$20.5M in CFI funding for 103 projects

Edmonton, AB – The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) today announced funding for 103 new projects at 33 Canadian universities. The funding of $20.5 million under the CFI’s Leaders Opportunity Fund will support the work of 132 researchers.

The $20.5 million comes from two funds: $17 million under the LOF, and $3.5 under the Infrastructure Operating Fund, an accompanying program which assists universities with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with new infrastructure projects.

Today’s announcement includes a project jointly funded by the CFI and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to support the work of Jacob Masliyah at the University of Alberta, the recipient also of an Industrial Research Chair position awarded by NSERC. This is the first project approved under a new mechanism that will see the CFI review projects jointly with Canada’s three federal funding agencies, a process that will streamline and simplify the funding application procedure for both researchers and institutions.

“This exciting new initiative is a great example of how Canada’s various funding agencies can work together effectively to fund different aspects of a research program with a minimum of bureaucracy,” says Dr Nigel Lloyd, executive vice-president at NSERC about this new mechanism. “As well, I am very pleased that NSERC can continue to support the work of Dr Masliyah, who is a recognized leader in the field of bitumen extraction and one of the most prolific chemical engineering researchers in the world.”

The Leaders Opportunity Fund is a new program designed to reflect Canada’s fast-evolving research environment by giving Canadian universities the flexibility they need to both attract and retain the world’s finest researchers at a time of intense international competition for leading faculty. The federal government this year announced that the program will receive an additional $20 million per year.

A complete list of the projects funded to date can be found at www.innovation.ca.