Vision

The Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF) is designed to help universities attract and retain the very best of today’s and tomorrow’s researchers at a time of intense international competition. To this end, the LOF offers universities the opportunity to:

• acquire infrastructure for their leading research faculty to undertake cutting-edge research; and
• create competitive packages of research support in the form of infrastructure and a portion of the operating and maintenance costs from the CFI, coupled with direct research costs from partner organizations.

Eligibility to apply

The LOF is an allocation-based fund whereby the CFI predetermines the maximum amount of funding available for each eligible university. Universities with 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.

In November 2010, the CFI invested an additional $140 million in the LOF. For universities having received more than 0.2 percent of the total sponsored research income as reported by CAUBO, the additional LOF allocation is proportional to the average amount of sponsored research income over the 2006-07 to 2008-09 period. For universities having received less than 0.2 percent of the total sponsored research income, the CFI has created a Small Institution Fund of $7 million to replace institutional allocations.

An eligible university may put forward an infrastructure proposal for either a current faculty member with a full-time academic appointment or a candidate the university is in the process of recruiting to a full-time academic position. A university is expected to submit LOF proposals to attract or retain faculty in the priority areas identified in its strategic research plan. A research hospital or a research institute may only apply through the eligible university to which it is affiliated.

The LOF is intended to serve the infrastructure needs of individual faculty, or small groups of up to three faculty members when 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.

In addition to meeting general CFI eligibility requirements, infrastructure requested through this stream must be:

• essential for the research program of the candidate(s);
• acquired or developed through expenditures no more than six months before the date of submission of the proposal.

Candidates must be recognized leaders in their field of research or show promise of becoming research leaders. They must be engaged in, or embarking on, an innovative research program for which the infrastructure is essential and which will provide an enriched research training environment.

Candidates who have previously been supported through the LOF, New Opportunities Fund, Canada Research Chairs Infrastructure Fund or Career Award are eligible for additional funding. However, candidates must justify the value added of another award.

Application and 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 one complete, single-sided paper copy of each proposal, along with a covering letter signed by their President/CEO or delegate, listing all the proposals the university is submitting. The paper version of the proposal will be considered the official copy.

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.

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. 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.

Assessment criteria

LOF proposals requesting less than $1 million 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 liaison portal 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.

Support for operation and maintenance of the infrastructure

The CFI will contribute to the operation and maintenance costs of projects funded under the LOF through its Infrastructure Operating Fund (IOF). Universities will receive IOF at a rate of 30 percent of the finalized CFI contribution to LOF projects. For further information on the IOF, see section 2.3 of the CFI Policy and Program Guide.