LOF – under $1 million

Fund Summary

The Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF) offers institutions the opportunity to acquire foundational infrastructure for their leading research faculty to undertake cutting-edge research. In turn this enables universities to remain internationally competitive in areas of research and technology development which reflects their priorities as identified in their Strategic Research Plan.

 

Eligibility

The institutions must be eligible to receive funding under the LOF, in order to submit a proposal. The LOF is an allocation-based fund whereby the CFI predetermines the maximum amount of funding available for each eligible institution. Universities having a minimum annual average of $300,000 in sponsored research income (excluding CFI awards) as reported by the Canadian Association of University Business Offices (CAUBO), are eligible to receive a LOF allocation. These allocations may be reviewed periodically as new funds are made available to the CFI.

The LOF is intended to serve the infrastructure needs of individual faculty, or small groups of up to three faculty members where there is a demonstrated need to share infrastructure. The LOF is not intended to serve the infrastructure needs of larger groups, centres, departments or institutions. The sharing of equipment is encouraged to the extent that the candidate maintains priority access.

 

Review process

Eligible universities wishing to apply to the LOF (under $1 million) must use the CFI online forms and submit their proposals electronically. They must also send the CFI the LOF proposal submission letter signed by their President/CEO or delegate.

The CFI has established a College of Reviewers whose members have experience in assessing candidate-based proposals. LOF (under $1 million) proposals are reviewed by at least two experts chosen among suggested reviewers, college members and external reviewers. These reviewers will provide written reviews and may also meet by teleconference if their initial assessment differs. The CFI has also convened a LOF Advisory Committee (LOFAC) whose members are drawn from all research fields and from different sectors. When the proposed research spans diverse disciplines, the proposal is otherwise highly complex or when the comments received from the reviewers differ significantly, the CFI may seek advice from additional expert reviewers and/or the LOFAC in making its funding recommendations.

There are three application deadlines per year for LOF – under $1 million proposals: February 15, June 15 and October 15. If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it will be extended to the following business day.

 

Assessment criteria

Proposals are assessed using the following criteria:

1. Quality of the research and need for the infrastructure

  • Quality, originality and innovative potential of the research or technology development
  • Candidate’s research leadership relative to the current stage of his/her career, research contributions to date and potential ability to capitalize on innovative research opportunities
  • Appropriateness of the infrastructure in meeting the research or technology development needs
  • Sustainability, including operation and maintenance of the infrastructure on an ongoing basis

 

2. Contribution to strengthening the capacity for innovation

  • Enhance and sustain institutional capacity in strategic research priority areas as identified by the institutional Strategic Research Plan
  • Cultivate a stimulating and enriched environment for training highly qualified personnel for research and other careers
  • Facilitate productive collaboration among researchers and users of research results

 

3. Potential benefits to Canada

  • Support improvement to society, health, the environment, quality of life or public policy
  • Contribute to increased economic activity
  • Given the goals of the LOF, the focus of the assessment will be the candidate(s) as opposed to the other users or collaborators in the research process. Therefore, proposals must clearly describe:
  • the qualifications, experience and leadership of the candidate(s) in relation to the proposed research and research training;
  • the infrastructure that is being requested for use by the candidate(s) and why it is essential to carry out the candidate's proposed research;
  • the value added of an additional award in cases where the candidate has previously received an award through the LOF, New Opportunities Fund, Canada Research Chairs Infrastructure Fund or Career Award. Specifically, the results and outcomes of the previous award must be highlighted.

 

Decision process

The CFI is committed to ensuring the timely review of LOF proposals. The review process takes approximately four months. Funding recommendations are presented to the CFI Board of Directors at the earliest possible decision point.

Universities will be informed of decisions by email shortly after the CFI Board has met. Successful proposals will also be listed on the CFI website. The CFI will inform universities of any conditions associated with an award and provide reviewer comments for all proposals. The reviewers’ comments will be available on the institutional dashboard shortly after the Board meeting.

It is the responsibility of recipient universities to submit the necessary documents to the CFI in order to finalize awards and establish payment schedules.

 

Public announcements

The CFI will make a national public announcement of the decisions made by the CFI Board of Directors within one month of the Board meeting, when possible. Universities must not make these decisions public until the national announcement is made. The CFI also seeks additional opportunities to work with universities on local or regional announcements following the national event.

 

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