Canadian academic research strengths get boost with $900 million in CFREF funding

Large-scale capacity building

Canada's drive to gain global competitive advantage in key areas of the economy are getting a massive boost with the awarding of $900 million to 13 large-scale research projects in areas ranging from energy and oceans resources to big data and neuroscience. The awards were made in the second and largest round of the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) — a Stephen Harper era program first announced in 2014. The initial $325-million competition in 2015 yielded five awards (R$, September 8/15).

This latest round resulted in awards of between $33.3 million and $93.7 million to large universities stretching from Alberta to Nova Scotia. Energy and neuroscience fared particularly well with two awards each (see chart), injecting $300 million into research underpinning the sectors.

Designed as a game-changing initiative and backed by the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities and Universities Canada, via a joint proposal in November/13 — the Advantage Canada Research Excellence (ACRE) fund — funding starts at $100 million and ramps up to $400 million annually.

In launching CFREF, the Conservative government cut the request in half, plateauing in FY18-19 at $200 million annually. It also made the fund competitions subject to international peer review rather than the original concept of allocating money to institutions based on their success in securing granting council funding (R$, December 10/14). The program is administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council,

"Canada's ability to attract top research talent, innovators and enterprises requires its world-class institutions to be able to seize emerging opportunities and strategically advance their greatest strengths on the global stage." — Budget 2014

Dalhousie Univ is the lead institution on the competition's largest award ($93.7 million) to establish the Ocean Frontier Institute as an international hub for ocean sciences dedicated to addressing future ecological, economic and societal challenges. With eight international partners — four of which rank in the top five globally — the OFI also engages Memorial Univ and the Univ of Prince Edward Island, with national partners that include federal laboratories, the Royal Canadian Navy, National Film Board of Canada and industry. Total financial commitments total $220 million — an amount that increases even more when the $25-million endowment provided by John Risley, co-founder of Clearwater Seafoods, is included.

Focus research capacity through a single entity

Dr Martha Crago, Dalhousie's VP research, says the impetus for her institution's bid for CFREF funding started with Canada's participation in the Galway initiative on Atlantic Ocean Cooperation in 2013. It was further clarified with the realization that Dalhousie's various ocean-related initiatives could benefit from being pulled together into a single entity.

"We rallied around the genesis of an integrated institute looking at climate change and sustainable development," says Crago. "We applied in the first (CFREF) round and were unsuccessful so we retooled, brought in Memorial and UPEI and focused our proposal on the northwest Atlantic and the Canadian Arctic gateway, which have very particular properties."

OFI's projected outputs include an integrated set of research modules focused on atmosphere-ocean interactions, shifting ecosystems, sustainable fisheries, and aquaculture, marine safety and ocean data capture. Crago says participation of federal labs will ensure that research results have the opportunity to be translated into policy.

OFI also constitutes Canada's contribution to the EU's Horizon 2020 initiative on oceans, entitled Blue Growth Strategy.

"The US and EU put money in but Canada never came up with a specific envelope of money. This is Canada's contribution to the alliance," she says.

Alberta's two largest universities were collectively awarded $150 million to pursue research into future energy systems and the exploration of ways to reduce the carbon footprint of unconventional resources such as heavy oil, bitumen, and tight oil and gas.

The Univ of Alberta will deploy its $75 million to launch the Future Systems Research Institute, aimed at developing new, low-carbon energy systems and reducing the caron footprint of fossil fuels. Research will focus on tailing ponds, greenhouse gas emissions, land reclamation and more efficient transportation, taking the university's strong energy research initiatives to the next level.

"We are focused on developing Canada as an energy superpower in the research enterprise that will also help industry. This is about outcomes as well as outputs. It's not about publishing," says Dr Lorne Babiuk, U of A's VP research. "CFREF is very efficient and a great process. I compliment the agency for undertaking such a massive exercise with diverse areas to be reviewed."

The U of A has more NSERC Industrial Research Chairs than any other institution and most are focused on the energy sector. While Babiuk says it's too early to say how much leveraged funding the CFREF award has generated, he's confident that the multidisciplinary initiative will help to realize the university's new strategic plan, pulling in social and legal policy experts and industry to create "a large global centre of expertise".

"CFREF is the foundation. We've got a nucleus upon which we can build and expand," he says, adding that the university recently received word it was receiving more than $56 million from the federal government's $2-billion Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund (R$, April 4/16).

Discussions are also underway with the Univ of Calgary to explore ways in which the institutions' CFREF awards can be utilized collaboratively.

"Those plans are now being finalized. There could be joint lab conferences and other areas of collaboration will become evident. We should have a statement for coordination soon," says Babiuk. "I'm excited the government had the vision to put significant resources into areas of global impact."

Neuroscience was also a major beneficiary of CFREF funding, with two awards for an analytic platform for brain research (McGill Univ - $84 million) and research into new assessments and interventions for diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders (Western Univ - $66 million). A further award of $93.5 million to the Univ of Montreal on machine learning and the optimization of research is also seen to be complementary.

The McGill award will go towards establishing the Healthy Brain for Healthy Lives initiative, and a NeuroHub for neuroinformatics and big data analysis.

Western will use its CFREF award to establish its BrainsCAN initiative, strengthening the ability to maintain brain function across the entire lifespan.

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