CFI John R. Evans Leaders Fund

What is the Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund?

The CFI John R. Evans Leaders Fund (CFI JELF) is a federal program providing funding for research equipment and infrastructure that supports innovative research. Every 3 years the FoMD is provided with an allocation of funds from the central UofA pot.

For the 2023-2025 period, the FoMD received a CFI JELF funding allocation of $4,529,954. Of the original allocation, $2,811,034 remain to be assigned over the next two years (2024 and 2025 calls). 

These allocation funds only represent the CFI contribution to the infrastructure cost (40%) with additional funding typically coming from the Government of Alberta (40%) and supplier discounts/other sources (20%).

Who can apply for the FoMD allocation?

The FoMD prioritizes the following types of JELF requests:
1. New investigators: this includes new faculty members who are appointed above the assistant professor level. Investigators should have a significant portion of their time (≥40%) dedicated to research.
2. Infrastructure to be placed in FoMD Core Facilities
3. Department Core/Shared Infrastructure: infrastructure available to a broad user group within a department or group of labs.

The FoMD will give priority to applications that satisfy the above criteria in the following order:

  1. New investigators with equipment housed in core research facilities
  2. New investigators to equip their laboratories
  3. Faculty managed core research facilities
  4. Shared infrastructure 
  5. Individual investigators

Requests that do not align with the above FoMD priorities will not be considered for a JELF. Other federal programs such as the CFI Innovation Fund and NSERC RTI Program fund infrastructure requests. 

How much funding can be requested?

The maximum CFI allocation request for a CFI JELF grant is $800K ($2 million in total project cost). However, due to the finite amount of FoMD CFI JELF funding allocation, researchers will be allocated a maximum of $200K from the CFI JELF pot ($500K total project cost, including renovations). Larger CFI allocation amounts might be considered for proposals requesting equipment to be placed in a core research facility.

When are the competitions held?

CFI has three annual deadlines for submission (February 15, June 15 and October 15). Applications for provincial match funding are submitted each October. FoMD applicants typically submit to the June 15 CFI deadline and the Government of Alberta Research Capacity program the following October. 

Important Links:
CFI Policy and Program Guide
Research Services Office CFI JELF Website


2023-2025 Allocation Adjudication

Researchers who have a request that aligns with FoMD JELF priorities are invited to submit their proposals to be evaluated for the opportunity to apply for JELF funding in the upcoming June 2024 competition.

The process takes place over three steps: Registration, Internal FoMD Selection Process, and RSO Submission

 
Step 1. Registration:
  1. Applicants are required to complete a JELF Internal Selection Registration form by 09:00 AM September 18, 2023.
  2. Information submitted during registration will NOT be used in the adjudication process. We will use this information to gauge the number of applications, identify appropriate committee members to participate in our internal review, and advise applicants on potential issues of project eligibility.
  3. Applicants with no significant project eligibility issues will be invited to participate in a mandatory informational webinar and Q&A session that will be held on September 19, 2023 from 12-1 PM. 
  4. An invitation containing the link to the webinar will be sent to the registrants on September 18, 2023. At least one member of each project team is expected to attend this webinar.

The registration for the June 2024 JELF Internal FoMD Selection Process is now closed. Please find the Jelf presentation below:

JELF Presentation

The registration for the June 2024 JELF Internal Selection Process will open on August 15, 2024.

Step 2. Internal FoMD Selection Process (ISP):
  1. Applicants are required to complete a JELF - FoMD INTERNAL SELECTION form. This form will be open from September 20 to November 1, 2023.
  2. A review committee chaired by the Vice-Dean Research, Basic will be adjudicating these applications.
  3. Applicants will be notified of the results of the ISP no later than November 28, 2023.
  4. Official FoMD letters of support required for the RSO RTA will be provided to successful applicants by December 4, 2023.
Step 3. RSO Submission:
  1. Successful applicants are required to submit their finalized RTA form and all attachments to RSO by January 9, 2024, at 9 AM.
  2. As indicated, only successful ISP applicants will be provided a letter of support from the FoMD to be added to their RTA form.
  3. At this time any comments provided by the ISP committee should be incorporated in the RTA form elements for final submission.
For more information on the RSO RTA process and link to the RTA form visit: John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF)


If you have any questions about the CFI JELF program and the FoMD allocation, please contact Gonzalo Vilas, Director Research & Innovation, Office of Research (gvilas@ualberta.ca)

 

Facility Requirements and Core Facilities:

For information on facility requirements for equipment (e.g. renovations, specifications, space, etc.), please contact Brian Reuter (breuter@ualberta.ca).

If your proposal includes equipment for potential placement in core facilities, please contact Colleen Sunderland (crreid1@ualberta.ca).