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74 awards for Canadian colleges to address local applied research and innovation challenges
General news Professors
June 14, 2024
Today, Yasir Naqvi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Ryan Turnbull, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry announced funding for 74 awards towards colleges, CEGEPs and polytechnics, totalizing an investment of $30.6 million through the College and Community Innovation (CCI) program.
The CCI program is the primary federal vehicle for funding college applied research in Canada, strengthening research links and collaborations among Canadian colleges and partners from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, other colleges, and/or universities with a common goal of creating economic, social, health and environmental benefits for Canada. The program is administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada in collaboration with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
The awards announced today are being funded through two CCI grant types:
- $9.4 million for 54 Applied Research Tools and Instruments grants, providing support for the purchase of research equipment to foster and enhance the capacity of colleges to undertake applied research projects.
- $21.25 million over five years for 20 Technology Access Centre grants, addressing innovation challenges by enabling community organizations to take advantage of the college’s expertise, technology and equipment. The funding will support the creation of 5 new centres and build on the CCI program’s continued support of 15 established centres.
This funding will enable colleges to provide timely support to support local research and innovation needs in areas such as design and manufacturing, artificial intelligence as well as agriculture and food management. These collaborations will also provide specialized training opportunities for students to gain real-world experience in the workforce.
Quick facts
- The CCI program has five distinct grant types to support colleges, CEGEPs and polytechnics across Canada to have a strong foundation for applied research, specialized centres in areas of identified need, and research projects driven by partner and societal needs: Applied Research and Development grants; Applied Research Tools and Instruments grants; College and Community Social Innovation Fund grants; Mobilize grants and Technology Access Centre grants.
- As announced in the 2023 federal budget, the CCI program received an investment of $108.6 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, to help more Canadian businesses access the expertise and research and development facilities they need. A portion of this investment was allocated to the ARTI awards announced today. All 60 active Technology Access Centres also benefited from a supplement to their grant to enable them to further develop their activities.
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