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The Digital Research Alliance of Canada (usually shortened to “the Alliance”) is a national, not-for-profit, membership-based organization that provides Canadian researchers with digital research infrastructure — advanced research computing (high-performance computing and cloud), research data management (RDM) services, and research software support. It is the direct successor to Compute Canada, which ceased operations on March 31, 2022; the Alliance now operates the national advanced-research-computing platform that Compute Canada previously ran, coordinating with regional partner organizations rather than running every cluster itself.
Not to be confused with: the Alliance is an infrastructure and services provider, not a grant-making body. It does not fund research projects, salaries, or operating costs the way the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), NSERC, or SSHRC do, and it is administratively distinct from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), which funds the capital purchase of research infrastructure rather than operating a shared national platform. A research team typically uses a CFI award (or institutional funds) to acquire equipment, a Tri-Agency grant to run the research program, and Alliance-provided compute/storage allocations to actually process and store the resulting data — three separate relationships, not one.
What the Alliance provides
- Advanced research computing — access to national high-performance computing (HPC) clusters for CPU and GPU workloads, including clusters that form part of the Pan-Canadian AI Compute Environment (PAICE) for machine-learning and AI research specifically.
- Research data management — RDM services and guidance that Canadian researchers can name directly in a data management plan, including storage allocations and support for data-sharing and preservation practices consistent with funder DMP requirements. See CASRAI’s data management plan (DMP) entry for what funders expect a DMP to contain.
- Research software — centrally supported scientific software stacks and technical documentation for running research workloads on Alliance-operated systems.
The Alliance does not operate as a single monolithic entity: it works through a federation model with regional digital research infrastructure (DRI) partners — the BC DRI Group, the Prairies DRI Group, Compute Ontario, Calcul Québec, and ACENET (Atlantic Canada) — each of which operates infrastructure and provides local researcher support within its region, coordinated nationally through the Alliance.
Getting access: accounts and allocations
Researchers register for access through the CCDB (a legacy name retained from the Compute Canada era) — the account and allocation management portal for the Alliance’s advanced research computing platform. A basic account (a “Rapid Access Service” allocation) gives a researcher modest, immediately available compute and storage without a formal competition. Larger, dedicated allocations of compute time and storage are awarded through the Alliance’s annual Resource Allocation Competitions (RAC), a peer-reviewed process in which principal investigators justify the scale of resources their project genuinely needs for the coming year, similar in spirit to how a research team justifies a budget in a grant application.
Worked example
A genomics lab needs to store and process large sequencing datasets. Rather than purchasing and maintaining its own server cluster, the lab’s principal investigator applies through the Alliance’s Resource Allocation Competition for a dedicated compute and storage allocation, names the Alliance’s RDM service as the storage location in the project’s data management plan, and runs its analysis pipelines on one of the Alliance’s national clusters — all without the institution owning or operating the underlying hardware itself.
Counter-example
A researcher who searches for “Compute Canada” to renew an old account will not find a separate Compute Canada organization to contact: Compute Canada ceased operations on March 31, 2022, and its national advanced-research-computing role was assumed by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. Existing CCDB accounts and allocations carried forward under the Alliance rather than requiring researchers to re-register with a new provider, but any current documentation, support contact, or policy is the Alliance’s, not a still-operating Compute Canada.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Digital Research Alliance of Canada the same as Compute Canada?
The Alliance is Compute Canada’s successor, not a separate, still-operating organization under a different name. Compute Canada ceased operations on March 31, 2022; the Alliance now operates the national advanced research computing platform, working through regional partners (BC DRI Group, Prairies DRI Group, Compute Ontario, Calcul Québec, ACENET) rather than as a single unified provider.
Does the Alliance fund research?
No. The Alliance provides digital research infrastructure — compute, storage, and research software — not research grants, salaries, or operating funds. Funding for the research itself comes from Tri-Agency grants, provincial funds, or other award programs, applied for and administered separately from an Alliance compute/storage allocation.
How do researchers get a compute or storage allocation?
Through a CCDB account: a modest allocation is available immediately via the Rapid Access Service, while larger, dedicated allocations require a successful application through the Alliance’s annual, peer-reviewed Resource Allocation Competition (RAC).
Can I name the Alliance’s storage in a data management plan?
Yes. The Alliance’s research data management service is designed to be named directly in a funder-required DMP as the storage and stewardship arrangement for a project’s research data, alongside or instead of an institutional or disciplinary repository.
References
- Digital Research Alliance of Canada, “About the Alliance” (alliancecan.ca/en/about)
- Digital Research Alliance of Canada, CCDB account/allocation portal (ccdb.alliancecan.ca) — confirms the federation of regional DRI partners (BC DRI Group, Prairies DRI Group, Compute Ontario, Calcul Québec, ACENET)
- Digital Research Alliance of Canada, technical documentation wiki (docs.alliancecan.ca) — current cluster names and the Pan-Canadian AI Compute Environment (PAICE)
- Compute Canada | Calcul Canada, LinkedIn company page — confirms Compute Canada ceased operations March 31, 2022
