicant may only submit one application per funding round.

If your application was not funded, you are welcome to resubmit your application in a subsequent funding round. In doing so, we recommend reviewing any feedback you received for the initial submission.

If you meet all other eligibility criteria and you can clearly show the funds you are applying for through E2G address a research need currently unmet by existing funds, you are still eligible to apply.

RNS no longer provides stand alone match funding. However, RNS may consider matching funds as part of a broader application if the proposal still meets all the criteria required through the E2G funding vehicle.

If the proposal is identical and a trusted third party has reviewed the application (e.g. CFI), we will accept the outcome of that review. If the E2G proposal has areas that differ from that match funder application, then RNS will need that/those aspect(s) to be reviewed.

Any matching funds provided would count towards the $500,000 maximum.

Yes: RNS is aware of this requirement from CFI. We encourage applicants to emphasize the local relevance and give context for the use of the equipment in the Nova Scotia setting when they apply to E2G rather than repeat the work proposed to CFI.

E2G investment holders may be eligible to use a portion of their investment to leverage additional funds from the Mitacs programs. If your project would benefit from having a student or postdoc working with a project partner and you are considering including Mitacs funding in your project, indicate your intention to apply to Mitacs in your written application by including the anticipated Mitacs amounts in both the Revenue Streams and Projected Costs section of your application. See the Funding Opportunity Guide for further details.

Yes. You should inform your organization of your intent to apply as soon as possible as they will need to approve your application through Jura prior to 1:00pm (AST) on January 21, 2026. If the organization associated with your Jura account is different than the host organization who will administer the funds, please be sure to let us know so we can resolve this issue within Jura. If your organization is not a post-secondary institution or health authority, please email helpdesk@researchns.ca for further instructions on completing the organizational approval.

The primary applicant and host organization must be based in Nova Scotia, but team members and project partners can be from outside of Nova Scotia.

There are no eligibility requirements for roles other than the primary applicant(s) and host organization. Please see the Eligibility section for additional information.

There are no specific requirements for the composition of a research team, however, applicants should consider the types of team members (end users, community partners, etc.) that could increase the strength of their application.

A research provider is an organization whose primary role is to design, conduct and supply research. It gathers data, analyses it, and delivers findings for application by the end user. A host organization refers to the Nova Scotia–based entity to which RNS will disburse awarded funds and that assumes full responsibility for the appropriate financial management, reporting, and oversight of those funds. To be eligible as a host organization, the entity must demonstrate a legal and functional presence in Nova Scotia.

The research provider and the host organization are often the same, and if they are, then the research provider needs to be in Nova Scotia. If the research provider is different than the host organization, then they could be based elsewhere in Canada and still be eligible, however, if they are outside the country, RNS would need more information to assess if they are an eligible organization.

If you have specific questions about your situation, reach out to apply@researchns.ca

We realize the development process is highly variable across domains but there is no specific allocation or adjustment made by sector. Given the timeframe of E2G (6 to 36 months), the opportunity is purposefully targeting the types of research projects that have the capacity to deliver within this shorter timeframe.  

This is an opportunity to include documents you believe are relevant to the assessment criteria and add to the strength of your application in areas not already covered in the application template.

Although the E2G program was not developed specifically for capacity building for HQP or ECR, these elements can be built into an application as part of the pathway to achieving the research objectives (whether it is individual, institutional, or societal capacity building). Early Career Researchers are invited to apply directly.

Positions in academia are not directly excluded but when we talk about HQP deployed in Nova Scotia, we intend them to be outside the student environment. We want to see how the number of highly trained and highly qualified personnel working within Nova Scotia is augmented by the opportunity an E2G investment presents as opposed to simply increasing the number of researchers.

RNS will communicate via email to the address provided in your application.

If you are having trouble navigating the Jura system, please contact helpdesk@researchns.ca for assistance.