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What the Ontario Research Fund is
The Ontario Research Fund (ORF) is a provincial research-funding program administered by Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. It is not a single grant but an umbrella of programs that fund the operating costs and physical infrastructure of research at Ontario institutions — distinct from, and typically used alongside, Canada’s federal Tri-Agency funding system (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) and the federal Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).
For a Canadian research office, the practical distinction that matters most is this: the Tri-Agency funds a specific investigator-led research program, and CFI funds capital infrastructure at the federal level, cost-shared with a provincial partner. In Ontario, the ORF is that provincial partner. A research administrator putting together a capital-equipment or major-facility application will, in most cases, be assembling an ORF application and a CFI application at the same time, not choosing between them.
The two main ORF programs
ORF is organized into two programs that fund different things and answer to different rules. Both are run by the same ministry, but a research office should treat them as separate application processes with separate deadlines, forms, and eligible-cost lists.
ORF – Research Excellence (ORF-RE)
ORF-RE funds the operating costs of research — salaries, supplies, and other costs of running a major project — rather than equipment or buildings. It supports projects judged to be of strategic value to the province, and funds up to one-third of total eligible project costs; the institution must secure the remaining two-thirds from private-sector and institutional sources.
ORF-RE runs two application streams:
- Stream 1 – Basic and Applied Research: open to all disciplines, aimed at earlier-stage work (Technology Readiness Levels 1–2). Awards range from $500,000 to $2,000,000, over projects of up to five years.
- Stream 2 – Experimental Research: requires strong commercialization potential (Technology Readiness Level 3 and above) and mandates collaboration with an Ontario-based company. Awards range from $300,000 to $2,000,000, over projects of up to four years.
Recent competitions have prioritized artificial intelligence, automotive, critical minerals, genomics, life sciences, medical devices, and quantum technology, though eligibility is not formally restricted to those areas — check the current call for the priority list in effect, since it changes between competitions.
ORF – Research Infrastructure (ORF-RI)
ORF-RI funds the physical and equipment side of research: renovating or constructing facilities, purchasing major equipment, and (for the smaller stream) acquiring or renewing research equipment, specimens, and databases. It runs as three distinct programs:
- Large Infrastructure — facility construction, renovation, and equipment supporting collaborative academic research.
- Small Infrastructure — smaller equipment, specimen, and database acquisitions or renewals.
- College Fund — facility development at colleges, where an industry or not-for-profit partnership is a mandatory eligibility condition.
ORF-RI is explicitly cost-shared with the federal Canada Foundation for Innovation: Ontario and CFI each contribute up to 40% of eligible project costs, and the institution must secure the remaining 20% from private-sector, public, or other institutional sources. Because the two programs are coordinated, an institution applies to the matching CFI program (the Innovation Fund, the John R. Evans Leaders Fund, or CFI’s own College Fund, depending on the ORF-RI stream) at the same time as the ORF-RI application — the two are reviewed as a linked package, not sequentially.
Who can apply
Both ORF-RE and ORF-RI are open to Ontario-based research institutions: universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutes. Applications are typically submitted institutionally — through the sponsored-programs or research-office rather than directly by an individual investigator — and a research administrator’s practical role is usually assembling the budget, confirming matching-funds commitments, and coordinating the parallel CFI submission for ORF-RI applications.
ORF-RE vs. ORF-RI: which one fits a given project
| ORF-RE | ORF-RI | |
|---|---|---|
| Funds | Operating costs (salaries, supplies) | Infrastructure (facilities, equipment) |
| Provincial share | Up to 1/3 of total costs | Up to 40% of eligible costs |
| Federal co-funder | None specified | Canada Foundation for Innovation (matching up to 40%) |
| Typical award size | $300,000–$2,000,000 | Varies by program (Large / Small / College Fund) |
| Companion application | N/A | Matching CFI program, same competition cycle |
A single major project can, and often does, draw on both: ORF-RE to cover the salaries and consumables of the research program, ORF-RI (with matching CFI funds) to build or equip the lab the work happens in.
How ORF relates to federal funding
Ontario researchers commonly layer ORF funding on top of federal awards rather than treating them as alternatives. A project might combine a Tri-Agency operating grant, a CFI/ORF-RI infrastructure award for the equipment, and a Canada Research Chair or Canada Excellence Research Chair covering a chairholder’s salary and program funds — each administered separately, with its own reporting obligations, but often required together for a project to be viable at all. A research office building a budget for a large capital or strategic-research application in Ontario needs to track ORF, CFI, and Tri-Agency requirements in parallel, not in sequence.
Frequently asked questions
Who administers the Ontario Research Fund?
Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security administers both ORF-RE and ORF-RI.
Is the Ontario Research Fund the same as the Canada Foundation for Innovation?
No. CFI is a separate, federally funded not-for-profit corporation that funds research infrastructure across Canada. ORF-RI is Ontario’s matching provincial program, and the two are typically applied for together for the same infrastructure project, with each contributing up to 40% of eligible costs.
Can a college apply to the Ontario Research Fund?
Yes. Colleges are eligible applicants for both ORF-RE and ORF-RI, and ORF-RI includes a dedicated College Fund stream that requires an industry or not-for-profit partnership.
Does ORF fund an individual researcher’s salary directly?
ORF-RE funds project operating costs, which can include salaries tied to the funded research project, but it is an institutional award, not a personal grant — unlike, for example, a Canada Research Chair, which is tied to a named chairholder.
This page covers Ontario’s own provincial research-funding programs. For the federal programs Ontario institutions typically combine them with, see CASRAI’s guide to the Canada Tri-Agency research funding system and the Grants Management hub.
