College Fund | Canada Foundation for Innovation

The CFI encourages institutions to work collaboratively with universities, colleges, research hospitals and not-for-profit, public- and private-sector partners to develop projects and carry out world-class research enabled by the research infrastructure it funds. These research partners are typically collaborators in the research and technology development activities enabled by CFI-funded infrastructure, or are interested in using and exploiting the results of those activities.

The CFI usually provides funding up to a maximum of 40 percent of the total eligible costs of the infrastructure projects it supports. The remainder must be provided by the institution or other eligible partners. In many cases, these funding partners have no direct involvement in the research and technology development activities (e.g., provincial governments, suppliers), but in many other cases, these funding partners also have a direct interest or involvement in research and technology development activities (e.g., vendors of specialized instruments who are seeking technological improvements or nongovernmental organizations who will use the research results to improve public policies). While there is no requirement for matching funds to be provided by a particular type of eligible partner, the CFI encourages institutions to seek both types of partners.