Talk:Canada Foundation for Innovation

After waiting two years for a response from the person who created this page, I have gone forward with the changes proposed below.

Request editing

I would like to suggest the following edits to the Canada Foundation for Innovation entry. Full disclosure: I am a current employee. But, there are some factual errors in the description and I would like them to be rectified.

First, the CFI is an independent not-for-profit organization that funds research infrastructure. The Wiki entry currently says that the CFI is "a funding body dedicated to furthering technological research infrastructure." Under funding body, Wiki takes you to the "research council" page, which we are not. Furthermore, saying that the CFI furthers technological research infrastructure makes it sound like we help build infrastructure, when really we provide funds to researchers (project leads) who are affiliated with universities, colleges and research hospitals so that they can buy the research infrastructure or build the research facilities they need to advance their work.

Also, the CFI's council members are NOT appointed by the Governor General of Canada. The references linked to this statement do not say this either. Here are my proposed edits with references:

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent not-for-profit corporation that invests in state-of-the-art research facilities and equipment in Canada’s universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions .

Creation

The CFI was created by the Government of Canada through the Budget Implementation Act 1997, Bill C-93, to help build and sustain a research landscape in Canada that will attract and retain the world’s top talent, train the next generation of researchers, support private-sector innovation and create high-quality jobs that strengthen Canada’s position in today’s knowledge economy .

Funding

The infrastructure funded by the CFI includes the state-of-the-art equipment, laboratories, databases, specimens, scientific collections, computer hardware and software, communications linkages and buildings necessary to conduct leading-edge research .

The CFI has established a rigorous, competitive and independent merit-review process that relies on experts from across Canada and around the world to ensure that only the very best projects receive funding. CFI funding is awarded to institutions, not individual researchers, and all funding proposals must support an institution’s strategic research plan .

Eligible Canadian institutions apply to the CFI through a suite of funds, and all applications are assessed using three broad criteria: • Quality of the research and its need for infrastructure; • Contribution to strengthening the capacity for innovation; • Potential benefits of the research to Canada.

The CFI funds up to 40 percent of a project’s research infrastructure costs . This funding is then leveraged to attract the remaining investment from partners in the public, private and non-profit sectors .

Governance

The CFI was established as an independent, non-governmental organization with a Board of Directors, which meets three to four times a year. The Board of Directors reports to Members—a higher governing body similar to a company’s shareholders but representing the Canadian public. Members are nominated and appointed for a five-year term. An annual public meeting is held each year.

Overview (quick facts)

Abbreviation: CFI Formed: February 1997 Purpose: To fund state-of-the-art research infrastructure in Canada’s universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit institutions. Headquarters: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada CEO: Dr. Gilles G. Patry Website: www.Innovation.ca Additional website: www.Innovation.ca/Navigator

Thank you for you time,

Sabsofsteel (talk) 19:42, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

References