The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) established a Liaison Committee in 1995, which has contributed to 15 years of fruitful interactions between the Canadian Physics research community and NSERC. Because of changes to NSERC’s Discovery Grants peer review committee structure, the Terms of Reference and composition of this Committee were updated in 2010.

Key aspects of the Liaison Committee include open communication and information sharing. The CAP-NSERC Liaison Committee provides a forum for ongoing dialogue between the Canadian Physics research community and NSERC on matters of broad interest to the community.  In the past, such topics have included :

• Improvements and increased resources for Physics in NSERC's reallocations exercises
• A review of Canadian University-based Physics Research
• Modifications in Grant-selection committee procedures and structure

Meetings with NSERC officials are held annually at the CAP Congress, and further meetings throughout the year are held as needed.

The membership of the Liaison Committee is intended to reflect the diversity of the Physics research community that is represented by the CAP’s Divisions, and will be based on the Research Topics of NSERC’s Physics Evaluation Group (EG 1505). The Committee, which is chaired by the CAP's Director of Academic Affairs, will thus include one CAP representative for each of the six overarching research areas listed below.  The members of the appropriate divisions (see annotations below) will be invited to submit nominations and subsequently vote for the CAP member that will represent their community on this committee. The elected representatives will be appointed for 3-year terms which run from June to June, with two representatives being replaced each year.

• Atomic and Molecular Physics, Optics and Lasers, and Plasmas (CEWIP, DAMOPC, DCMMP, DIAP, DIMP and DPP)
• Biomedical and Biological Physics (CEWIP, DCMMP, DIAP, DIMP, DMBP and DSS)
• Near-Earth and Space Physics (CEWIP and DASP)
• Condensed Matter Physics (CEWIP, DCMMP, DIAP and DSS)
• Subatomic Physics (CEWIP, DNP and PPD)
• Theoretical/Mathematical Physics (CEWIP, DCMMP and DTP)

A Call for Nominations for representatives to this committee will be issued in the Fall each year, with the elections held before Christmas.  Both the outgoing and incoming committee members will be invited to participate in the Liaison meeting held at the CAP Congress the subsequent June.