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. The 2023-2025 FoMD allocation is approximately $4.5M.
Who can apply for the FoMD allocation?
The FoMD prioritizes the following types of JELF requests:
1. New Investigators: this includes new faculty members that are appointed above the assistant professor level. Investigators should have a significant portion of their time (≥30%) 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.
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?
CFI JELF funds smaller-scale projects with a total cost up to $2M. The average funded FoMD project was approximately $500K in 2020-2023. Larger requests will only be considered if they support a FoMD core facility or a large user base.
Note that the CFI will support a maximum of 40% of eligible costs with the remaining funding typically provided by Alberta Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Innovation (40%, awarded via competitive application) and other match funds (20%, vendor in-kind or eligible matching funds).
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 JEI Research Capacity program in the following October.
Important Links:
CFI Policy and Program Guide (2019)
Research Services Office CFI JELF Website
2023-2025 Allocation Adjudication
If you have a request that aligns with FoMD JELF priorities please complete a statement of interest and submit the signed form to Colleen Sunderland (fomdanalyst@ualberta.ca) by Monday, September 12, 2022. Statement of interests will be used to identify upcoming projects and priorities. Approval to proceed will be given by the Faculty Research Committee.
If you have any questions about the CFI JELF program and the FoMD allocation, please contact Colleen Sunderland, fomdanalyst@ualberta.ca, (780) 248-1023.
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 Wendy Magee (wmagee@ualberta.ca).