Purpose
The use of Community and College Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) grant funds is subject to the policies and requirements outlined in the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide. The current Financial Guidelines provide information on additional expenses eligible through this pilot initiative.
Funding Information
CCSIF grants are valued at up to $200,000 over one to three years. Applicants can also request 20 per cent in addition to the value of the grant requested (e.g., $20,000 in addition to a $100,000 grant request, $40,000 in addition to a $200,000 grant), to offset overhead costs, administrative costs and a limited amount of reduction in course load for full-time college faculty staff; and to offer some salary support for part-time college faculty staff. This amount should not exceed 20 per cent of the grant value.
Guidelines for the Use of Funds
While the use of grant funds is subject to the policies and requirements outlined in the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide, additional guidelines / eligible expenses are provided below. The funds must be used effectively and economically, and the expenses must be essential to the projects/activities supported by the grant.
Overhead, administrative and course-load reduction expenses
The overhead, administrative and course-load reduction expenses (20 per cent in addition to the grant amount requested) are limited to those costs attributable to specific, planned projects and activities. While applicants are not required to justify these expenses in their project budget, they must report on how the overhead, administrative and course-load reduction funds and salary support are spent.
Eligible expenses may include:
- institutional support for the completion of grant applications / research proposals;
- acquisition, maintenance and/or upgrade of information systems to track grant applications, certifications and awards;
- acquisition of library holdings;
- upgrades to research equipment;
- upgrades to research facilities and equipment in order to meet regulatory requirements;
- financial and other administrative services;
- training for college faculty and other research personnel in animal care, ethics review, handling of radiation and biohazards, and environmental assessments;
- technical support for animal care;
- salary of a part-time college faculty member holding a contract of less than three years with the institution (note that total salary support—part-time salary plus CCSIF grant salary support—cannot exceed the calculated salary amount for a full-time college faculty member, when calculated on an annual and hourly basis); and
- limited course-load reduction costs, to replace college faculty in order to support their involvement in research projects (up to $9,000 per course-load reduction per semester per faculty member, or the equivalent of 0.1 full-time equivalent positions).
The CCSIF pilot does not support major infrastructure requests related to the project or related activities.
Apart from the 20 per cent in additional funds that can be requested, eligible compensation-related expenses related to stipends and salaries for the grant itself are outlined under Use of Grant Funds in the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.