Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ 1:

Section 6.10.2 – Requesting the release of IOF:  Is an Institutional Allocation Plan (IAP) required prior to requesting the release of IOF?

As of November 2008, the Institutional Allocation Plan (IAP) is no longer a CFI requirement for the request and release of IOF support. 

However, it is the institution’s responsibility to ensure that sufficient funds are provided for the operations and maintenance of CFI-funded infrastructure. Institutions must have an internal plan or strategy—made public to all relevant stakeholders at the institutions—to meet these obligations. Because the Infrastructure Operating Fund (IOF) helps institutions with a portion of the operations and maintenance costs of CFI-funded infrastructure, it should be an integral part of the institution’s operations and maintenance plan or strategy. This plan or strategy must be retained on file and provided to the CFI upon request.

FAQ 2:

Section 6.10.3 – Reporting of Actual Expenditures: Can IOF funds be directed towards expenditures other than the ones reported to the CFI in the IOF Annual Report?

The CFI wishes to keep the administration of the IOF as simple as possible, minimizing the documentation and reporting requirements, while still ensuring accountability. In addition, actual operations and maintenance expenditures often exceed the institution’s IOF allocation provided by the CFI under the IOF. As such, the CFI only requires that an institution demonstrate in its IOF Annual Report that it had sufficient eligible IOF expenditures for the amount of funding requested and that such expenditures were not claimed for reimbursement from another source. An institution has the flexibility, when reporting to the CFI, of focusing on high dollar value items within a limited number of CFI-funded infrastructure projects. There is no requirement that the IOF Annual Report reflect how an institution has internally allocated IOF and other operating funds to support the miscellaneous operation and maintenance costs of each and every CFI-funded project.

Example: An institution has requested $500,000 from its IOF allocation in a given year and has directed these funds for internal purposes to several CFI-funded infrastructure projects which were used to cover hundreds of smaller expenditures. There are two CFI-funded projects —eligible to receive IOF— that involve significant CFI-supported constructed and renovated space, and five technicians who are essential to the operation of the CFI-funded infrastructure. These costs have been paid for using the institution’s operating funds. For reporting purposes, the institution chooses to report facilities charges related to the two CFI-funded constructed and renovated spaces, as well as report the full salaries of the five technicians. Together, these items amount to the $500,000 requested from the CFI. In doing so, the institution has reduced the number of items and associated CFI-required supporting documentation.

FAQ 3:

Section 6.10.6 – Supporting documentation for IOF: Are institutions expected to maintain the CFI-required documentation for eligible operations and maintenance expenditures that are not reported in their IOF Annual Report?

Institutions must be prepared to provide full supporting documentation, as indicated in section 6.10.6 of the CFI Policy and Program Guide, only for the actual expenditures reported in their IOF Annual Report. For audit purposes, only these expenditures will be reviewed. Any operations and maintenance expenses that were not reported to the CFI as part of the IOF Annual Report will not be reviewed and audited, and usual institutional documentation policies and practices would apply.

FAQ 4:

Can the full salary and benefits of highly qualified personnel (technicians or professionals) be reported as an IOF-eligible expenditure?

Yes, the full salary of technicians or professionals directly involved in the operation and maintenance of the CFI–funded infrastructure may be claimed if the infrastructure cannot be operated without such assistance. For example, a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technician is required 25 hours/week for the operations and maintenance of a CFI-funded NMR, but performs other unrelated duties the remainder of the week. Without his/her expertise, the NMR cannot be operated. Although the technician is not needed on a full-time basis for the operations and maintenance of the NMR, the full salary may be claimed as the CFI-funded infrastructure cannot be used for research without the NMR technician.