Program Overview: The Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities has announced round 12 of the Ontario Research Fund: Research Excellence program, which provides research institutions funding to support the operational costs of major projects with strategic value to the province.
Amount: The fund provides up to one-third of the total project’s value, with the remaining two-thirds coming from a combination of private sector and institutional contributions. (see below)
There are two application streams:
- Stream 1 – Basic and Applied Research
- Open to researchers from all disciplines focusing on projects at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 1 or 2.
- Funding ranges from $500K to $2M
- maximum project duration of five years.
- Stream 2 – Experimental Research
- Funds projects demonstrating strong commercialization potential where the innovation is a TRL of 3 or higher and requires collaboration with an Ontario-based company.
- Funding for projects ranges from $300K to $2M
- maximum project duration of four years.
Please note the above amounts include 40% indirect costs.
| Deadlines | Required Steps |
| Tuesday, June 20, Thursday, June 22, and Tuesday, June 27, 2023 | Ministry online information sessions, registration required June 20, 10:30 – 11:30am — All participants June 22, 10:30 – 11:30am — Colleges only June 27, 2:00 – 3:00pm — All participants |
| Thursday, August 10, 2023 | Proposal and budget drafts submitted to Western Research, including completed Mitigating Economic and Geopolitical Risk Check List |
| Wednesday, September 6, 2023 | Institutional letters of support and final budget submitted to guarantee required institutional letters |
| Wednesday, September 20, 2023 | Final proposal – all letters of support (collaborating institutions, partners, end users) and ROLA proposal submitted to Western Research |
| Wednesday, September 27, 2023 | Applications submitted to the Ministry by Western Research |
Note: There is no notice of intent stage for this round. Individuals planning to apply should contact Western Research as early as possible to be included in important communications and updates to develop your application, budget and partner agreements.
More Information: details can be found on the Western Research page and Ministry page
Western Research Contacts: If you have questions, please contact Deanne van Tol and Suramya Mihindukulasuriya
Please contact Karen Kueneman if you intend to apply
