4.8 Eligible partner contributions
Only those contributions to the eligible costs of an infrastructure project will be accepted as eligible partner contributions.
Consult the call for proposals for the most recent MSI Fund competition for eligible partner contributions specific to that fund.
Eligible partners (Canadian or foreign)
- Institutional funds, trust funds or foundations
- Departments and agencies of the federal government
- Departments and agencies of provincial, territorial and municipal governments
- Firms and corporations
- Non-profit organizations
- Individuals
Non-eligible partners
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
- Federal funding and programs administered by the three federal research funding agencies (e.g., Networks of Centres of Excellence, Canada Research Chairs, Research Support Fund, College and Community Innovation Program, Canada First Research Excellence Fund and New Frontiers in Research Fund)
- Knowledge Infrastructure Program and Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund (SIF)
The CFI will allow the cost of eligible items to be covered in part by these otherwise non-eligible partners, but that portion of partner funding cannot be used to leverage CFI funds. This means the CFI contribution will be based on the total cost of eligible items less the funding received from the non-eligible partner.
Figure 1: Calculating CFI contribution when funding is received from non-eligible partners
| Full cost of eligible item | $200,000 |
| NSERC contribution to the purchase of eligible item | ($40,000) |
| Portion of cost for which CFI funding will be calculated | $160,000 |
| Maximum CFI funding (40% of $160,000) | $64,000 |
A partner contribution that has already been used in full or in part to match funds for another project funded by CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC, any program administered by the tri-agency, the Knowledge Infrastructure Program or the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund will not be recognized as an eligible partner contribution for a CFI-funded project.
All partner contributions must be secured within nine months following a CFI decision. At the application stage, institutions must provide a plan for securing the funds within this time frame. A funding request to a provincial program is sufficient but an application to an agency that reviews and decides on funding independently of the CFI’s decisions is not.
The source of partner contributions is not judged as a review criterion. Nevertheless, the presence of a specific source of funding may demonstrate commitment to the project, interest of potential users of the infrastructure, interest of beneficiaries of research results or interest of potential employers of highly qualified personnel.
In addition, partners may contribute to projects for purposes outside those included in the definition of eligible research infrastructure. These contributions should be described in the proposal to further highlight the interest and commitment to the project, but they will not be counted as eligible contributions in the infrastructure project.