Canada Foundation for Innovation

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent Canadian corporation established by the Government of Canada to strengthen the country’s capacity for research and technology development. Rather than operating as a conventional commercial brand, the CFI functions as a national research-infrastructure funder. It provides support to universities, colleges, research hospitals and other not-for-profit research institutions for the acquisition, construction and modernization of the facilities and equipment required to conduct advanced research. The organization was created in 1997 through the Budget Implementation Act, 1997, also known as Bill C-93. Its founding purpose was to help build and sustain a research environment capable of attracting and retaining leading researchers, training future generations, encouraging private-sector innovation and creating high-quality employment in a knowledge-based economy. The CFI’s mandate addresses a structural problem in research funding: scientific institutions may have qualified researchers and strong ideas but lack the laboratories, instruments, digital systems, collections, buildings and specialized facilities needed to carry out the work. CFI support can cover a broad range of infrastructure. Eligible investments may include laboratories, scientific equipment, databases, specimens, scientific collections, computer hardware and software, communications links and research buildings. Awards are made to institutions rather than directly to individual researchers, and proposals are expected to align with the applicant institution’s strategic research plan. The foundation uses a merit-review process involving experts from Canada and other countries. Its assessment framework considers the quality of the proposed research and the need for the infrastructure, the project’s contribution to Canadian innovation capacity and the potential benefits to Canada. The CFI generally provides up to 40 percent of eligible project infrastructure costs. Institutions are expected to secure the remaining investment from other public, private and non-profit partners. This matching structure allows CFI awards to serve as a catalyst for larger institutional and collaborative investments. The foundation’s portfolio therefore extends beyond individual campuses and supports shared national facilities, research networks and large-scale platforms in fields including ocean science, genomics, freshwater research, infectious disease, particle physics, synchrotron science and Arctic research. In 2023, the CFI published a five-year strategic plan organized around four objectives: increasing Canada’s capacity for world-class scientific research and technology development; supporting economic growth, employment, health and environmental quality through innovation; expanding opportunities for the next generation of researchers and workers; and promoting productive networks and collaboration. These priorities position the CFI as part of Canada’s broader public research and innovation system, alongside organizations such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The foundation is governed by a board of directors that reports to Members, a public-interest governing body whose members are appointed for five-year terms. The board generally meets several times each year, and the organization holds an annual public meeting. The CFI does not publicly report a formal employee count in the cited material. Its current president and chief executive officer is Sylvain Charbonneau, who took office on October 1, 2024. The foundation remains active and focused on long-term research capacity rather than consumer-facing products or services.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation was created by the Government of Canada in 1997 through the Budget Implementation Act, 1997, Bill C-93. Its establishment reflected a national policy effort to improve the physical and technological foundations of Canadian research. The founding rationale was that Canada needed stronger laboratories, equipment and research facilities to attract and retain highly qualified researchers, educate the next generation, support innovation in the private sector and generate high-quality employment in a knowledge-oriented economy. From its inception, the CFI was structured as an independent corporation rather than as a conventional department or a direct research council. Its role is to fund infrastructure, while research institutions and their researchers determine the scientific programs that the infrastructure enables. Eligible recipients include universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions. CFI awards are directed to institutions, and applications must be consistent with the institution’s strategic research priorities. The foundation developed a competitive merit-review model that draws on expert assessment from Canada and internationally. Proposals are evaluated according to the strength and quality of the research, the necessity of the requested infrastructure, the contribution to Canada’s capacity for innovation and the likely benefits to the country. The approach is intended to direct limited public resources toward projects with strong scientific justification and broader institutional or national value. CFI-funded infrastructure encompasses laboratories, specialized scientific instruments, databases, specimens, scientific collections, computer hardware and software, communications systems and buildings. The foundation generally contributes up to 40 percent of eligible infrastructure costs. Its contribution must therefore be supplemented by other sources, including provincial and federal programs, institutional funds, private-sector partners and non-profit organizations. This cost-sharing model gives the foundation a catalytic function and helps institutions assemble larger research investments than a single grant would provide. Over time, the CFI’s activities have included support for both institution-based projects and nationally important facilities. Major Science Initiatives have enabled continued operation and development of large-scale research platforms in areas such as ocean observation, underground physics, synchrotron science, genome sequencing, infectious disease, Arctic research, animal movement and freshwater systems. These facilities serve users beyond the host institution and are intended to strengthen research collaboration across Canada and internationally. The organization’s leadership has included Keith Brimacombe, David Strangway, Eliot Phillipson, Gilles G. Patry and Roseann O'Reilly Runte. Sylvain Charbonneau became president and chief executive officer on October 1, 2024. Governance is provided by a board of directors that reports to Members, who are appointed for five-year terms and represent the Canadian public-interest dimension of the organization. The board generally meets three or four times per year, while an annual public meeting provides an additional accountability mechanism. In 2023, the CFI issued a five-year strategic plan with four central objectives: increasing Canada’s capacity for world-class science and technology development; supporting economic growth, job creation, health and environmental quality through innovation; expanding research and employment opportunities for the next generation; and promoting productive networks and collaboration. The foundation has also faced criticism that it forms part of a complicated federal research-funding apparatus and may duplicate functions found elsewhere in the system. Nevertheless, it remains an active national institution focused specifically on the infrastructure required to perform research rather than on the direct funding of individual research projects.

• 2024

  Sylvain Charbonneau takes office

  [1]Canada Foundation for Innovationen.wikipedia.org

  Sylvain Charbonneau became president and chief executive officer on October 1, 2024.

• 2023

  Five-year strategic plan released

  [2]Canada Foundation for Innovation official websiteinnovation.ca

  The CFI published a strategic plan centered on research capacity, innovation benefits, next-generation opportunities and collaboration.

• 2023

  Major Science Initiatives competition

  [2]Canada Foundation for Innovation official websiteinnovation.ca

  The CFI announced support for major national research facilities and networks, including platforms in ocean science, genomics, particle physics, Arctic research and freshwater science.

• 1997

  Foundation established

  [1]Canada Foundation for Innovationen.wikipedia.org

  The Government of Canada created the Canada Foundation for Innovation through the Budget Implementation Act, 1997, also known as Bill C-93.

• 1997

  First president appointed

  [1]Canada Foundation for Innovationen.wikipedia.org

  Keith Brimacombe was named the foundation’s first president and chief executive officer.

A national, public-interest catalyst for Canadian research infrastructure, positioned between government policy and institutional research delivery. The CFI emphasizes expert review, institutional strategic alignment, national collaboration and the ability of infrastructure grants to leverage additional public, private and non-profit investment.

• Institutional research grants

  Research Infrastructure Funding

  The CFI funds the infrastructure needed by Canadian research institutions, including laboratories, specialized equipment, databases, scientific collections, information technology, communications systems and buildings. Awards are made to eligible institutions rather than individual researchers. Applications must support the institution’s strategic research plan and are assessed through expert peer review against scientific quality, infrastructure need, innovation capacity and potential Canadian benefits.

• National research-facility support

  Major Science Initiatives

  Major Science Initiatives funding supports large-scale facilities and research networks that provide services or infrastructure to users across Canada and, in some cases, internationally. Examples identified in the 2023 competition include Ocean Networks Canada, SNOLAB, the Canadian Light Source, the CCGS Amundsen, CGEn, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, the Ocean Tracking Network and Global Water Futures Observatories.

• 2023

  Adoption of a five-year strategic planStrategy

  Background

  The CFI reviewed its long-term role in Canada’s research and innovation system and articulated priorities for infrastructure capacity, economic and social benefits, the next generation and collaboration.

  Action taken

  The foundation issued a five-year strategic plan organized around four objectives: world-class research capacity, innovation-led benefits, expanded opportunities for emerging researchers and workers, and productive networks.

  Aftermath

  The plan provides the organization’s stated strategic framework for subsequent funding and institutional activity.

  Source

• 2023

  Support for Major Science InitiativesOther

  Background

  Large national research facilities require sustained infrastructure and operating support to serve researchers beyond their host institutions.

  Action taken

  The CFI supported a group of major facilities and networks spanning ocean observation, underground science, synchrotron research, genome analysis, infectious disease, Arctic research, animal tracking and freshwater research.

  Aftermath

  The supported facilities continued to form part of Canada’s shared research infrastructure landscape; the next Major Science Initiatives competition was expected in 2027.

  Source

• 2024

  Sylvain Charbonneau becomes president and chief executive officer[1]Canada Foundation for Innovationen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change

  Sylvain Charbonneau assumed the CFI’s top executive position on October 1, 2024, succeeding Roseann O'Reilly Runte.

• 2023

  Canada Foundation for Innovation publishes a new five-year strategic plan[2]Canada Foundation for Innovation official websiteinnovation.ca

  Other

  The CFI released a strategic plan setting out priorities for research capacity, innovation-driven economic and social benefits, opportunities for the next generation and collaboration across research networks.

• 2023

  Major Science Initiatives receive major infrastructure support[2]Canada Foundation for Innovation official websiteinnovation.ca

  Other

  The CFI’s 2023 Major Science Initiatives competition supported large national research facilities and networks, including Ocean Networks Canada, SNOLAB, the Canadian Light Source, the CCGS Amundsen, CGEn, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, the Ocean Tracking Network and Global Water Futures Observatories.

1. 1Canada Foundation for Innovationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Canada Foundation for Innovation official websiteinnovation.ca