The Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities has announced the launch of Round 11 of the Ontario Research Fund: Research Excellence (ORF-RE) program. The ORF-RE program provides research institutions with funding to support the operational costs of major projects of strategic value to the province.
The fund provides up to one third of the total value of a project, with the remaining two thirds coming from a combination of private sector and institutional contributions.
ORF-RE Round 11 consists of two application streams:
- Stream 1: General – Basic and Applied Research: Funds projects in all research disciplines from $500,000 to $2,000,000, over up to 5 years
- Stream 2: Targeted – Experimental Research Funds projects that demonstrate strong commercialization potential, where the innovation is at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3 or higher from $300,000 to $1,000,000, over up to 4 years
Please note that these amounts include 40% indirect costs.
| Dates & Deadlines | Required Steps |
| Tuesday, Nov 23, 10–11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec 2, 10–11 a.m. | Ministry Information Sessions Registration required. |
| Thursday, Nov 25 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m. | Western Research Virtual Information Session Registration required. Slides & presentation recording will be made available following the session |
| Tuesday, Feb 1, 2022 | Draft proposal & draft budget submitted to Western Research |
| **Thursday, Mar 24, 2022 | Information for institutional letters of support & final budget submitted to guarantee required institutional letters |
| **Thursday, Apr 7, 2022 | Final proposal, all letters of support (collaborating institutions, partners, end users) and ROLA proposal submitted to Western Research |
| **Thursday, Apr 14, 2022 | Applications submitted to the Ministry by Western Research |
**On Feb 15 the province announced an extension to the ORF-RE 11 funding opportunity deadline. The updated Western Research competition deadlines are revised above.
There is no notice of intent stage for this round; therefore individuals planning to apply should contact Western Research as early as possible, so that they can include you in important program-related communications and updates and work with you to develop your application, budget, and any required partner agreements.
Western’s information on the ORF-RE program, along with copies of the application form and program guidelines, can be found on the Western Research website. Additional resources will be added as they are developed.
Please direct questions to Deanne van Tol or Sahana Mazumder.
Please contact your ADR and Research Officer, Karen Kueneman if you intend to apply.
