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Northern Fund

The Northern Fund will provide eligible institutions and organizations in Northern Canada with research infrastructure that will lay the foundation for research projects that address the priorities of the region and its communities. These research projects will be conceived, developed, led and managed by Northern institutions, researchers and communities.

For the purposes of this funding program, the North includes Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut. The Northern Fund augments the Government of Canada’s strategic investments in Northern research and aims to strengthen Northern research capacity.

The Northern Fund is open for proposals in all research disciplines that clearly demonstrate how the research directly engages with and serves the needs of Northern communities, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities in the North.

Status: This funding program is open for proposals.

Key document: Northern Fund call for proposals

We recommend downloading the document to access the hyperlinks.

Fund overview Apply Review process Manage your award Fund highlights

What is this funding program meant to do?

Support research led by Northern institutions and organizations and First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities
Augment research capacity in the North for the North
Generate social, cultural, health, environmental or economic benefits to Northern Canada and Northern communities including the training of academic and non-academic highly qualified personnel.

What institutions are eligible to apply to this fund?

To apply to the Northern Fund, Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions and organizations, must meet both criteria:

Be headquartered in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik or Nunatsiavut
Be recognized as eligible by the CFI.

Email us at eligibility [at] innovation.ca (eligibility[at]innovation[dot]ca) for information about how to apply for eligibility.

Note that the CFI funds institutions and does not fund individual researchers.

What research infrastructure projects are eligible?

An eligible research infrastructure project involves acquiring or developing research infrastructure to augment research capacity and conduct research activities that are relevant to Northern communities.

To be considered for funding, the requested research infrastructure must be essential for the institution’s planned research activities and be located in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik or Nunatsiavut.

How much funding can an institution request?

Eligible institutions can submit proposals with total CFI requests between $250,000 and $2.5 million to cover research infrastructure costs.

The CFI will fund up to 50 percent of the eligible costs of a research infrastructure project. The remainder of the funds (50 percent or more) must be provided by the institution and other eligible funding partners.

Over five years, the CFI will invest up to $25 million in research infrastructure including funding to operate and maintain it.

What are the deadlines?

Activity	Deadline
The CFI issues the call for proposals	January 31, 2024
Deadline to submit proposals	Anytime between February 2024 and February 2028
Last round of funding decisions from the CFI	March 2029
Duration of the Northern Fund	Five years or until funds are fully committed

Consult the call for proposals to find instructions for submitting the following:

Requests for proposal development support
Northern Fund proposals.

Proposal development support is optional and is not required to submit a Northern Fund proposal. Keep in mind the research security requirements outlined below when you apply to this funding program.

What do research institutions need to do regarding research security when they apply for CFI funding?

Download a Private-sector partner identification form

Download a National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships Risk Assessment Form (RAF)

To identify and mitigate research security risks, the CFI has adopted an approach aligned with the Government of Canada’s National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP).

To comply with the NSGRP, institutions applying to the Northern Fund are required to provide one of the following along with their proposal:

A National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships Risk Assessment Form (RAF) if the project involves a private-sector partner that:
- Has an active role in the research activities described in the proposal (e.g., sharing of intellectual property, providing expertise, actively participating in research activities, contributing financially to the research activities); or
- Houses part or all of the research infrastructure; or
- Contributes more than $500,000 to the infrastructure through a cash or in-kind contribution to any single item

Or,

Confirmation by email to northern.fund [at] innovation.ca (northern[dot]fund[at]innovation[dot]ca) that the project involves no private-sector partners that meet any of the above criteria.

For each private-sector partner that meets any of the criteria in the first bullet above, institutions must also provide a completed Private-sector partner identification form.

CFI staff will assess and validate the RAFs against risks to national security. When the CFI cannot ascertain the risk or it cannot determine whether the proposed mitigation measures are sufficient, the proposal and the RAF will be referred to the appropriate Government of Canada agency for further review. Following this referral, the CFI may require that the institution put in place specific mitigation measures, including ending specific partnerships, to be considered for funding.

Institutions are encouraged to conduct open source due diligence when completing the Risk Assessment Form and to consult with their private-sector partner(s), where appropriate, to validate the information. For more information, consult the comprehensive guide Conducting Open Source Due Diligence for Safeguarding Research Partnerships.

The review process for the Northern Fund will assess whether proposals meet the five review criteria for this funding program.

What are the review criteria?

The five review criteria for this funding program are:

Research in the North for the North — The research activities are of high relevance to Northern communities, are feasible, and have been co-created, co-developed or co-managed with First Nations, Métis or Inuit communities, as appropriate.

Team — The team has the relevant knowledge and experience to conduct the research activities. First Nations, Métis or Inuit team members play meaningful and leadership roles in the research activities.

Infrastructure — The research infrastructure is necessary and appropriate and will augment research capacity in the North.

Sustainability — The research infrastructure will be well managed and efficiently used.

Benefits to Northern communities — There are clear pathways to transfer research results and/or to mobilize knowledge to residents of Northern communities including First Nations, Métis or Inuit communities and potential partners. The results are likely to lead to social, cultural, health, environmental or economic benefits to Northern Canada including the training of highly qualified personnel.

Consult the call for proposals for more detail on the review process for this funding program.

If your institution receives funding through this funding program, there are a few things you will need to do to finalize, manage and report on your award.

Check this tab regularly as we update this information.

What do research institutions need to do regarding research security after they receive CFI funding?

If your institution receives CFI funding, we ask that it submit an update to notify us of any changes to a funded project that would impact the national security risk under the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships, and to continue to do so until it submits the final financial report.

Examples of situations warranting an updated RAF include:

The development of new partnerships meeting the criteria that require an RAF (These criteria are outlined under “What do research institutions need to do regarding research security when they apply for CFI funding?” in the “Apply” tab on this page.)
An increase in a partner’s financial contribution to the infrastructure such that it contributes more than $500,000 to the infrastructure through a cash or in-kind contribution to any single item
The relocation of research infrastructure to the premises of a private-sector partner.

Institutions are encouraged to conduct open source due diligence when completing the Risk Assessment Form and to consult with their partner organization(s), where appropriate, to validate the information. For more information, consult the comprehensive guide Conducting Open Source Due Diligence for Safeguarding Research Partnerships.

The CFI launched this funding program following the Government of Canada’s approval of $25 million for research infrastructure required for research projects in, and about, Northern Canada that is conducted by Northerners.

Check this tab regularly as we update this information.