Funding, News and Announcements

On June 23, the federal government announced details on the $450M Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF). Demonstration of need is required for all 3 stages. Research that has been negatively impacted and/or delayed entirely or partly is eligible. CRCEF will provide support for two main research areas:

1. Wage support for eligible research personnel who were paid from non-governmental sources (Stages 1 and 2, $325M); 
2. Incurred costs associated with maintenance and ramp-up of research activities (Stage 3, $125M).

As a result of unspent funds in Stage 2, on Sept. 30, CRCEF announced a Stage 4 component to the program.

Stage 1 Update:

Over 150 PIs applied for Stage 1 wage support for research-related personnel at Dalhousie. Approximately 200 research accounts were reviewed by HR and Financial Services and adjustments were calculated.  Researchers can expect adjustments to their research accounts to be made by Financial Services this week.   

Stage 4:

Stage 4 will “extend the period of wage support for eligible research personnel by increasing the maximum duration of support from 12 weeks to 24 weeks, during the March 15 to August 29, 2020 period.”  As with Stage 1, “Stage 4 funds will be used exclusively for wage support for research personnel whose salaries were adversely affected by COVID-19 and who are paid in part or in whole by non-governmental sources.”

In anticipation of additional CRCEF funding, HR and Financial Services will be revisiting all Stage 1 research accounts and will be calculating wage support for the additional 12 week period. While additional account adjustments are expected, CRCEF support (payments) for Stage 4 may be pro-rated depending on overall need from all eligible institutions.

Stage 3 Update:

Stage 3 has been designed to support research maintenance/ramp-up costs:

“Stage 3 is to support direct costs of research that have been incurred to: 1) maintain essential research-related commitments during the COVID-19 pandemic; and 2) support ramping-up to full research activities as physical distancing measures are eased and research activities can resume. Only direct costs of research that are extraordinary and incremental to those already covered by existing sources of funds and have been incurred between March 15 and November 15, 2020 will be reimbursed, at up to 75%.

Extraordinary incremental costs incurred for research projects funded by either governmental or non-governmental sources are eligible for Stage 3 support. Extraordinary incremental costs are defined as unanticipated additional costs that would not normally have been incurred in the absence of the COVID-19 pandemic and cannot be funded by existing sources of funds.”

Please note, the eligible costs for Stage 3 are still under discussion with CRCEF.  Once the list is finalized, Dalhousie researchers will be invited to submit a form through the Romeo Portal to request Stage 3 support.

For more information on CRCEF, please visit the website.

For any questions on CRCEF at Dalhousie, please e-mail research@dal.ca.