CFI

The Canada Foundation for innovation (CFI) is pleased to announce its participation in the 11th College and Community Innovation Program - Innovation Enhancement (CCI-IE) Grants Competition managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). This joint initiative will foster partnerships between colleges and the private sector that will lead to business innovation locally, regionally and nationally.

Under this renewed joint initiative, which first began in late 2010, five-year CCI-IE grant proposals submitted to NSERC can include a request for research infrastructure from the CFI’s College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF). It allows colleges to apply for a comprehensive funding package that supports both research costs (through a CCI-IE grant) and research infrastructure (through CFI College-Industry Innovation Fund-stream 2) in a specific area of institutional strategic priority.

As part of the remaining 2009 federal budget allocation to the CFI for the CIIF, a total of up to $3.6 million will be available for research infrastructure under the 11th CCI-IE competition. Applying its usual funding formula, the CFI funds up to 40 percent of the eligible costs of a project. Colleges can request up to $800,000 from the CFI.

The CCI-IE Letter of Intent will be due May 31, 2013. Full Applications for five-year CCI-IE grants and associated CFI proposal will be due Nov. 1, 2013.  More information about the joint application process can be found here.

The Project Progress Report form for 2012-2013 is now accessible online. The deadline for indicating operational status, and for submitting Project Progress Reports, is June 30, 2013. Institutions are no longer required to complete an Institutional Report.

Ottawa, ON – April 16, 2013 - Funding from the Government of Canada is helping colleges across the country support business innovation at more than 90 companies. The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, today announced a $12.5 million investment in support of 17 applied research infrastructure projects at colleges, cégeps and polytechnics through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) College-Industry Innovation Fund.

The CFI’s College-Industry Innovation Fund recognizes the role applied research plays in supporting Canadian business. The CFI supports the spectrum of research activities, from fundamental discovery-driven research to applied research, along with private-sector innovation.

News Release - Industry Canada

College-Industry Innovation Fund / Fonds collège-industrie pour l’innovation

Projects Funded / Projets financés

(with maximum CFI contribution / avec la contribution maximale de la FCI)

**Funding for research infrastructure associated with a NSERC Five-Year College and Community Innovation program – Innovation Enhancements grant award. / Financement de l’infrastructure de recherche associé à une subvention de renforcement de l'innovation du Programme d’innovation dans les collèges et la communauté de cinq ans du CRSNG .

NOTE:
As part of this announcement, an additional $2,883,600 was awarded under the Infrastructure Operating Fund, a mechanism that assists institutions with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with the new infrastructure.

 NOTER :
Cette annonce comprend l’attribution d’une somme additionnelle de 2 883 600 dollars au Fonds d’exploitation des infrastructures (FEI). Les établissements utilisent le FEI pour assumer une partie des coûts d’exploitation et de maintenance de la nouvelle infrastructure.

Calgary, AB — April 16, 2013 - SAIT Polytechnic has received $800,000 in infrastructure funding from the federal College-Industry Innovation Fund to support applied research in clean energy.  Administered through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the award will fund equipment involved in testing or verifying improved or new technologies that reduce energy-sector impacts on water, air and land.

In completing this project, the Environmental Technologies group in SAIT’s Applied Research and Innovation Services (ARIS) department will work with industry, and other regulatory and non-regulatory stakeholders. Together, they will develop clean, technology-based solutions for the energy sector, including oil sands producers and service providers.

“Canada’s colleges and polytechnics are an emerging force as innovation intermediaries, assisting small and medium-sized enterprises in bridging the commercialization gap,” said the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology). “Our government’s research infrastructure investment, through the CFI, will help SAIT Polytechnic develop cleaner technologies to improve the health and well-being of all Canadians.”

“The awarding of this CFI grant in the area of clean technologies is a testament to the success and credibility of SAIT’s applied research program,” says Dr. Alex Zahavich, Director of ARIS. “With this funding, not only will students have the opportunity to apply their practical knowledge to industry-based projects, but industry will get its products to market in the most expeditious, cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner.”

Specifically, in collaboration with industry partners, SAIT will use this funding to acquire testing and development technologies such as:

• A Frac and Produced Water Treatment Train, integrated with versatile testing platforms, to improve energy-sector water use.
•  A mobile soil trailer lab to conduct on-site soil sampling and analysis, and test innovative remediation technologies.
• Air quality monitoring systems capable of assessing air quality improvement technologies.

The CFI funding, combined with funding from SAIT, industry and other sources, represents a total investment of $2-million in the development and commercialization of innovative environmental technologies for clean energy production.

The project will be implemented in phases starting in the summer of 2013, with completion in 2016.

About SAIT Polytechnic

SAIT Polytechnic is one of Canada’s most exciting destinations for post-secondary education, offering more than 100 career programs and over 1,000 part-time courses (including online and distance) that position people for success in technology, trades and business. A leader in innovation, SAIT also collaborates with industry on applied research and delivers corporate training worldwide. SAIT has been named one of Alberta’s Top 60 Employers for 2013. www.sait.ca

About the College-Industry Innovation Fund
The College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) targets projects that will enhance the capacity of colleges to support business innovation in Canada by providing them with state-of-the art, industry-relevant, research infrastructure.

About the Canada Foundation for Innovation
The Canada Foundation for Innovation gives researchers the tools they need to think big and innovate. By investing in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in Canada’s universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions, the CFI is helping to attract and retain the world’s top talent, to train the next generation of researchers, to support private-sector innovation and to create high-quality jobs that strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for all Canadians. For more information, visit www.innovation.ca.

For additional information, please contact:
Melanie Simmons, Public Relations Specialist
SAIT Polytechnic
Direct: 403.284.8473
Cell: 403.512.3291
melanie.simmons@sait.ca

Ryan Saxby Hill
Canada Foundation for Innovation
Direct: 613.943.5346
Cell: 613.294.6247
ryansaxbyhill@innovation.ca

Stay connected
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www.youtube.com/SAITPolytechnic

Ottawa, ON – April 16, 2013 – La Cité collégiale has become a leader in the field of applied research, especially with its biotransformation research centre and its biotechnology undergraduate program. The college will now be able to offer its experts and students a more modern working and learning environment thanks to a grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, announced the grant at the Applied Research Symposium of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges, which took place today in Quebec City.

A total of $262,638 has been awarded to La Cité collegiale for infrastructure improvements at its biotransformation research centre. The money came from the CFI’s College-Industry Innovation Fund.

“Canada’s colleges and polytechnics play an important role in the implementation of the innovation agenda, said the Honorable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology). This investment will help Canadian companies to develop cleaner technologies which will contribute to reducing waste produced by the industrial activity.”

“Canadian colleges play an important role in our national innovation ecosystem. The College-Industry Innovation Fund allows colleges to acquire state-of-the-art research infrastructure so they can carry out high-level applied research projects,” says Gilles G. Patry, CFI President and CEO.

“Improving our research infrastructure will benefit not only the researchers, professors and students who work at our biotransformation research centre, but also the National Capital Region and Eastern Ontario. On behalf of La Cité collégiale, I would like to thank the Canada Foundation for Innovation for believing in the applied-research potential of colleges,” says Lise Bourgeois, President, La Cité collégiale.

Launched in November 2010, La Cité collégiale’s biotransformation research centre calls upon the participation of numerous industrial and institutional partners.

La Cité collégiale is the largest French-language college of applied arts and technology in Ontario. In 2012-2013, La Cité Collégiale offered more than 90 post-secondary programs, 60 of which were not offered anywhere else in French in Ontario.

La recherche en biovalorisation (French only)

La Cité collégiale est un des bénéficiaires des Fonds collège-industrie pour l'innovation de la FCI pour leur travail en recherche appliquée en biotechnologie et en biovalorisation.

Information:
Mona Fortier, MBA
Senior Director, Communications and Market Development
La Cité collégiale
Telephone: (613) 742-2493, ext. 2381
Cell: (613) 818-9899
mforti@lacitec.on.ca

Yves Melanson
Coordinator, Media Relations
Canada Foundation for innovation
613-996-3160
yves.melanson@innovation.ca

Ottawa, ON — April 16, 2013 - The construction process is very complex and its intricacies can cause delays, cost inefficiencies and waste. For example, manual change order systems hinder productivity and increase costs as requests travel up the line of authority to the client, and then back to the tradesperson who now has to fix the deficiency. What if the contractors were all working through a secure digital portal, accessible through a handheld device, which enables all decision-makers to respond promptly and approve the change order within hours instead of days or weeks?

Developing this type of technology is a major focus of the Algonquin College Applied Research proposal Enhancing the Building Industry through Analytics and Next Generation Collaboration, which has received an $800,000 award from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) through the College Industry-Innovation Fund (CIIF).

“I am thrilled that the College is being recognized by the Canada Foundation for Innovation with this award,” says Dr. Mark Hoddenbagh, Director, Applied Research and Innovation. “Applied Research supports local business innovation and offers students applied, hands-on learning opportunities working with real-world clients on cutting-edge products and ideas. Algonquin College is ‘The Connected College’ and, as part of that vision, we will create inter-professional linkages between different construction disciplines that traditionally have not worked closely together.”

The funding will integrate the capabilities of the Algonquin College Design Centre, which researches user experience design, and the Full Spectra Centre, which enhances applied research in spectra-based technologies and supporting disciplines such as photonics, wireless communications, and smart electrical grid technology. Alexander Yang, Project Manager for the College’s Construction Research Centre, will lead this construction and building science-focused proposal with a goal of helping companies maximize the efficiency of building design and implementation by employing a continuous integrated design, construction and renewal approach. This means contractors working on different projects with different goals can collaborate by tracking and coordinating change orders through a digital environment, resulting in an integrated and more efficient approach to construction.

The research would also look at how monitoring and cataloguing environmental data through building sensors and smart grid technology can ensure effective and efficient building management. Alex and his team of faculty and students hope to use their findings to provide applied research and development leadership to the building science, construction and trades sector.

The CFI award was announced today at the Association of Canadian Colleges (ACCC) Applied Research Symposium in Québec by Federal Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear. This grant will build on the three previous Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grants received by the College. The College’s Applied Research and Innovation department has been successful in accessing millions of dollars in grants over the past five years with dozens of faculty, hundreds of organizations, and thousands of students benefitting.

The College would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of its project partners, which include Wesley Clover, IBM Canada, PCL Construction, NGRAIN, Am-Tech, GestureTek, 3D Energy, Siemens and KOTT Group.

About the College-Industry Innovation Fund
The College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) targets projects that will enhance the capacity of colleges to support business innovation in Canada by providing them with state-of-the art, industry-relevant, research infrastructure.

About the Canada Foundation for Innovation
The Canada Foundation for Innovation gives researchers the tools they need to think big and innovate. By investing in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in Canada’s universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions, the CFI is helping to attract and retain the world’s top talent, to train the next generation of researchers, to support private-sector innovation and to create high-quality jobs that strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for all Canadians. For more information, visit www.innovation.ca.

About Algonquin College - www.algonquincollege.com:

Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is located in the nation’s capital and the Ottawa Valley, and is the largest college in Eastern Ontario, with over 18,000 full-time and 36,000 part-time students in more than 180 programs. Algonquin is a leader in the integration of technology into learning, and is strongly committed to student success.

Better building through research

Algonquin College is one of the recipients of this year's CFI College Industry Innovation Fund. The award will go towards their applied research program in Enhancing the Building Industry through Analytics and Next Generation Collaboration.

For more information, please contact:
Phil Gaudreau
Communications Officer, Algonquin College
613-220-7796
gaudrep@algonquincollege.com

Ryan Saxby Hill
Canada Foundation for Innovation
613-943-5346
ryansaxbyhill@innovation.ca

Middleton, NS – April 16, 2013 - Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) will become the only college in Canada with a research device that can unlock the mysteries off Nova Scotia’s shores thanks to the support of a national innovation award and industry partners.

The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced today that the government will invest $798,906 through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) in a research project that will capture the treasure trove of information that exists in the shallow waters off Nova Scotia’s coastline — known as the “white ribbon gap” due to the challenges of mapping this area.

“The possibilities are as vast as the waters we will be charting,” says NSCC research scientist and doctor of earth sciences Tim Webster. “Our team will be able to map seabed topography by air, unearthing a wealth of data to support initiatives in areas including sustainable harvesting practices, aquatic vegetation health, wave predictions to better define storm surge detail, and nautical hazards plotting.”

Industry partners investing in the research project, including McGregor GeoScience Ltd., Acadian Seaplants Limited, Leading Edge Geomatics, GeoNet Technologies Inc. and Nova Scotia Power Inc., are relying on the project’s equipment and research to be of benefit to their specific business needs.

“Acadian Seaplants’ stewardship of the rockweed fishery will advance even further  because we will use the latest imaging technology and high-tech software to identify, much faster, where the rockweed is and how much is there,” says Acadian Seaplants Limited, Vice-President of Research, Alan Critchley.“NSCC’s expertise and new technologies will augment our sustainable resource management practices and enable the adoption of the most advanced scientific tools to safeguard the marine resource.”

The project scope includes the purchase of a new laser system, two new GPS receivers, a boat and extra staffing support. The bathymetric Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) equipment is able to measure the subsurface topography in oceans, rivers and lakes, offering a safe, cost-effective and efficient means of collecting data in difficult-to-access areas.

This bathymetric LIDAR is unique in that it can be mounted in an aircraft to look down into the water or can be turned sideways and mounted on a boat to measure the detail of the coastline. Repeat surveys can accurately measure erosion after storms or provide important information to infrastructure projects along the coastline, such as cable landing sites.

The award is part of a $12.5-million funding announcement for applied research and business innovation from the foundation’s College Industry-Innovation Fund.

“Canadian colleges are an important player in our national innovation ecosystem,” says Gilles G. Patry, president and CEO of the CFI. “The team at NSCC is showing what colleges can achieve when they have the state-of-the-art research infrastructure they need to conduct top level applied research.”

About NSCC
NSCC is committed to building Nova Scotia's economy and quality of life through education and innovation. Serving the province through a network of 13 campuses, NSCC offers over 100 programs in five academic schools. These programs reflect the labour market needs and opportunities of the provincial economy and set graduates on a course for career success. According to NSCC’s 2012 Graduate Follow-up Study, 86% of NSCC graduates are employed, most in their field of choice. Of those, 94% live and work in Nova Scotia. For more information about NSCC, go to www.nscc.ca.

About the College-Industry Innovation Fund
The College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) targets projects that will enhance the capacity of colleges to support business innovation in Canada by providing them with state-of-the art, industry-relevant, research infrastructure.

About CFI
The Canada Foundation for Innovation gives researchers the tools they need to think big and innovate. By investing in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in Canada’s universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions, the CFI is helping to attract and retain the world’s top talent, to train the next generation of researchers, to support private-sector innovation and to create high-quality jobs that strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for all Canadians. For more information, visit www.innovation.ca.

Contact: 
Kathleen Cameron, Sr. Communications Advisor
Tel: 902-491-4899; Email:  Kathleen.Cameron@nscc.ca

Ryan Saxby-Hill, Canada Foundation for Innovation
Tel:  613-943-5346  Email: Ryan.Saxby-Hill@innovation.ca

Saint-Hubert, QC – April 16, 2013 – As part of its research program on the automated machining of aerospace components, the Centre technologique en aérospatiale (CTA) at Collège Édouard-Montpetit received $765,092 in funding from the College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF), which will be used to acquire leading-edge research equipment. This is one of the projects funded in part by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). Québec’s Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche, de la Science et de la Technologie (MESRST) will be matching this contribution. The CTA itself will be providing 20 percent of the amount needed for
the equipment.

The Automated Multi-axis Machining Program (AMMP)
“Our Automated Multi-axis Machining Program involves applied research projects on the use and integration of existing technology, and its goal is to transfer expertise to industry,” says Pascal Désilets, General Manager of the CTA. “In Quebec, there are some 215 businesses operating in aerospace, employing approximately 42,000 workers. The program has a $2.5 million research budget from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, but it has to acquire leading-edge equipment to be completed.”

The AMMP has two components: robotic machining and self-testing of machine tools. The robotic machining portion maximizes the use of robotic arms equipped with machining heads. “Industrial robots for machining are less expensive than machine tools, they offer more flexibility and allow work to be done on large parts,” Désilets says. “However, the precision of robots is a major challenge for businesses that want to use them, and this is the problem that the research project aims to solve.”

The second component of the AMMP, the self-testing of machine tools, is intended to maximize the use of the machine by eliminating human intervention. Current processes require regular intervention by operators, for example measuring a part being machined. “Fully automated machining is used in high-volume production sectors, such as in the auto industry, because the volume enables a return on the time invested in refining the automated process for each part,” Désilets explains. “However, in a field like aerospace where a single machine produces many different parts in small quantities, we have to put in place markers to optimize the work of the machine tools. The research project will develop techniques to automate machining for small batches of parts.

Leading-edge equipment
Thanks to grants from the CFI and the MESRST, the CTA will acquire several pieces of state-of-the-art equipment, including some that are quite rare in the industry, which will allow it to complete the various research projects planned as part of AMMP.

The CTA will acquire two robotic and laser systems to carry out precision measurements. “One of the robotic systems will be used to complement a rail-mounted robot we already have to develop large-dimension collaborative machining,” notes Mario Aubé, Technical Director of the CTA and a robotics specialist. “The two robots will work together to machine parts, which will reduce production time, trim costs and make working on large parts possible. To increase precision, a laser trajectory tracking system will check the robot’s work.”

The second robotic system will be used as part of the machine tools’ self-testing component, to improve efficiency and autonomy by minimizing human intervention. Here again, a laser system will be tested, as will a computer vision system to ensure the precision of the machines’ work.

Spinoffs for the industry
This cutting-edge equipment will allow the CTA to conduct research as part of the AMMP and develop expertise that it will transfer to businesses to increase their productivity in manufacturing aerospace components. “The AMMP was created in partnership with six companies: AV&R, Bombardier Aerospace, Meloche Group, L-3 Mas, Mesotec and Pratt & Whitney Canada,” Désilets says. “The project will benefit partner businesses along with small and medium-sized businesses, research centres and organizations that use automated machining, since knowledge will be easy to transfer.”

An essential contribution
“Canadian colleges play an important role in our national innovation ecosystem,” says Gilles G. Patry, President and CEO of the CFI. “The CIIF allows colleges to acquire advanced research infrastructure to conduct high-level applied research.”

Thanks to its large aerospace and aviation companies, Canada is an international leader in producing regional aircraft, avionics, business aircraft, commercial helicopters, aircraft engines, flight simulators, and landing gear and space systems.

The Centre technologique en aérospatiale

The CTA is a technology transfer college affiliated with Collège Édouard-Montpetit and located at its École nationale d’aérotechnique campus in Saint-Hubert. Specializing in aerospace technology applications, it supports the efforts of businesses in the sector to increase their knowledge, productivity and competitiveness, as well as the quality of their products and services. With expertise in machining, composite materials, inspection and avionics, the Centre complements the different players in research and technology transfer in the aerospace sector. CTA’s industrial activities are constantly evolving, and in 2011 it inaugurated its new 3,000-square-metre infrastructure.

About the College-Industry Innovation Fund
The College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) targets projects that will enhance the capacity of colleges to support business innovation in Canada by providing them with state-of-the art, industry-relevant, research infrastructure.

About the Canada Foundation for Innovation
The Canada Foundation for Innovation gives researchers the tools they need to think big and innovate. By investing in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in Canada’s universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions, the CFI is helping to attract and retain the world’s top talent, to train the next generation of researchers, to support private-sector innovation and to create high-quality jobs that strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for all Canadians. For more information, visit www.innovation.ca.

Sources:

Nathalie Coutu
Communication
École nationale d’aérotechnique
and Centre technologique en aérospatiale
Office: (450) 678-3561 ext. 4503
Cell phone: (514) 929-3805
Email: nathalie.coutu@college-em.qc.ca

Yves Melanson
Coordinator, Media Relations
Canada Foundation for Innovation
Office: 613-996-3160
Cell phone: 613 447-1723
Email: yves.melanson@innovation.ca

Canada Research Chairs - News Release

Leaders Opportunity Fund – Funding for infrastructure associated with a Canada Research Chair /
Fonds des leaders – Financement de l’infrastructure liée à une Chaire de recherche du Canada

- CFI Infrastructure Chart March 2013

- Cumulative Chart (Includes number of chairs) March 2013

The four federal research funding organizations—the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada—have developed a new, harmonized conflict of interest and confidentiality policy. The policy will be integrated into each organization’s merit review process in the coming months.

Collaboration between Federal Research Funding Organizations - science.gc.ca

Policies and Guidelines - science.gc.ca