CISE Sponsorship and Awards
CISE-Atlantic supports the advancement of inclusive and equitable STEM programming through sponsorships, funding, and partnership building programs.
Catalyze and Facilitate
Our Catalyze and Facilitate Sponsorship Program provides seed-funding to help with establishing new projects or expanding pre-existing ones that work to advance success and inclusion in STEM in Atlantic Canada. Organizations may apply for a single year, with funding capped at $5,000 for projects.
What is Catalyze and Facilitate?
The Catalyze & Facilitate Sponsorship Program:
- offers a unique opportunity for organizations within Atlantic Canada to seek one-time sponsorships to expand existing or seed new dynamic, sustainable programming that fosters equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM.
- encourages programming that complements and augments the expertise and geographic reach of the CISE-Atlantic chairs, e.g., through coding and engineering programs, accessible science, programs designed for 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, PEI, and NB-based programs.
- creates a space for potential collaboration with the CISE-Atlantic team on proposed projects as well as access to the CISE-Atlantic network of partners.
Who can apply?
To be eligible, an organization must fall into one of the following categories:
- a non-profit organization with a recognized registration number in the Atlantic region,
- an educational institution, or
- an entity affiliated with either a non-profit group or educational institution
What is the process?
Each year, applications open in August to fund programs and initiatives taking place in the following year.
There are three stages to the Catalyze and Facilitate program:
- Initial Application – August-October
- Meeting with the Chairs – November
- Final Proposal – November-December
Typically, all applicants are informed of decisions by the second week of December.
How are projects selected?
Decisions to fund projects are made by the CISE-Atlantic Chairs using the following criteria as a guide:
- Clear identification of equity-deserving/equity-priority group(s) that the project aims to support along with rationale for this focus.
- Demonstration of the project’s necessity and innovation, including considerations related to geography and sectors.
- Scale and quality of projected impact, including quantitative measurements like number of participants the project intends to reach.
- Defined strategies and tools for measuring the project’s success and/or plans for sharing project outcomes.
- Project’s sustainability after the funding period, with special attention to organizational capacity.
- Clear identification of additional partners supporting the project and/or opportunities for collaboration with CISE-Atlantic Chairs
- Evidence of organizational preparedness to manage the allocated funding, including feasibility.
- A comprehensive budget and a clear budget justification.
CISE-Atlantic's SPARK Lectures
What is SPARK?
CISE-Atlantic presents the STEM Professionals Advancing Research and changemaKing (SPARK) Lecture Tour award in special recognition of professional excellence and research advancements in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in the Atlantic Canadian provinces.
The Award’s sponsorship of a Lecture Tour aims to support the professional development of awardees through speaking engagements; highlight the contributions of early-career researchers and researchers from equity-deserving groups in STEM; and promote the sharing of knowledge and research across the Atlantic region.
How does nomination work?
You can review the 2026 Nomination Package here. Link opens in new window.
Who was the inaugural SPARK Lecture Awardee?
The inaugural 2025 awardee was Dr. Hilding Neilson, an astrophysicist and Mi’kmaw scientist at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. Dr. Neilson is dedicated to bridging Indigenous knowledge and astronomy, and reshaping how we understand the cosmos through the lens of Indigeneity. His research explores stellar physics, exoplanets, and the narratives stars tell.
In April 2025, Dr. Neilson delivered five lectures across Atlantic Canada at the Université de Moncton, Mount Allison University, Saint Francis Xavier University, University of Prince Edward Island, and University of New Brunswick – Fredericton. His lecture series covered a variety of topics including:
- Ongoing Colonization in Astronomy Research and Space Exploration
- Indigenous Knowledges and Western Astronomy
- Evolution of Pulsating Variable Stars