Ontario Research Fund (ORF) – Research Excellence (RE)

Funder’s Website

The funder’s website can be found HERE.

Funding Value and Duration

Stream 1: $500,000 to $2,000,000 (Ontario portion) up to a max of five (5) years.

Stream 2: $300,000 to $2,000,000 (Ontario portion) up to a max of four (4) years

Overview

The Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence (ORF–RE) provides research institutions with funding to support the operational costs of major projects of strategic value to the province.

The fund provides up to one third of the total value of a project, with the remaining two thirds coming from a combination of private sector and institutional contributions.

Stream 1: Basic and Applied Research

This stream:

• is open to all research disciplines
• is at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 1 or 2
• funds projects from $500,000 to $2,000,000
• funds projects up to a maximum of 5 years

Stream 2: Experimental Research

This stream:

• funds projects that demonstrate strong commercialization potential, where the innovation is at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3 or higher
• requires collaboration with an Ontario-based company
• funds projects from $300,000 to $2,000,000
• funds projects up to a maximum of 4 years

For both streams, priority will be given to applications focused on:

• artificial intelligence
• automotive (includes electric vehicles)
• critical minerals (includes research that supports Ontario’s Ring of Fire)
• genomics
• life sciences
• medical devices
• quantum technology