CFI allocates $32.5 million for first college fund in 10 years as part of new strategic plan

Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is creating a new fund for college research infrastructure, marking the first time in 10 years that CFI has offered a fund exclusively devoted to college R&D. It's also the first time the federal government has written college funding into its contribution agreement between CFI and Industry Canada — an agreement that has yet to be officially announced (R$, July 6 & 19/10).

The new college fund (as yet unnamed) provides $32.5 million for at least one competition to be held by December/10 and may be aligned with a college research program managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) which was recently made permanent. That initiative — the Community College Access Program (CCIP) had its budget doubled with $75 million over five years in Budget 2010.

"I was quite delighted to hear the news … We had argued for this and had facilitated a Canada-wide consultation for the CFI and we were very pleased that they took this very seriously," says James Knight, president and CEO of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC). "We don't know about the program's criteria at this point so we'll be looking for this in the new (CFI) strategic plan."

The college fund represents 5.4% of the $600 million announced for CFI in Budget 2009, which was earmarked for one or more competitions contingent upon the development of a strategic pan in collaboration with the minister of Industry. Despite its completion in June, the strategy has not been announced, leaving many to ponder on how the college fund will be rolled out and whether there will be further consultations.

"It's a giant step forward although it's very modest when compared against the $600 million," says Nobina Robinson, CEO of Polytechnics Canada. "We don't know about the criteria. There is no more detail on the program, no backgrounder, nothing the CFI can give us."

consultations planned

RE$EARCH MONEY has learned that CFI staff have been working on the college program and has developed several options. Consultations are slated to begin in the coming weeks and decisions will then be made on whether it will retain the traditional CFI funding practice of providing 40% of projects costs, and whether there will be a formal alignment with CCIP. Although initial discussions have taken place between NSERC and CFI, linkage of the two programs may be contingent upon where NSERC is in its program and budget cycles.

ACCC's Knight says his association has advocated for dedicating 5% of all federal research funding to colleges, up from its current 0.5%. While the new CFI program won't achieve that objective, he says it's a strong step in the right direction. "We told the minister that we were modest in our aspirations but the current reality is wildly inequitable … I'm intrigued that the number for this new program comes out at 5.4% (of the $600 million allocated to CFI). It's a good start and they did what we asked for this particular program. What more can we ask for?"

Knight adds that with the college's share of the Knowledge Infrastructure Program ($800 million), the doubling of the CCIP and new and ongoing support at the provincial level, the role of colleges in R&D and innovation is becoming widely acknowledged.

"These are the signals we need to keep on going. These are signals because they are not huge investments," says Polytechnics Canada's Robinson. "We would like to see the $32.5 million ride on to those who already receive granting council funding. There needs to be a convergence and we said this in our May 2009 submission to the CFI."

The new college fund is the second time the CFI has created a dedicated program for colleges and polytechnics. The short-lived College Research and Development Fund (CRDF) ran until 2000 and expended $15.6 million before it was discontinued. At the time, colleges were far less mature in their ability to undertake R&D projects and the number of applicants was far below what was anticipated. CFI officials are hopeful that the improved capacity of colleges for securing matching funds and arranging release time for professors will result in a much larger uptake.

Colleges have received 70 awards worth $33.45 million in funding over the CFI's history (see chart). Nearly half was awarded through the CRDF ($15.9 million), followed by the Innovation Fund ($13.1 million), New Initiatives Fund ($2.6 million), Leading Edge Fund ($1.1 million), Leaders Opportunity Fund (infrastructure only) ($270,000), Research Development Fund ($250,000) and New Opportunities Fund ($220,000).

A recent ACCC report on the role of colleges in the Canadian innovation system shows that college-based R&D, while modest compared to their university counterparts, is growing at a rapid rate. In FY08-09, more than 3,600 companies participated in applied research projects, a whopping seven-fold increase from FY05-06. In the same period, investment in applied research tripled from $45 million to $132 million while the number of dedicated college research centres jumped from 72 to 140.

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