What is the Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF)?
On May 15, 2020, the Government of Canada announced the Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF) as part of its COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. This temporary program has been established to help sustain the research enterprise at Canadian universities and health research institutions that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This research funding relief strategy is the latest rolled out by the federal government, representing an additional investment of $450M.
The program has two objectives:
• As a priority, to provide wage support to universities and health research institutions, both of which are ineligible to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), to help them retain research-related personnel during the course of COVID-19 pandemic (up to $325M), and;
• To support extraordinary incremental costs associated with maintaining essential research-related commitments during the COVID-19 pandemic, and then ramping up to full research activities ($125M).
The Lady Davis Institute is committed to transparency in its administration of the CRCEF, in accordance with the standards laid out by the government for its implementation.
How will the CRCEF be implemented?
The CRCEF is being rolled out in three stages. Stages 1 & 2 correspond to the first objective above, with Stage 2 effectively serving as residual support for demonstrated needs in excess of the Stage 1 allocation.
Stages 1 & 2 are directed specifically at wage support for research personnel (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and other personnel associated with research projects) paid from non-governmental sources. This means that research projects supported by non-governmental sources (typically foundations or industry contracts) that were slowed or stopped because of COVID-19 may have some of their research-related personnel losses recovered by this program.
Stage 3 allows for claims against a much broader source of research funding (e.g., start-up funds, Tri-Agency funding, NIH and other non-Canadian funding, industry, foundations) for expenses related to the maintenance and ramp-up of research activities. 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% depending on the funds available and the scope of expenses requested. 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.
Applicants must justify the need for the funds based on actual costs incurred between March 15 and November 15, 2020. Please see the communications that were provided to investigators on October 6, 2020 and on November 9, 2020. To facilitate the process, we will employ a template similar to that used by McGill. The Stage 3 validation tool is available here. Principal investigators who believe they are eligible for CRCEF relief are encouraged to apply.
Stage 4 extends the maximum duration of wage/salary/stipend support for eligible research personnel in Stage 1 from 12 weeks to 24 weeks. The eligibility period for wage support remains the same as it was in Stage 1: From March 15th, 2020 to August 29th, 2020. As with Stage 1, Stage 4 funds will be used exclusively for wage support for research personnel (staff, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students) whose salaries/stipends were adversely affected by COVID-19 and who were paid in part or in whole by non-governmental sources.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in decision-making for the use of CRCEF funding
Committee Members
Roderick McInnes, Director
Gustavo Wendichansky, COO & CFO
Koren Mann, Head, Molecular & Regenerative Medicine Axis
Josie Ursini-Siegel, Head, Molecular Oncology Group
Yvhans Chery, Manager of Operations, Animal Facility
Contact for CRCEF compliance
Gustavo Wendichansky, COO and CFO
Gustavo.Wendichansky@ladydavis.ca
How is the Lady Davis CRCEF Steering Committee ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the administration of CRCEF funds? [Updated September 1, 2020]
The CRCEF Steering Committee is aware of the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on some equity seeking groups, especially people with disabilities, including those not able to access health care, those disproportionally shouldering dependent care and homeschooling responsibilities, and members of racialized minority communities. Equity-seeking groups include, but are not limited to, women, racialized minorities, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and persons from LGBTQ2+ communities.
Our CRCEF Steering Committee includes representation from senior management, alongside individuals from equity-seeking groups and from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds. Our strategy has been developed to ensure equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the administration of CRCEF funds. Members have received unconscious bias training online.
For Stage One, we identified eligible claims to the CRCEF allocation, examining financial records (this meant extracting eligible wages and salaries paid from non-governmental sources, agnostic to the background of the research personnel, with an aim to simplify the process for staff, especially those shouldering dependent care and homeschooling responsibilities), along with inclusive open calls to the research community. The LDI’s allocation of CRCEF funds was not exceeded in Stage One (wage support) with residual funding being held for Stage Three (pandemic-related costs incurred to maintain or ramp-up research). Should need exceed the funds allocated in Stage Three, the CRCEF Steering Committee will develop EDI-informed guiding principles, which will be made publicly available once full details of Stage 3 are released by the federal government.
As one of the affiliated health research institutions of McGill University, we collaborate on EDI matters, and participate in virtual town halls on the subject. For further details, please review Frequently Asked Questions from McGill.
LDI EDI Statement
In administering the CRCEF funds, the LDI’s CRCEF Steering Committee commits to full compliance with the program’s equity, diversity and inclusion decision-making and allocation requirements. The LDI is at the forefront among research institutes to ensure salary equality for all employees. We are committed to employment equity, meaning equal treatment and fairness for all in the workplace. We welcome all who may contribute to diversification. Our CIUSSS (CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal) is also part of the Programme d'accès à l'égalité à l'emploi (PAÉE), that aims at promoting recruitment and respecting the rights of women, indigenous people, visible and ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities. We are working with la Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse on its implementation.
As a world-class research institution, we recognize that excellence requires the convergence and collaboration of individuals of diverse identities, experiences, and ideas. Equally important, we value a respectful and inclusive learning and work environment, which seeks to identify and challenge historic and systemic barriers to full participation in academic life and to foster discovery, advancement, and accomplishment, all of which benefit the LDI and society more broadly. We are committed to these values in the pursuit of all aspects of its academic mission.
Those who self-identified as having been personally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic have been invited to inform the EDI committee of their individual situations.