Funding, News and Announcements

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has released the Draft Call for Proposals for the 2023 Major Science Initiatives (MSI) Fund.

CFI welcomes feedback from the Canadian research community and other stakeholders. Any comments may be sent to Shelley Brown by June 28, 2021, to be forwarded to CFI.

The MSI will contribute to the ongoing operating and maintenance (O&M) needs of facilities of national importance. Facilities that seek funding for O&M costs through this competition must meet the eight criteria described in the Draft Call for Proposals (p. 6-7).

The objectives of the MSI competition are as follows:

1. Enable pan-Canadian research communities to undertake world-class research and technology development that lead to social, health, economic or environmental benefits for Canadians;
2. Enable facilities to operate at an optimal level to ensure the best use of their specialized equipment, services, resources, and technical and scientific personnel;
3. Promote responsible stewardship by the adoption of best practices in governance and management.

The competition is open for both currently funded facilities and new applicants. The budget for the CFI 2023-2029 MSI competition is $660M over 6 years.

Interested researchers should submit the following as an Expression of Interest (EOI):

• Name of PI
• Total budget (please also indicate total request to CFI)
• Description of national facility and proposed research program (250 words maximum).

Researchers should submit the EOI to their Faculties. Faculties with more than one submission should rank order the EOIs and send to Shelley Brown by June 25, 2021.

EOIs will be reviewed by a committee, led by the VPRI, for selection of proposals to move forward. Additional information may be requested upon review.