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Part of Research Capacity Program

College-Industry Innovation grant

Part of the Research Capacity Program, this grant supports existing research and development capacity of a college or technical institute.

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Research Capacity Program

Important dates

  • September 30, annually: Application deadline
  • Summer, annually: Decisions

Overview

The College-Industry Innovation (CII) stream enhances the capacity of colleges and technical institutes by providing state-of-the-art research infrastructure, adding to their existing applied research and technology development capacity.

The CII stream aids to support Alberta’s colleges and technical institutes in carrying out applied research and technology development across all disciplines and foster partnerships in strategic priority areas with the private, public and non-profit sectors. The innovation generated through these partnerships must address the social, business, health or environmental needs of an Albertan industry or community and is expected to lead to the creation or adaptation of knowledge and technology, or improve a product, process or service.

Colleges and technical institutes with an established capacity are encouraged to apply, particularly those who have received research and development funding from provincial, industrial, or other sources.

It is recommended that institutions align their submissions with strategic priorities both at the institutional level and within the broader context of Alberta's priorities outlined in the Alberta Technology and Innovation Strategy. Moreover, institutions must showcase how the proposed research will directly contribute to program delivery and foster student engagement. 

Funding

RCP will fund up to 40% of the total eligible project costs for successful applications.

Eligible applicants

Eligible applicants include institutions that have received a CFI College Fund award. If an application is declined at the CFI, it will be removed from the CII competition.

Applications must follow CFI guidelines on eligibility, in-kind contributions, eligible expenditures and funding partners.

See the CFI’s Policy and Program Guide for more details.

How to apply

The RCP is institutional in nature. Applications must be completed by researchers and submitted by the institution.

Submitting proposals

The proposal should clearly present the project’s merits and excellence. Provide enough information to enable reviewers to evaluate the proposal according to the assessment criteria and competition objectives. Do not include scanned copies of documents, other than signature pages.

The proposal package must include the following:

  1. A cover letter authorized by a designated institutional representative, which includes
    1. the institution’s endorsement of the proposed projects
    2. a confirmation that all research endeavours and partnerships outlined within the proposed applications will uphold measures to safeguard research advancements
  2. A listing the individual application submissions using the provided RCP Application Submission Template.
  3. PDF of each full application. Each PDF application must contain the following in order:
    1. RCP Alberta Alignment Module
    2. CFI Application
    3. Curriculum Vitae (where required by the CFI)

In cases where projects have been granted conditional funding by the CFI, the applicant institution is required to promptly submit the notice of removed conditions once they have been cleared by the CFI. Failure to submit the notice may impact the funding decision.

Note: Application submissions must be uploaded via a secure portal. Institutions must email the program area at [email protected] at least 2 weeks prior to the proposal submission deadline to receive access to the portal.

If you must make changes to the team leaders or applicant institution after submitting a proposal, email [email protected] as soon as possible. This is to avoid introducing potential conflicts of interest with reviewers.

After you apply

RCP’s Multidisciplinary Review Panel will review your application. The review process occurs in 3 stages:

  1. Expert review (where applicable, CFI expert reviews are used).
  2. Independent review by the Multidisciplinary Review Panel.
  3. Decisions by the Minister of Technology and Innovation.

Reporting requirements

Awarded projects will be given a contractual grant agreement. This agreement will outline the terms and conditions of support and must be signed by both parties prior to the release of payment.

As a part of this agreement, institutions must regularly report on the financial status of projects and on the outcomes achieved.

The agreement outlines the schedule and reporting requirements. Both parties must agree to any significant variations in project scope or other requirements of the contract.

Documents and templates

Contact

Connect with us if you have inquires, requests and reporting submissions:
Email: [email protected]

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