Since the inception of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) in 1997, faculty on the three UofT campuses have attracted approximately $370M in CFI funding which, with matching funding, represents almost $1B toward the cost of new, cutting edge research equipment and facilities. It is no exaggeration to say that the CFI, along with provincial matching funding through the Ministry of Research and Innovation, has been critical to the renewal of our research infrastructure and to the attraction and retention of excellent faculty members.

The April 2015 Federal Budget committed $1.33B over six years to the CFI, starting in 2017–18. A recent agreement with the Government of Canada defines the broad parameters for use of the funds and the program allocations:

• $258,000,000* for the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) for 2017–20. This represents yearly investments of approximately $86 million ($66 million in research infrastructure and $20 million in generated Infrastructure Operating Funds [IOF]) under JELF over this period;
• $552,000,000* for the next Innovation Fund competition, to be launched in early 2016, with funding decisions expected in June 2017. This represents an investment of approximately $425 million in research infrastructure and $127 million in IOF;
• $75,000,000* for future Cyberinfrastructure Initiative competitions;
• Up to $45,000,000* for future College-Industry Innovation Fund competitions; and,
• Up to $400,000,000 for the next Major Science Initiatives Fund competition covering the five-year period 2017–22, with funding decisions expected in September 2016.

CFI is now seeking input from institutions and key CFI stakeholders on potential program adjustments and improvements. They have released a Fund Architecture Discussion Paper as part of this nationwide consultation. We are seeking your input to inform our institutional response.

Please send your comments to CFI.consultation@utoronto.ca no later than October 30, 2015. Should you choose to respond to CFI directly (by November 30, 2015 to consultation@innovation.ca), please copy us on your submission.