Through a partnership with federal granting agencies, the objective of the CFI Career Awards is to recognize and support outstanding researchers by providing institutions with the infrastructure that is essential to carry out their research program.

In partnership with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the CFI provides infrastructure support on a competitive basis for up to six annual Steacie Fellowship recipients. In a similar agreement with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the CFI infrastructure contribution is associated with its Distinguished Investigator awards, for which there are usually up to five recipients per year.

How much funding is available?

Each year, up to $1 million is available for infrastructure for the Career Award recipients of each federal granting council.

Who is eligible to apply?

The host institutions of recipients of a CIHR Distinguished Investigator award or of an NSERC Steacie Fellowship can submit a CFI infrastructure request to support the research activities of the award recipients during the tenure of their award.

What projects are eligible?

In addition to meeting general CFI eligibility requirements (see Section 2), eligible infrastructure for Career Award projects must be:

• essential to the infrastructure project described in the application;
• specifically for award holders of the Michael Smith Prize in Health Research or the E. W. R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship; and
• purchased, or received, after the date of the announcement of the Michael Smith Prize or the Steacie Fellowship.

What are the assessment criteria?

All proposals are evaluated according to the following three CFI evaluation criteria that reflect its mandate:

1. Quality of research and need for infrastructure

• Quality, innovation, and transformative potential of the research
• Research contribution of the principal user or his/her potential to capitalize on innovative research opportunities
• Effectiveness and efficiency of the infrastructure in the context of the research
• Effective management, operation, and maintenance of the infrastructure on an ongoing basis

2. Contribution to strengthening the capacity for innovation

• Enhance the institutional capacity in its strategic research priority areas
• Build regional or national capacity for innovation and for international competitiveness in the research area(s)
• Create a stimulating and enriched environment for training highly qualified personnel
• Strengthen collaborations among researchers, and partnerships among institutions or sectors

3. The potential benefits of the research to Canada

• Contribute to job creation and economic growth in Canada
• Support the improvement of society, quality of life, health, and the environment, including the creation of new policies in these areas

Given that the quality of the research and researchers has already been evaluated in choosing the successful candidates, the evaluation of each infrastructure project concentrates on the remaining criteria. The focus of the assessment is on the need for the infrastructure, and how essential it is to the proposed research of the award recipient.

How are the proposals assessed?

The granting councils receive applications for Distinguished Investigators awards or nominations for Steacie Fellowships and make the final decision on the successful recipients. For more information on the Distinguished Investigators award review process, please consult the CIHR website at www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca. For the review process used for Steacie Fellows, please consult the NSERC website at www.nserc.ca.

The host institution of the recipients of a CIHR Distinguished Investigator award or of a Steacie Fellowship are informed that they may submit a CFI infrastructure request to support the research activities of the award recipients during the tenure of their award.

The infrastructure proposals are evaluated by a review committee composed of a select number of members of the original granting councils’ committees that were involved in the review of the nominations. Other experts may be consulted as required. The experts and review committees evaluate the infrastructure requests based on the CFI evaluation criteria, and are asked to assess the budget, and the plans for ongoing management, maintenance and operation of the infrastructure. The review committees make their recommendations to the CFI.

Who will make the decisions and when?

Recommendations are presented to the CFI Board of Directors for final decision at the earliest possible decision point after the meeting of the review committees.

When and how will institutions be informed of decisions?

Institutions are informed of the results and of any conditions or comments pertaining to a project shortly after the decisions of the CFI Board of Directors. Institutions will also be informed of any conditions related to a project and of comments pertaining to unsuccessful projects.

It is the responsibility of the recipient institution to submit to the CFI the documents necessary to finalize the award amount and the payment schedule for each approved project (see Section 7.2).

Are any public announcements planned?

The CFI will make national public announcements of the Board decisions. These announcements are planned in partnership with the respective granting councils.