CFI Presentation

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CFI Presentation

• May 29, 2008
• Presenter
• Nancy Klimczak (Manager RSO Institutional
  Programs/Health Sciences)
• Neil Sulakhe (Acting Manager RSO Institutional
  Programs / Natural Sciences CFI Liason)

2
Overview

• Canada Foundation for Innovation
• What is CFI?
• Matching and Partner Funding
• Current Programs

• Purchase Monitoring

• IOF
• Contact information

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Canada Foundation for Innovation

• What is CFI?
• Independent corporation established by the
  federal government in 1997
• What is its mandate?
• To strengthen capability of institutions to
  conduct world class research technology
  development
• How?
• By investing in infrastructure to support
  innovative research
• By providing an institutional award (whereby the
  institution receives and administers the funds)

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CFI is a Matching Program

• CFI provides up to 40 of eligible costs
• Partner funding to cover the other 60

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Partner Funding

• Eligible partners include
• The University
• Corporations
• Other organizations, foundations and individuals
• Provincial, federal and foreign government
  departments and agencies excluding CIHR, SSHRC,
  NSERC and NCEs

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More on Matching (Partner Funding)

• Tri-Council funds and items partially or wholly
  purchased with Tri-Council funds are not eligible
  to match to CFI
• Funds matched to Tri-Council funds are also
  ineligible
• NCE and CRC funds are ineligible
• Other federal programs are OK (e.g. WD)

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Matching Formula

• 40 CFI
• Up to 40 from Alberta Advanced Education and
  Technology is possible
• 20-60 other (institutional support, in-kind
  contributions, etc.)

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Institutional Commitment

• CFI expects substantial institutional
  investments as evidence of institutional
  priority
• Commitments to research area in terms of HQP
  (highly qualified personnel), new capital
  projects, space allocated, centres formed, etc.
• Related to U of A Strategic Research Plan (and
  Faculty plan)

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CFI

• Current Programs
• Leading Edge Fund (LEF) New Initiatives Fund
  (NIF) - Major Iniatives program (call posted
  Feb. 19/08)
• http//www.innovation.ca/programs/index.cfm?websit
  eid521
• http//www.rso.ualberta.ca/cfimajorinitiatives.cfm
  
• Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF)
• Infrastructure Operating Fund (IOF)
• http//www.rso.ualberta.ca/cfi.cfm

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Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF)

• Amalgamation of previous New Opportunities Fund
  and Canada Research Chair (CRC) Infrastructure
  Funds
• Smaller (lt1M) projects
• Infrastructure support
• Three intake dates per year (depends on project)

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Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF)

• 3 Streams for individual support
• Stream 1- Funding for research infrastructure
  alone
• New recruit
• Established researcher (to retain)
• Stream 2 - Funding for infrastructure associated
  with a CRC
• Stream 3 - Funding for infrastructure and
  research support from the federal agencies (CIHR,
  NSERC and SSHRC)
• Complete agency form abbreviated LOF form
• Reviewed by agency

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Alberta Advanced Education Technology (AET) -
Current Programs

• SEGP (Small Equipment Grants Program)
• Matches to non CRC LOF up to a maximum of 40
• Applications due four months prior to CFI LOF
  application
• ASRIP (AB Science and Research Investments
  Program)
• Matches to LEF through IS (Infrastructure
  Sustainability) stream
• Matches to NIF through RI (Research
  Infrastructure) stream
• Maximum 40
• Draft call to be posted

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Recurring Deadlines

• AET
• SEGP Small Equipment Grants Program
• July 15, 2008
• November 12, 2008
• March xx, 2009 (TBA)
• CFI
• Leaders Opportunity Fund (Stream 1 3)
• Notice of Intent not required
• Application Deadlines February 15, June 15,
  and October 15
• LOF (Stream 2) CRC deadlines
• http//www.rso.ualberta.ca/crcdeadlines.cfm
• Infrastructure Operating Fund (IOF)
• Not available to LOF Stream 2
• No deadlines
• Please contact your RSA

Internal RSO deadline 30 days prior to agency
deadline
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Role of Your Institutional Programs Team

• Liaises with major sponsors on the Universitys
  behalf
• Application development, review and submission
• Review and assistance with agreements (i.e.,
  inter-institutional agreements, etc.)
• Assists researchers through CFI award
  finalization once an award has been made
• Purchase monitoring (Research Facilitation
  Offices)
• Award administration
• Financial and outcomes reporting

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CFI awards

• CFI awards are institutional awards that are
  given to the Vice-President (Research), who is
  the project holder
• VPR has signing authority for most Institutional
  money
• All CFI-funded human resources and one-over-one
  transactions must be approved at RSO
• Special speed code VPXXX
• CFI Financial Analyst (CFI FA) / RSA reviews
  purchase documents to ensure eligibility and to
  reconcile to CFI budget
• Required for CFI audit compliance

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Delegation of Signing Authority

• Delegation of Signing Authority is as follows
• Less than 10,000 to the Project Leader (or
  delegate who has been approved by the VPR)
• Less than 200,000 to the Research Facilitator
  and the Manager for Institutional Programs
• Less than 2,000,000 to the Assistant Director,
  Institutional Programs
• Greater than 2,000,000 to the Associate VP
  Research

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Purchase Monitoring
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Purchase Monitoring Under 10K

• Researcher has signing authority for purchases
  under 10K
• the Dept. is responsible for retaining all backup
  docs
• This is a requirement for CFI audit
  compliance
• RSO will work with the Project Leader or Project
  Manager to
• Ensure we have the correct CFI line item for
  reporting
• Review the purchases for eligibility
• Work with the researcher and the department to
  ensure documentation is on file for audit
  purposes

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Purchase Monitoring Over 10K

• CFI FA reviews purchase documents and obtains
  approval for expenditures over 10K
• Purchase Requisitions
• Quotes and Bid Summaries
• Purchase Orders
• Invoices

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Obtaining a Quote

• All quotes must be obtained according to
  University Policy and Procedures (UAPPOL)
• SMS will solicit quotes for CFI budget items that
  exceeds 25K on behalf of the Project Leader.
• By way of a Bid/Proposal (RFB/RFP), and ensures
  that pricing is obtained in the required CFI
  format
• Extended warranties must be quoted and purchased
  at the same time as the equipment

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Purchase Requisitions (PR)

• All PRs must be obtained according to University
  Policy and Procedures (UAPPOL)
• Ensure that the appropriate VP speed code and CFI
  account codes are listed
• See handout
• Responses to FS requests to change account codes
• CFI FA will obtain appropriate sign-off and
  forward to SMS
• SMS will create Purchase Order (PO) and proceed
  with purchase

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In-Kind What is it?

• Non-cash contribution to the project
• vendor discounts
• donation of equipment or external professional
  services, datasets
• Travel incurred by supplier donated
• the contribution must be in excess of any
  normal or educational discount offered
• Very strict rules regarding eligibility of
  in-kind contributions, particularly with respect
  to acceptable documentation/valuation
• ALL institutional contributions are considered
  CAH (not in-kind)

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In-Kind Required Format

• For all bids and purchases it is imperative to
  follow the following format in order to ensure
  that the in-kind provided by the vendor can in
  fact be claimed through CFI.
• List price
• Less Normal and/or educational discount (if not
  applicable enter zero O)
• Sub total
• Less in-kind contribution (if not applicable,
  enter zero 0)
• Net Price

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Direct Orders to preferred Vendors

• Direct Orders
• Less than 10K approval is provided by the
  Project Leader
• Greater than 10K approval must be obtained from
  the CFI FA and supporting documentation is
  required
• When contacting your Vendor, please advise them
  this is a CFI purchase

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Low Dollar Purchase (LDP)

• Less than 5K can be purchased directly without
  involving SMS
• University issued credit card can be used if you
  have one but not a personal credit card. Using
  personal credit cards for University purchases
  and obtaining a reimbursement is against
  University policy.
• When contacting your Vendor, please advise them
  this is a CFI purchase

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Invoices

• All original invoices over 10K charged against a
  VP speed code is directed to the CFI FA
• RSO will contact the Project Leader to verify
  that the equipment has been received , installed,
  is in good working order and all training has
  been initiated.
• CFI FA will obtain appropriate sign-off and
  forward to SPS

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Human Resources (HR)

• All partial or full HR transactions (charged to
  VP speed codes) must be reviewed and approved by
  RSO
• Job Fact Sheets/Descriptions
• Pay Action Forms (PAF)
• ALL HR transactions, regardless of amount, for
  all CFI projects must be reviewed and authorized
  by RSO

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Eligible Expenditures

• Equipment
• The infrastructure itself and the development,
  acquisition, installation and setup of the
  infrastructure
• Travel
• To a manufacturer or supplier to select the
  infrastructure or for training
• Training
• CFI will only provide funding to train 1
  individual

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Eligible Expenditures (cont.)

• 4. Extended warranties
• must be ordered at same time as the equipment
• maximum 5 years
• overestimate at budget finalization cannot be
  applied to shortfalls elsewhere
• 5. Construction of eligible space or renovation
  of existing space
• must be necessary to house the infrastructure
• ground break must occur within 18 months of the
  notice of decision (NOD)
• special guidelines exist - see CFI Policy Guide

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Eligible Expenditures (cont.)

• 6. Personnel
• For the development, installation and the set up
  or building the infrastructure
• Timesheets and annual Statements of Work are
  required documentation
• ALL HR transactions, regardless of amount, for
  all CFI projects must be reviewed and authorized
  by RSO

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Ineligible Expenditures

• Teaching clinical care
• Real estate
• Office space, administrative costs including all
  office supplies and furniture
• Primary data collection
• Grad student/Post Doctoral Fellow (PDF) stipend
• Faculty salary
• Conference expenses
• Communication infrastructure not essential to
  conducting research
• Operating expenses

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Transfer of Expenditures To From a CFI Project

• Eligible expenditures (not Revenues) may be
• Transferred to the CFI project
• or
• Used as a match from the original account
• Appropriate documentation is still required as
  backup
• Note Prior to any transfer of expenditures
  (over 10K) involving VP speed codes, the Journal
  Voucher requires the appropriate approval and
  sign off

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Changes to Infrastructure Project

• Changes that require notification
• (to RSO may need CFI approval after
  notification)
• Not able to complete project
• Change in project leader
• Changes to Secured Revenue sources
• Contact your RSA

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Changes to Infrastructure Project (cont.)

• Changes requiring PRIOR CFI approval
• significant variance in total project cost
• significant variance in nature or amount of space
  
• significant change in nature of infrastructure
• significant variance in project end date
• change in location of a major piece of equipment
  
• Contact your RSA

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What is the IOF?

• Infrastructure Operating Fund
• Additional operating funds provided for direct,
  incremental operating expenditures
• Up to 30 of finalized CFI award amount
• Not a competition
• CRC projects (LOF Stream 2) not eligible

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What is eligible under the IOF?

• Personnel
• Salaries of highly qualified personnel
  (technicians or professionals) directly involved
  in the operation and maintenance of the
  CFI-funded infrastructure.
• The full salary of such highly qualified
  personnel may be eligible if such infrastructure
  cannot be operated and research cannot be
  conducted without the assistance of the highly
  qualified personnel.
• Supplies consumables
• necessary to operate the infrastructure
• Maintenance repairs
• Services ie electricity
• Service contracts extended warranties

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What is ineligible under IOF?

• PDF and graduate student stipends
• Equipment, personnel to install or set up the
  equipment, construction etc. this belongs under
  the capital budget (LOF)
• Administrative personnel except where duties are
  directly related to the operation of the
  infrastructure
• Costs of conducting the research
• Equipment upgrades to the infrastructure
  (software upgrades may be fine as long as there
  is no change to functionality)

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Research Facilitation Office (CFI) contacts

• Your first point of contact for purchase
  monitoring questions
• your Research Facilitation Office
• The following Faculties have designated CFI FAs
• ALES Karen Morrison (2-9511)
• Engineering Vera Harris (2-8566)
• Medicine and Dentistry Karolina Michalak
  (2-8032)
• Science Diana Satanovsky-Feldman
• (2-2922)

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Institutional Programs (CFI) Contact List

• If your RF or CFI FA is unavailable and for those
  that do not have CFI FA please contact
• Health Sciences
• Jane De Pauw
• Research Services Administrator Health
  Sciences
• 492-1430 jdepauw_at_ualberta.ca
• Mireille Estephan
• Research Services Administrator Health
  Sciences
• 492-8378 mireille.estephan_at_ualberta.ca
• Nancy Klimczak Manager Health Sciences
• 492-1452 nancy.klimczak_at_ualberta.ca

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Institutional Programs (CFI) Contact List

• Natural Sciences
• Melissa Deane
• Research Services Administrator Natural
  Sciences
• 492-6154 melissa.deane_at_ualberta.ca
• Kelly McGuirk-Petryk
• Research Services Administrator Natural
  Sciences
• 492-4919 kelly.mcguirkpetryk_at_ualberta.ca
• Neil Sulakhe
• Acting Manager Natural Sciences
• 492-8936 neil.sulakhe_at_ualberta.ca

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Institutional Programs (CFI) Contact List

• Small Faculties
• Anne MacKenzie
• Research Services Administrator Arts
  Augustana Business Education Extension Health
  Sciences Council Law Native Studies Phys-Ed
  and Rec Nursing Rehab Med
• 492-2002 a.mackenzie_at_ualberta.ca
• Lynda Brulotte
• Asst. Director, Institutional Programs
• 492-7002 lynda.brulotte_at_ualberta.ca

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For more information

• CFI
• www.rso.ualberta.ca/cfi.cfm
• www.rso.ualberta.ca/lof.cfm
• www.rso.ualberta.ca/crc.cfm
• AET
• www.rso.ualberta.ca/segp.cfm
• RSO Contacts
• www.rso.ualberta.ca/contact.cfmand enter
  Institutional Programs in the team selector or
  your Faculty in the Faculty selector

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Questions?