Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF)

The Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF) is part of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. The 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. It is expected that the program will help reduce negative impacts of the pandemic and ensure that the benefits of significant investments to date in universities and health research institutions are protected. This will maintain Canada’s international competitiveness in the global, knowledge-based economy, and contribute to Canadians’ health and social and cultural life, as well as the health of Canada’s natural environment.

CRCEF is a tri-agency program and is administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) on behalf of the three federal research funding agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and SSHRC. The Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) provides strategic oversight for the program and approves awards. The Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS) provides administration.

Program objectives

The program has two objectives:

  1. 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 the COVID-19 pandemic; and
  2. 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 as physical distancing measures are eased and research activities can resume.

More details on CRCEF can be found on the Government of Canada CRCEF program page.

Strategy for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Decision Making

In managing CRCEF funding, Waterloo is committed to identifying, addressing and preventing systemic barriers from creating unequal access to, or exclusion from, the research enterprise.

Stage 1 & 2 CRCEF Funding

To ensure equity, diversity and inclusion are embedded in the CRCEF decision making process, Waterloo researchers reporting a need for research personnel wage support were advised that EDI principles must be taken into consideration in their decisions relating to their research teams. Among other factors, researchers were specifically directed to consider research personnel who voluntarily withdrew from their roles or whose research productivity was adversely affected during COVID-19 due to equity-related considerations including, but not limited to:

  • personal health concerns or disability,
  • caregiving for child(ren), persons with disabilities, elder care, or
  • anyone who left Canada to travel back to a home country.

Claims for stage 1 funding fell within Waterloo’s CRCEF envelope, as such all submitted claims that are deemed eligible will be paid.

Stage 3 CRCEF Funding

Stage 3 funding of the CRCEF program supports 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%. The salaries of research personnel can be eligible for partial reimbursement up to 75% for the period of August 30, 2020 to November 15, 2020 provided that they meet the Stage 3 eligibility criteria.

Please note the following in relation to eligibility:

  • 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.

Stage 3 Open Call

We invite applications from all eligible researchers/principal investigators/directors of centres & institutes (applicants) to apply for Stage 3 funding.

How to apply

  • Please complete the CRCEF Stage 3 Application spreadsheet requesting information on research maintenance and ramp up costs and submit to your Faculty Financial Officer by Friday, November 20, 2020.
  • As per CRCEF guidelines, for purposes of prioritizing claims, if our grant allocation is oversubscribed, certain equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) related questions have been included in the application. For questions related to EDI in CRCEF guidelines, or if you are uncomfortable including EDI data in your application submission, please submit this portion in confidence to Office of Research, Research Equity.
  • The information requested in the template is quite extensive to ensure that each expense is appropriately justified, has adequate supporting documentation, and provides a satisfactory audit trail as per the CRCEF guidelines.
  • Applicants can request assistance in compiling eligible expenses and completing the application spreadsheet from their department administrators, Research Financial Analyst or their Faculty Financial Officer.
  • The Office of Research and your Faculty Financial Officer will be running several information sessions during October and November to assist applicants and department administrators in completing the templates. Dates and times will be available on our website as sessions are scheduled.

Please note: Only claims of $100 or above per research work order will be considered.

Additional Information

CRCEF Stage 3 Evaluation

Waterloo has received a notional allocation of funding for Stage 3. If claims exceed this notional envelope, and if the institution is able to demonstrate needs beyond this amount, additional requests may be submitted. In this instance, decisions on the use of any ‘excess’ funding request will be determined by Waterloo’s CRCEF Review Committee.

The CRCEF Review Committee has diverse representation, including members of equity-seeking groups. All members were required to have successfully completed unconscious bias training.

CRCEF Stage 3 Review Committee Members:

  • David Clausi
  • Shirley Tang
  • Anita Layton
  • Richard Staines
  • Amelia Clarke
  • Ana Ferrer
  • John Lewis
  • Andre Stanberry
  • Jay Dolmage

The University of Waterloo is strongly committed to fostering a more equitable, diverse and inclusive research enterprise. The CFREF Review Committee has developed a strategy for determining distribution, including a strategy to limit the negative impact of unconscious bias and systemic barriers, ensure that decisions are not negatively affected by the researcher’s inability to work during the pandemic due to personal reasons, and ensure that decision-making values research that is non-traditional or unconventional.  

Specifically, the following equity-related considerations were embedded throughout the strategy:

  • Prioritizing submissions from applicants who identify as a member of one or more of the four designated groups (e.g. women, Indigenous Peoples, racialized groups, and persons with disabilities);
  • Prioritizing research that engages or impacts individuals from equity-seeking or underrepresented groups (e.g. Indigenous ways of knowing, research outside the mainstream of your discipline, focused on issues of gender, race or minority status);
  • Acknowledging costs associated with non-traditional or unconventional research costs (e.g. based in Indigenous ways of knowing, outside the mainstream of the discipline, or focused on issues of gender, race or minority status);
  • Encouraging claims for research maintenance/ramp-up impacted by the inability to continue research during the COVID-19 pandemic due to applicant or research team member(s) personal considerations (e.g. due to your own or immediate family’s health has been directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, family obligations for dependent care or limited access to medical care for persons with disabilities, lack of family support);
  • Encouraging claims caused by need to readjust the approach to research during the COVID-19 pandemic due to personal considerations of applicant or research team member(s); and
  • Prioritizing support for research maintenance/ramp-up of early career researchers (those within the first five years of their first independent academic appointment, with an additional two years allocated per career leave (e.g. parental leave, medical leave, bereavement leave, etc.).

All remaining claims will be subject to a cap on funding allocated and/or reduced by a standard percentage to meet the allocation.

The University of Waterloo does not have affiliated health related institution and as such is not required to develop a method of distribution to affiliated institutions.

Please contact Charmaine B. Dean, Vice President Research and International for questions related to how the University of Waterloo is ensuring the CRCEF program’s requirements are followed.