Ontario Research Fund - Research Excellence Water Round
Program Overview
The Ontario Research Fund Research Excellence (ORF-RE) Water Round promotes research excellence of strategic value to Ontario by supporting new leading-edge, transformative, and internationally significant research in water and wastewater-related technologies.
The ORF-RE Water Round promotes the development of water-related solutions both for domestic adoption and international export.
As a general rule, the minimum support provided by the ORF-RE to a Water Round project is $500,000 and the maximum support provided is $5 million.
Who’s eligible for funding?
Funding is open, on a competitive basis, to:
- Ontario publicly assisted universities
- Ontario colleges of applied arts and technology
- Ontario hospital research institutes
- not-for-profit research institutes affiliated with an Ontario university or hospital, excluding those funded primarily by business or industry
- consortia of the above, with one institution as lead applicant, assuming responsibility and accountability for the consortium
- other Ontario not-for-profit research institutions at the discretion of the ORF Advisory Board
Where an institution’s eligibility to apply for ORF-RE funding may be in question, such institutions must request and receive confirmation of eligibility from the ORF Advisory Board (please refer to the program guidelines for more information).
What’s eligible for funding?
All research proposals providing solutions to water and wastewater issues, both in Ontario, Canada and abroad, are eligible under the ORF-RE Water Round.
These solutions include, but are not limited to:
- water and wastewater-related technologies (such as high quality, low-footprint treatment technologies, technologies impacting on water use efficiency, water analytics, etc) ;
- marketable processes and methods (including projects that address new partnership models, new contracting models and/or new governance models).
Proposals must include a plan for youth outreach/mentorship activities.
The ORF-RE Water Round funds:
- direct costs, including salaries and benefits, facilities and equipment, management and administration
- indirect costs—the overhead costs of doing research
The program will contribute a maximum of 1/3 of the operating costs, with 1/3 of the remainder coming from the private sector and 1/3 from the institution.
ORF does not fund:
- contract R&D (where the private sector owns the resulting intellectual property)
- research chairs
How are proposals judged?
Proposals are judged on:
- quality of research
- commercialization
- strategic value of the research
- development of research talent
- project management
For more details on the ORF-RE Water Round, download a copy of the Program Guidelines.
How do institutions apply?
For details on how to apply to the program, download a copy of the Application Instructions.
When is the next deadline for proposals?
The next deadline for proposals will be on December 17, 2010.
Who can I contact if I have questions?
If you have questions about the program, check Frequently Asked Questions, or contact:
Mima Vulovic, 416-212-7060, mima.vulovic@ontario.ca
Linked Documents
Application Form
Application Instructions
Budget Workbook
Classification Codes for Research Disciplines
Classification Codes for Areas of Application
Conflict of Interest Policy for Expert Reviewers
Frequently Asked Questions
Guidelines for ORF-RE Water Round
