New COVID-19 research infrastructure competition: Call for proposals now live

OTTAWA, ON — The threat of infectious disease continues to be a major global concern for human health and is a key driver of healthcare system costs, human lives lost and economic turmoil. In response to the current pandemic, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has launched an Exceptional Opportunities Fund (EOF) competition related to COVID-19 research from all disciplines.

The CFI is investing up to $25 million to support the urgent need for equipment for ongoing research related to COVID-19. Eligible institutions can submit proposals requesting between $200,000 and $1.5 million. As an exception to our usual competitions, the CFI will cover up to 100 percent of the eligible costs of a project. However, we still encourage institutions to seek funding from other partners when possible, as this will broaden the scope of the initiative.

Due to the critical nature of the research around COVID-19, this competition has a tighter deadline to ensure researchers can obtain the infrastructure they need in a timely way. Institutions must submit their proposals by July 6, 2020, in the CFI Awards Management System (CAMS).

We anticipate that the CFI Board of Directors will make funding decisions in early fall, 2020. This depends on the volume of proposals submitted.

The EOF is designed for those very few instances when an exceptional research opportunity would be missed if a project had to wait to undergo the normal course of a national competition before a decision could be rendered.