CFI Innovation Fund

CFI Innovation Fund

Funds Canadian university research infrastructure through strategic national awards to strengthen real-world implementation.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Innovation Fund 2027 Competition is a large-scale infrastructure grant competition providing up to $325 million CAD for research infrastructure projects at Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions. CFI funds up to 40% of a project's eligible infrastructure costs; the remaining 60% must be secured from provincial governments, host institutions, and other partners. Total project costs must exceed $1 million CAD to qualify. An additional $97.5 million CAD is available through the Infrastructure Operating Fund (IOF) to support operating and maintenance costs associated with funded infrastructure. Since 1997, the Innovation Fund has supported 1,484 research projects and invested $4.6 billion CAD in infrastructure across Canada.

The 2027 competition is structured around three streams: Stream 1 covers leading-edge fundamental discovery and knowledge generation across all disciplines; Stream 2 focuses on social sciences, humanities, and arts research infrastructure; and Stream 3 supports the creation, renewal, and upgrade of core research facilities. The final call for proposals was issued 3 June 2026; notices of intent are due 29 September 2026 and full proposals are due 26 January 2027. Expert committee review runs March through July 2027; the CFI Board decides in November 2027. Applications are assessed on five criteria: research, team, infrastructure, sustainability, and benefits to Canada.

For-profit entities are ineligible; only publicly recognised Canadian research institutions may apply. Research security obligations under the Government of Canada's National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships and the STRAC policy apply to all funded projects. Institutions with strong track records of provincial co-funding commitments and multi-investigator proposals that span multiple disciplines tend to perform well in the review process. The November 2027 Board decision date means successful applicants should expect a roughly 17-month timeline from notice of intent submission to funding confirmation. On average, more than 11,300 students and postdoctoral fellows use Innovation Fund infrastructure annually.