The Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) was created in 2014 to support Canadian postsecondary institutions in their efforts to become global research leaders. The Fund helps Canadian universities, colleges and polytechnics compete with the best in the world for talent and partnership opportunities. It also supports them to make breakthrough discoveries; seize emerging opportunities and strategically advance their greatest strengths on the global stage; and implement large-scale, transformational and forward-thinking institutional strategies.
The Fund is governed by a steering committee comprising the presidents of the three federal research granting agencies—the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research—and the deputy ministers of Health Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. The Canada Foundation for Innovation holds observer status on the committee. The Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat, housed within SSHRC, is responsible for the administration of the Fund.
Awards
The inaugural CFREF competition was split into two parts, with a first competition awarding some $350 million to five initiatives. This second competition, announced today, has awarded $900 million to 13 initiatives.
The successful proposals were selected through a rigorous merit review process. This ensured that the high international standards of research excellence established for the program were respected. Review panels provided detailed evaluations of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the applications, based on the related selection criteria, and made observations on the budgets requested. The review panel reports were then transmitted to the selection board, which made final recommendations to the steering committee.
The review panels comprised international experts with broad expertise representing a variety of domains and disciplines. These experts had experience in the administration of large research endeavours, and in the development of world-leading research capabilities. The prestigious, arm’s-length selection board, composed of leaders from the academic, private and other relevant sectors, ensures that the Fund supports initiatives on the basis of the highest international standards of research excellence, and that funding decisions take into account areas of strength, opportunity, and relevance to Canada.
Recipients
The 13 recipients of funding from the second inaugural competition are:
| Lead Institution |
Initiative Title |
Amount of Funding over Seven Years |
Dalhousie University |
Safe and Sustainable Development of the Ocean Frontier |
$93,732,000 |
Laurentian University |
Metal Earth |
$49,269,000 |
McGill University |
Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives (HBHL) |
$84,000,000 |
Polytechnique Montréal |
The "Montreal TransMedTech (MT2) Institute": An open-innovation ecosystem for the development of next generation medical technologies |
$35,625,000 |
Queen's University |
Canadian Particle Astrophysics Research Centre |
$63,744,000 |
Université de Montréal |
Data Serving Canadians: Deep Learning and Optimization for the Knowledge Revolution |
$93,562,000 |
University of Alberta |
Future Energy Systems |
$75,000,000 |
University of Calgary |
Global Research Initiative in Sustainable Low Carbon Unconventional Resources |
$75,000,000 |
University of Guelph |
Food from Thought: Agricultural Systems for a Healthy Planet |
$76,613,000 |
University of Saskatchewan |
World Water Futures: Solutions to Water Threats in an Era of Global Change |
$77,840,000 |
University of Waterloo |
Transformative Quantum Technologies |
$76,277,000 |
Western University |
BrainsCAN: Brain Health for Life |
$66,000,000 |
York University |
Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) |
$33,338,000 |
|
TOTAL |
$900,000,000 |
First Inaugural Competition
The first round of announcements was made in July 2015. The five recipients of funding were:
| Lead Institution |
Initiative Title |
Amount of Funding over Seven Years |
Université Laval |
Sentinel North |
$98,021,000 |
Université de Sherbrooke |
From Quantum Science to Quantum Technologies |
$33,517,000 |
The University of British Columbia |
Quantum Materials and Future Technologies |
$66,539,000 |
University of Saskatchewan |
Designing Crops for Global Food Security |
$37,240,000 |
University of Toronto |
Medicine by Design |
$113,976,000 |
|
TOTAL |
$350,000,000 |