Genome Canada announces second major competition

Genome Canada (GC) is moving quickly to move its new funding resources into the research community with a second national competition aimed at large-scale projects and related science platforms. If the competition is fully subscribed, GC will inject $165 million into the projects, compared to $135 million in awards from the first competition which was announced earlier this year (R$, April 23/01). The new competition made possible by a $140-million one-time grant of year-end money (R$, March 5/01). After experiencing some confusion during the first competition, GC is making clear that the new round of applications are conditional upon securing 50% of the project’s cost from other sources, namely the provinces and private sector, which are expected to increase their participation this time around. Many agreements with the prov-inces are still in negotiation. The speed at which GC is releasing funds is fuelled by the need to establish high-quality projects that will enhance Canadian researchers’ chances of collaborating on even larger international projects and attracting private sector funding. GC officials promise a faster turnaround in decisions for the new round, now that the process has been tested….