MEMORANDUM
TO: Principals & Deans, Vice-Deans & Vice-Principals Research or Equivalent
cc: Affiliated Hospital Vice-Presidents Research (for information only)
FROM: Professor Paul Young, Vice-President Research
cc: Judith Chadwick, Assistant Vice-President, Research Services
DATE: 15 September 2011
RE: 2012 CFI LEF-NIF Competition Process
Further to my email of August 10th, I am writing to provide additional information regarding the 2012 CFI Leading Edge/New Initiatives Fund (LEF/NIF) national competition.
Thank you to those of you who provided commentary on the CFI draft Call for this competition. Our feedback has been forwarded to CFI. The final version of the call has been released on the CFI website: http://www.innovation.ca/en/news?news_id=265 Also of note, CFI has now announced the dates of their information sessions. The Toronto Information Session will be held on Friday, October 14, 1-3 p.m. in the Sheraton Centre Toronto, Civic Ballroom & Foyer, 123 Queen Street West. Those wishing to attend must register by contacting tricia.ho@innovation.ca by September 23, 2011. RSO staff will attend the session and will produce a summary of highlights for circulation.
The Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation (MRI) has now released its process/plan for this competition (see attachment). This “Ontario First” process is the result of consultation with a working group of the Ontario Council on University Research (OCUR, aka Vice-Presidents, Research of Ontario universities) and promises to achieve the shared objectives of the Province, CFI and eligible Ontario institutions without imposing significant additional work on applicants.
It is now possible for us to more closely define the process that UofT will follow for this competition. Proposed key dates for our process are set out below. We welcome your comments/suggestions on these timelines over the next few days. The pace of this competition compels us to move forward without much delay.
Date Action/Deadline
10 August 2011 VPR communication to P&D re UofT timelines & strategy
29 August 2011 MRI issues competition process & Call for NOIs
31 August 2011 Deadline for UofT feedback to VPR re CFI draft call
7 September 2011 Deadline for feedback to CFI on draft call
15 September 2011 2nd VPR Communication to P&D re competition process
15 September 2011 CFI releases final call for proposals; online notice of intent (NOI) forms and guidelines available
30 September 2011 Internal deadline for UofT NOIs; potential expert reviewers to be identified; feedback by 15 October
X October 2011 MRI releases Call for Applications and competition guidelines
14 October 2011 CFI Information Session - 1-3 p.m., Sheraton Centre Toronto, Civic Ballroom & Foyer, 123 Queen Street W.
15 October 2011 Feedback to Divisions from internal assessment of NOIs; invitations for Pre-proposals
30 November 2011 Internal deadline for "Pre-proposals" including involvement in non-UofT-led projects that affect our envelope
7 December 2011 MRI NOIs due
early December 2011 full proposal application forms and guidelines available on-line
mid-January 2012 Decisions communicated to Principals & Deans regarding UofT projects to go forward
20 January 2012 NOIs due at CFI
Feb 18 2012 MRI feedback to institutions on NOI strategic alignment with Ontario priorities
15 March 2012 Internal deadline for draft full proposals
16 April 2012 Internal deadline for final version of full proposals
26 April 2012 Full proposals due at CFI
7 May 2012 Internal deadline for draft MRI proposals
21 May 2012 Internal deadline for final version of full MRI proposals
25 May 2012 Full proposals due at MRI
13 November 2012 CFI Board decisions
mid-January 2012 MRI decisions
Key: CFI, MRI, UofT
The next important step in the process is the submission of internal NOIs by September 30th. Our internal NOI template and additional information are available at: http://www.research.utoronto.ca/research-funding-opportunities/leading-edge-new-initiatives-funds-notice-of-intent/ Once again, in selecting projects to bring forward, I ask that you read the CFI Call for Proposals carefully and bear in mind the limited funds available in this competition and the emphasis on “Leading Edge” proposals that build on previous CFI investments. The total CFI ask associated with UofT campus-based submissions is limited to $37.18M, approximately one-third the amount available to us in the last national competition. We must balance the desire to consider all powerful proposals with the desire to focus time, energy and resources on a few that reflect our institutional strengths and will have maximum scholarly and strategic resonance at the national and international levels.
Further Information
We continue to welcome your comments and questions on the approach to this competition. You are welcome to be in touch with me, Judith Chadwick, Assistant Vice-President, Research Services or MayLiza Baak, Director, Institutional Initiatives.
Professor R. Paul Young Ph.D., FRSC
Vice-President, Research
University of Toronto
Web: www.research.utoronto.ca
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