Begin forwarded message:
From:
Office of the Vice-President Research and International <VPRI@umanitoba.ca>
Subject:
[Adr-rlo] CFI IF 2027 (DRAFT CALL) - Action required - Engagement session April 30
Date:
April 21, 2026 at 3:59:33 PM CDT
To:
"'adr-rlo@lists.umanitoba.ca'" <adr-rlo@lists.umanitoba.ca>, Allison Abra <Allison.Abra@umanitoba.ca>, Anastasia Cholakis <Anastasia.Cholakis@umanitoba.ca>, Brian Mark
<Brian.Mark@umanitoba.ca>, Asper Dean <asperdean@umanitoba.ca>, Lisa O'Hara <Lisa.Ohara@umanitoba.ca>, "Rector St. Pauls College" <Rector.StPaulsCollege@umanitoba.ca>, Douglas Brown <Douglas.Brown@umanitoba.ca>, Heidi Marx <Heidi.Marx-Wolf@umanitoba.ca>, Hope
Anderson <Hope.Anderson@umanitoba.ca>, Jan Stewart <Jan.Stewart@umanitoba.ca>, Josee Lavoie <Josee.Lavoie@umanitoba.ca>, Kelley Main <Kelley.Main@umanitoba.ca>, Kellie Thiessen <Kellie.Thiessen@umanitoba.ca>, Marcia Friesen <Marcia.Friesen@umanitoba.ca>, Dean
Environment <Dean.Environment@umanitoba.ca>, Mimi Locher <Mira.Locher@umanitoba.ca>, Dean Agriculture <agdean@umanitoba.ca>, Peter Donahue <Peter.Donahue@umanitoba.ca>, Peter Nickerson <Peter.Nickerson@umanitoba.ca>, Reg Urbanowski <Reg.Urbanowski@umanitoba.ca>,
Richard Jochelson <Richard.Jochelson@umanitoba.ca>, Stephen Runge <Stephen.Runge@umanitoba.ca>, Ute Kothe <Ute.Kothe@umanitoba.ca>, "Rector St. Pauls College" <Rector.StPaulsCollege@umanitoba.ca>
Cc:
Ivan Froese <Ivan.Froese@umanitoba.ca>, Dawn Silva <Dawn.Silva@umanitoba.ca>, Tracy Foster Davidson <Tracy.Foster@umanitoba.ca>, Janel Loeppky <Janel.Loeppky@umanitoba.ca>,
Grace Bamigbade <Grace.Bamigbade@umanitoba.ca>, Bonnie Warkentine <Bonnie.Warkentine@umanitoba.ca>, Jennifer Palichuk <Jennifer.Palichuk@umanitoba.ca>, Jonas Brandt <Jonas.Brandt@umanitoba.ca>, Melissa Stamm <Melissa.Stamm@umanitoba.ca>, Elsie Besana <Elsie.Gomez-Besana@umanitoba.ca>,
Janela Ledda <Janela.Ledda@umanitoba.ca>, Janine Drennan Alsip <Janine.Drennan@umanitoba.ca>, Rebecca Harasym <Rebecca.Harasym@umanitoba.ca>, Susan Hirst <Susan.Hirst@umanitoba.ca>, Dean Environment <Dean.Environment@umanitoba.ca>, Kelly Pokorny Smilinski
<Kelly.Pokorny@umanitoba.ca>, Tara Vogelsang <Tara.Vogelsang@umanitoba.ca>, Mya Kraft <Mya.Kraft@umanitoba.ca>, Tammy De Jong <Tammy.DeJong@umanitoba.ca>, Karen Soares <Karen.Soares@umanitoba.ca>, Tamara Lewsey <Tamara.Lewsey@umanitoba.ca>, Liane Allen <Liane.Allen@umanitoba.ca>,
Jodi Petch <Jodi.Petch@umanitoba.ca>, Sarah Rout <Sarah.Rout@umanitoba.ca>, Marion DeJong <Marion.DeJong@umanitoba.ca>
Dear Deans and ADRs/RLOs
IMPORTANT NOTICE – ACTION REQUIRED
The Canada
Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has released the draft call for proposals for the 2027
Innovation Fund. This call reflects a significantly changed global context and signals CFI’s readiness to support mission-driven research and dual‑use technologies, including initiatives aligned with Canada’s
Defence Industrial Strategy (Summary attached). The University of Manitoba’s CFI envelope is $22.1M.
This competition presents a strategic opportunity—and expectation—for the University of Manitoba to advance large, highly aligned initiatives. Competitive proposals will be
characterized by:
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Mission-driven research contributing to a stronger, more sustainable economy, including areas such as defence, national sovereignty, and dual-use technologies
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Mandatory inter-institutional collaboration that positions Canada as a coordinated, globally influential research leader
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Shared, strategically located research infrastructure that supports internationally competitive research teams
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Strong leveraged partner contributions, including from relevant federal programs
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Indigenous research grounded in community-identified needs and priorities
To prepare for the 2027 competition, UM initiated its internal process in December 2026. To date, we have received the following Expanded
Expressions of Interest (E-EO1) from12 Project Leaders and briefly
summarized in the attached document.