Major Science Initiatives Fund

Project Leaders wishing to submit a new application to the MSI competition must first submit an EOI form, which is reviewed internally. Based on the strength of the project and the ability to meet CFI eligibility criteria, potential projects are either approved or not approved to move forward with the next steps of proposal development.

The EOI will collect information about the following:

• Project team
• Facility description
• Ability to meet CFI eligibility criteria
• Facility budget

A printable (PDF) version of the full EOI form is available.

Important Notes:

• PIs with currently funded facilities do not have to submit an internal EOI.
• Applications with computational needs MUST contact Scott Delinger, Director, Research Computing and Carol Ladner-Keay Grant advisor at IST (scott.delinger@ualberta.ca and cladner@ualberta.ca ) to discuss further.

Projects in both the New applicants and Currently funded facilities streams must submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to the CFI (deadline September 20, 2021).

For New applicants, the NOI is required to assess the eligibility of the facility for the MSI Fund and to collect information on the historic facility budget, forecasted budget, and suggested reviewers. NOIs will be reviewed by a multi-disciplinary assessment committee (MAC).

On November 4, 2021, the CFI will inform institutions of the New applicants NOIs that are approved to submit a full application. For Currently funded facilities, the NOI will be used for administrative purposes only and will provide the CFI with information about the anticipated 2023-2029 budget and suggested reviewers. (Note that November 4, 2021 is also the deadline for Currently funded facilities to submit their full proposal to the CFI.)

Please see below for RAS’s internal timeline for the MSI NOI. Note that RAS will continue to work with project teams to revise the NOI prior to submission and will communicate any feedback following OVPRI review in early September.

Details of the information that the NOI will contain can be found in the MSI Fund Call for Proposals.

The NOI will be completed by the Project Leader in the CFI Awards Management System (CAMS). RAS will submit the NOI to the CFI.

The NOI contains five sections:

1. Project information: Basic information about the project, including facility name, Project Leader, estimated eligible costs for the funding period, and amount requested from the CFI.
2. Management team: Maximum of three individuals, not including the Project Leader, who play key roles in the management and operations of the facility (e.g. chief financial officer, science director, etc.).
3. Participating institutions: Institutions participating in the project that are actively involved in the management or governance of the facility.
4. Demonstration of eligibility and budget overview: PDF attachment including:
   1. (For New applicants only) Brief description (max 5 pages) of the facility and demonstration of how it meets the eight eligibility criteria as listed in Part 1 of the Call for Proposals.
   2. Organizational charts (1-2) outlining the governance and management structures of the facility.
   3. Tables describing user information, access requests, and actual and forecasted costs and revenue sources.* (Currently funded facilities only need to submit tables describing forecasted costs and revenue.)
5. Suggested reviewers: Minimum of six reviewers who are especially well-qualified to review the proposal, including reviewers with expertise in research, governance, management, or financial monitoring of similar facilities.

RAS will assist in developing the NOI and will provide a template for the tables in section 4 above.

The CFI will announce which NOIs are invited to submit full proposals on November 4, 2021.

Currently funded facilities stream:

• RAS will begin working with the Project team before the NOI submission deadline, as the CFI’s full proposal submission deadline for Currently funded facilities is November 4, 2021.

New applicants stream:

• Applicants are encouraged to develop the proposal and budget while they wait for the CFI’s decision of which NOIs are invited to submit full proposals. RAS will continue working with the Project team following NOI submission. The CFI’s full proposal submission deadline for New applicants is February 8, 2022.

Details of the information that the proposal will contain can be found in the MSI Fund Call for Proposals; please refer to this document while developing the proposal and budget. Your RAS Contracts Specialist will work with you throughout the proposal development process to ensure the CFI’s criteria are met.

Completing the proposal

Like the NOI, the full proposal will be completed in the CFI Awards Management System (CAMS) and submitted by RAS by the deadline.

Information on CAMS from the NOI submission, including Project information, Management team, Participating institutions, and Suggested reviewers, will be populated automatically for the proposal.

Two CAMS modules will be completed for the proposal:

• Plain language summary: Up to 1,500-character summary of the facility and its research activities.
• Executive summary: Up to 2-page overview that describes the facility, summarizes the facility’s strategic goals and research, and outlines the funding request.
• Assessment criteria and budget justification: A PDF upload (not exceeding 20 MB) that addresses the following criteria (please refer to the Call for Proposals for details):
  • Scientific excellence
  • International competitiveness
  • Need for CFI funding
  • Operations and user access
  • Excellence in governance
  • Excellence in management

The length of the assessment criteria, including tables and figures, will be determined by the total amount of funding requested from the CFI:

♦ ≤ $15 million: 30 pages (max.)

♦ > $15 million: 40 pages (max.)

Additional documents – PDF attachment (not exceeding 20 MB) includes:

• Facility strategic plan.
• Facility management plan.
• List of key publications (max 2 pages) related to the use of the facility in the last three years.
• CVs (max 3 pages each) of up to four individuals in key roles in the management and operations of the facility.
• Transitional funding plan (max 3 pages) (for facilities currently receiving more than $2 million annually from the MSI Fund).
• The following, if not already included in the facility management or strategic plans:
  • Facility decommissioning plans (max 5 pages)
  • Equity, diversity, and inclusion policy/plan (max 5 pages)
  • Data management and cyber security policies/plan (max 5 pages)
  • Organizational charts (max 2 pages)

2. Finance module, including:

1. Detailed budget: Breakdown of costs, grouped by categories of eligible expenses, for each of the 6 years of the funding period (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2029).
2. Contributions from eligible partners and the Infrastructure Operating Fund (IOF): List of funding contributions (expected or secured) from eligible partners and IOF for the 6-year funding period. Do not include the current CFI request.
3. Historic expenditures and contributions: Actual and forecasted expenditures (cash and in-kind), grouped by categories of eligible expenses, for the four fiscal years preceding the start of the requested funding (2019-20 to 2022-23).
4. Project funding (generated automatically): Total CFI funding requested over the 6 year funding period, including IOF, must not exceed 40% of the facility’s total eligible O&M costs.

Proposal Review

Proposals will be reviewed by an Expert Committee, who will recommend to the Multidisciplinary Assessment Committee (MAC) those proposals that meet the standard of excellence for the competition. The MAC will review all of the proposals recommended for funding by the Expert Committees and will provide the final funding recommendations and funding amounts to the CFI Board of Directors. The results of the competition will be announced on June 22, 2022.