Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund Stage 3 Open Call
Research Maintenance and Ramp-up Open call to Ontario Tech Principal Investigators
CRCEF Stage 3 Program Details
Under the Government of Canada’s Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF) – Stage 3, Ontario Tech has received an initial notional allocation of $ 189,991. Applicants demonstrating need in excess of their Stage 3 notional allocation may receive additional funds.
Only eligible direct costs of research that are extraordinary and incremental to those already covered by existing sources of funds (either governmental or non-governmental) incurred between March 15, 2020 - November 15, 2020 will be reimbursed, at up to 75%.
The CRCEF defines extraordinary incremental costs as unanticipated additional costs that would not normally have been incurred in the absence of the COVID-19 pandemic and cannot be funded by existing sources of funds.
Expense Eligibility Guidelines
As per the CRCEF website, CRCEF Stage 3 funding is intended to support “direct costs of research that have been incurred to:
1) Maintain essential research-related commitments during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
2) Support ramping-up to full research activities as physical distancing measures are eased and research activities can resume.
Only direct costs of research that are extraordinary and incremental to those already covered by existing sources of funds and have been incurred between March 15 and November 15, 2020 will be reimbursed, at up to 75%.”
Extraordinary incremental costs incurred for research projects funded by either governmental or non-governmental sources are defined as unanticipated additional costs that would not normally have been incurred in the absence of the COVID-19 pandemic and cannot be funded by existing sources of funds.
Applicants must justify the need for the funds based on actual costs incurred during the eligibility period (between March 15 and November 15, 2020). Eligible expenses include the following:
1) Maintenance costs:
*animal and specimen care through the COVID-19 crisis period;
*maintenance of equipment, software, cohorts, datasets, including warranties, licenses and service contracts;
*technological equipment for remote access to maintain assets; and
*safety equipment for personnel dedicated to maintenance.
2) Ramp-up costs (project level):
*re-organizing the research environment and activities;
*additional costs to bring the research back to its pre-pandemic level, including experiments or related to the restart of collections and datasets (e.g., population-based, environmental);
*user fees charged by shared platforms to researchers to restart research activities (e.g., animal- care facilities, digital labs);
*re-scheduling and restarting human and clinical trials;
*exceptional costs to access special facilities, shared platforms and resources, knowledge transfer meetings and workshops;
*restarting, reassembling and safety checks of equipment and facilities;
*reacquiring lost and donated laboratory and field supplies and equipment, reagents, perishable materials, laboratory animal and other living specimens; and
*personal protective equipment and related items for research personnel.
Additional information can be found here: Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund
Program Timelines
November 30, 2020 – Ontario Tech Stage 3 internal expense application deadline: identification of eligible expenses
December 15, 2020 – deadline for Stage 3 application submission to the CRCEF program
January 2021 – CRCEF award notification and payment
February 2021 – Internal determination of funds awarded against eligible claims
Application Process
To apply for CRCEF Stage 3 funding, PIs are invited to complete STEP 1 as outlined below:
STEP 1: Identification of Eligible Expenses (Internal Deadline: November 30, 2020)
Expense Application: Principal Investigators (PIs) are asked to provide a list of eligible direct research expenses, paid between March 15, 2020 and November 15, 2020 no later than November 30, 2020. Please submit the completed Expense Application Form (distributed by email October 6 and November 12) to Greg Edwards, Research & Trust Accounting Manager.
STEP 2: Internal Review and Application Preparation (Internal)
Research and Trust Accounting will review all submitted expenses and determine eligibility against the program criteria. Consultation on the eligibility of expenses will be sought from the following group as required:
- Research Working Group (Vice-President Research and Innovation; Provost; AVP Planning and Analysis; CFO; Manager Research and Trust Accounting; Executive Director, Office of Research Services) in consultation with the Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Engagement.
Special considerations
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: The university must ensure alignment with Equity, Diversity and Inclusion program requirements. We ask CRCEF Stage 3 applicants to complete the self-ID survey (Ontario Tech CRCEF Employment Equity Survey). This link is also included in the Stage 3 CRCEF Expense Application Form.
For further information on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion components of the CRCEF program, please refer to Ontario Tech’s CRCEF public accountability webpage.
Decision making: In the event that the funding requests for Stage 3 are higher than that received, Ontario Tech University will convene the CRCEF Adjudication Committee.
For more information about the decision-making and including adjudication processes, please the Decision Making Process for CRCEF Wage Subsidy Funds: Stage 1, 3, 4 section of Ontario Tech’s CRCEF public accountability webpage.
For details on the CRCEF Stage 3 Program, including expense eligibility and EDI criteria, please visit the Federal government CRCEF program page, and FAQs.
