Program FAQs

No. CFIN membership and programs are open to companies operating in or offering technologies to the food industry. However, we do not focus on agricultural production or growing activities, our funding focus is from farm-gate to the consumer’s plate. If your project touches the farm and production areas of the supply chain, please contact us to discuss.

CFIN applicants must be incorporated, with at least one year of operations as an incorporated business.

CFIN programs are extremely competitive and applicants who cannot clearly demonstrate their ability to cover their portion of the project costs are at a significant disadvantage during the review process. For early-stage applicants, a term sheet, a bank statement, or other documentation demonstrating your financial position, and letter showing you have the balance of your request is the bare minimum. Please be aware that we are a reimbursement program and that you will have to incur all costs and carry that expense for some time as we only do quarterly claims. Reimbursement can take up to 16 weeks and we do not provide advances.

CFIN funds are non-repayable, issued on a reimbursement basis. Applicants must propose a project and budget, and if approved, quarterly claims with invoices and proof of payment are submitted for review and approval. We do not provide advances.

CFIN membership is free of charge, and there is no cost to apply to our funding programs. If approved, we do charge a 5% fee on the total eligible project costs as a project management fee. This allows us to cover the costs of services to members as well as the adjudication and management of our funding programs.

We do not provide advances. Applicants must be able to bridge finance project costs until reimbursement. CFIN does a quarterly claim process with invoices and proof of payment which are subsequently filed with our funder. Reimbursement can take anywhere from 10-16 weeks.

In-kind contributions are both non-monetary or cash equivalent resources that can be given a cash value, such as goods and/or services in support of a research project or a proposal. CFIN does not cover in-kind contributions; in the project application, members are encouraged to outline cash contributions to their project only.

Indirect Costs (Overhead) are those costs which, though necessarily having been incurred and paid by the applicant for the conduct of the business in general, cannot be identified and measured as directly applicable to the carrying out of the approved project activities outlined in the project work plan.

Indirect costs are automatically covered, and do not need to be supported by invoices or proof of payment during your claims process.

Indirect Costs (Overhead) include, but are not limited to:

1. Indirect materials and supplies including but not limited to, supplies of low-value, high-usage and consumable items, such as rubber gloves, hairnets, and safety supplies, which meet the definition of Direct Material costs but for which it is commercially unreasonable, in the context of Network Activities, to account for their costs in the manner prescribed for Direct Costs. Costs such as stationery, office supplies, postage and other necessary administration and management expenses, small tools, such as drills and general inventory build-up;
2. Indirect labour, approved project management, and general administrative costs, including but not limited to the remuneration of executive and corporate officers, general office wages and salaries, clerical expenses, HR, Accounting/Finance staff, overtime premiums, bonuses, all types of benefits paid by employer, for example, CPP, EI, fringe benefits, medical benefits, dental benefits, pension benefits and other taxable benefits;
3. Indirect building costs including, but not limited to, snowplowing costs, public utilities expenses of a general nature including but not limited to, power, HVAC, lighting, and the operation and maintenance of general assets and facilities;
4. Expenses such as property taxes, rentals of equipment and building (not covered as part of direct costs) and depreciation costs;
5. Indirect equipment costs including, but not limited to, maintenance cost of assets, office equipment (including computers, laptops, and AV equipment), office furniture, etc.; and
6. Other indirect costs including, but not limited to, daily commutes, unreasonable modes of transportation, general software and licenses, and travel insurance.

Indirect Costs (Overhead) thresholds of 55% on eligible direct labour but no more than 15% of total eligible project costs will apply for each applicant (and for each project if an applicant is approved for multiple CFIN projects). In the case of applicants with high Subcontractors and Consultants costs or low Direct Labour costs: Indirect Costs (Overhead) thresholds calculated to a maximum of 5% on eligible Subcontractors and Consultants costs, but no more than 15% of total eligible project costs may apply. Such thresholds would be calculated for each applicant and each project if an applicant is approved for multiple CFIN projects.

All CFIN funding applicants will also have to account for IP, particularly if engaging service providers such as consultants or academic partners to aid in the development of new intellectual property. All projects will be required to adhere to the same commitment as CFIN- RCIA in its contribution agreement: IP deriving from CFIN-RCIA projects, ownership rights and exploitation thereof, will remain in Canada for a minimum of five years (5) after the end of the project funding agreement unless otherwise approved in writing by the Minister on a case-by case basis. Our full IP Policy is posted in the library on our member platform, YODL.

If an industry partner will own the IP or be paying your academic institution for services, they need to lead the application to CFIN. Our members are encouraged to have academic partners as service providers.

We can consider academic-led applications if the submission clearly outlines industry pull for the outlined research initiative, and if the budget clearly identifies incremental resources that the researcher does not have access to. These submissions are considered on a case-by-case basis, and we highly recommend reaching out to us to discuss your project in advance.

International vendors of equipment and services are allowed in CFIN projects, however as an organization focused on fostering Canadian innovation, we have some limits on our ability to cover large amounts of foreign expenses. Our applicants are asked to identify foreign suppliers in their budgets and can also refer to the program guide definitions of what constitutes foreign expenses, which are detailed below.

Direct Labour: As a rule, foreign costs related to direct labour are those costs incurred for work performed outside of Canada. For more clarity, the following examples are provided

1. If an employee is employed at a Canadian location and is paid in Canadian dollars, those are considered costs incurred in Canada.
2. If a Canadian employee of a Canadian company or its wholly owned subsidiary works abroad to complete Project activities, we also consider this a cost incurred inside of Canada.
3. If a foreign employee of a Canadian company or its wholly owned subsidiary does work on Project activities outside of Canada, we consider this to be foreign costs.

Direct Materials Purchased outside of Canada: For direct material costs to be considered incurred within Canada, they must be utilized or consumed within Canada for the purpose of the Project activities, whether they were purchased in Canada or outside of Canada. Any other type of Direct Material which is not utilized or consumed within Canada for Project activities, shall be considered a foreign cost.

Sub-contractor: For subcontractor and consultant costs to be considered a cost occurring inside of Canada, the subcontractor or consultant must be performing the work inside of Canada. For more clarity, costs incurred for work performed by a foreign affiliate is considered a foreign cost.

Other Direct Costs: For costs to be considered incurred within Canada, they must be utilized or consumed within Canada. Any other type of Other Direct Cost which is not utilized or consumed within Canada for Project activities shall be considered a foreign cost. It is important to note, all travel abroad and conferences by Recipient employees or Canadian wholly owned subsidiary employees for the purposes of Project activities are not considered to be foreign costs, so long as they are permitted under the approved budget.

Equipment: Equipment purchased within Canada from Canadian suppliers are considered a cost incurred in Canada. Also, if a piece of equipment is purchased from a foreign supplier, of which there is no comparable from a supplier within Canada and the equipment is imported to a Canadian location, then this may also be considered a cost incurred in Canada. Equipment purchased outside of Canada and consumed outside of Canada shall be considered a foreign cost. Also, for costs of retrofitting existing Canadian or foreign supplied equipment by a company
 abroad shall be considered a foreign cost.


CFIN’s funds are targeted for projects with eligible costs tied to industrial research and technology demonstration projects. Strong proposals will target food industry challenges or opportunities, with solutions that are novel and transformative, with high potential to create new intellectual property and impact industry beyond just the applicant and their partners.

CFIN will fund equipment or facilities upgrades if directly tied to the research and demonstration activities. Applicants must clearly detail how these costs are necessary to reach the proposed objectives.

Technical Readiness Levels (TRLs) are a technical standard to describe the innovation pathway for most products. TRL 1 is the least ready for commercialization, and TRL 9 is proven in real life conditions. To be eligible for CFIN funding, projects must conduct research, development, and demonstration activities at levels 1-7. Projects including activities at TRL 8 and 9 will only be considered if there are also activities in TRL 1-7 included in the workplan. For full TRL overviews, see our Program Guidelines or https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/080.nsf/eng/00002.html

Successful applicants will receive a master project agreement outlining the terms and conditions of funding to be executed by all parties. Following the execution of the agreement, the Project Management Fee will be invoiced. Funds are then claimed quarterly: June 30, September 30, December 31, and March 31.

Applicants may only appeal a decision by the Innovation Advisory Council and/or Board of Directors on the grounds that CFIN’s project selection process was not duly followed. In this case, the appeal must be made within 15 days of the notification of the decision and may be made to the Chair CFIN’s Board of Directors by contacting info@cfin-rcia.ca. The Chair will investigate the complaint, notify the applicants of the outcome of the investigation, and, if necessary, require a re-assessment of the application. The outcome of any appeal will be reported to CFIN’s Board of Directors.

CFIN does not limit the number of applications an organization can submit; however, applicants can only be the lead applicant on one active project (meaning the project is approved under a master project agreement, activities underway, final report not filed) at a time.

CFIN programs are competitive. Applicants who would like to resubmit their application may do so in future intakes if their project aligns with the theme or call, should there be one. We also provide debrief sessions to all applicants to discuss reviewer feedback and scores on the original submission.

We highly recommend connecting with your Regional Innovation Director for your region prior to applying to our funding programs. You can find their contact at https://www.cfin-rcia.ca/about/team

Booster submissions may be led by a Canadian small or medium sized enterprise (incorporated in Canada, under 499 FTEs, and under $50M in revenues in their last filed fiscal year).

CFIN’s Innovation Booster funds are targeted for projects with eligible costs tied to industrial research and technology demonstration projects and activities that can be completed in 12 months or less. Strong proposals will target food industry challenges or opportunities, with potential impact industry beyond just the applicant’s business.

The earliest start date for projects is 40 days from the closing date for the application intake. Projects cannot extend beyond a year for the Innovation Booster.

Innovation Booster submissions may only have one applicant who can incur expenses and submit them to the program (the applicant). However, you can indicate partners who may be providing cash or key resources to a project in the Partners section of the application.

A service provider intends to bill the applicant for services throughout the course of the project. Service Providers cannot be project partners. Partners are parties who are related to the project and may be providing cash to support the project execution, or who may support the project as a customer, testbed, or related party.

Yes, stacking up to 75% of eligible project costs is allowed. However, applicants must outline what other government support programs they are leveraging for their project. Applicants seeking to stack are encouraged to contact CFIN to discuss.

Once the intake is closed, all projects are reviewed for completion and compliant submissions are scored by a panel of three reviewers. Our reviewers must declare conflicts of interest and are bound by confidentiality agreements. Projects are scored against the CFIN selection criteria outlined in our Program Guide found on our website. The top scoring submissions are selected for funding based on the available funds for that intake.

The review process takes 60 days from the close of the application intake.

To qualify for funding, all project proposals must be collaborative industry-led initiatives, consisting of a lead applicant and multiple partners, that are incorporated in Canada.

While Partners will generally be for-profit businesses, not-for-profit organizations that facilitate and fund research and development and whose funding is received primarily from private-sector organizations will also be eligible. Other publicly funded not-for-profit organizations, post-secondary institutions, federal Crown corporations, and government departments or agencies are not eligible to receive CFIN funding.

Project must involve a collaboration or consortia of a minimum of two private sector partners who are undertaking research, development, or demonstration activities to address a shared food industry challenge or opportunity. Food Innovation Calls usually have themes to the call and proposals must align with the theme to be eligible.

Each call will have a specified earliest start date for eligible costs. Projects must be complete by March 31, 2025.

Available funding allocations vary by calls. For submissions, total eligible project costs should be between $1 million and $4 million. The maximum level of matching funding from CFIN will be 50% of total eligible project costs (between $500,000 and $2 million).

Yes, stacking up to 75% of total eligible project costs is allowed. However, applicants must outline what other government support programs they are leveraging for their project. Applicants seeking to stack are encouraged to contact CFIN to discuss.

A collaboration or consortia is made up of multiple, unaffiliated organizations who are partnering to achieve an innovative solution. Generally, partners are all incurring costs as part of the project and may be sharing background intellectual property with other collaborators to achieve the proposed project objectives. Partners are not allowed to invoice each other for work; this is considered a service provider relationship. If you are forming a collaboration or consortia and want to discuss the structure of your partnership, please contact us.

There must be a collaboration agreement in place to define the roles of Lead Applicant and Partners, allocation of projected costs, and joint risk management provisions among other items. The collaboration agreement must set out how Intellectual Property arising in projects will be shared among the Lead Applicant and Partners. It is the responsibility of the Lead Applicant and Partners to develop their own collaboration agreement during the full proposal application stage.

CFIN’s aim is to foster increased connection and innovation in the food sector. Our Food Innovation Challenges seek to unite diverse and complementary partners from across Canada to combine their capabilities to articulate compelling innovation. By encouraging dense and tightly interconnected collaboration networks through both our funding programs and services, we aim to turn the Network into a highway of new projects, new collaborations, new intellectual property, and enhance business and industry performance. Collaborative research and open innovation have been shown to be tremendously impactful on the global stage, as well as here in Canada.

In exceptional circumstances, international organizations (offshore companies and research organizations without an incorporated presence in Canada) may also participate as Partners in CFIN projects, based on CFIN prior written approval. Please contact us to discuss if you have international partners.

To be eligible for the Food Innovation Challenge, projects must have a minimum of two unrelated private sector partners, with at least one being a small or medium sized enterprise (under 499 FTEs, and $50M in annual sales). If your collaboration no longer meets this base criterion during the application process, the lead applicant is responsible for sourcing new partners. Your CFIN Regional Innovation Director may be able to identify some potential collaborators and make introductions.

Yes. CFIN members can use YODL, CFIN’s digital hub, to post about their technology and network to build partnerships. In addition, your CFIN Regional Innovation Director may be able to identify some potential collaborators and make introductions.

Once the intake for letters of intent is closed, all submissions are reviewed for completion. Compliant submissions are scored by a team of reviewers, who have declared conflicts of interest and are bound by confidentiality agreements. Projects are scored against the CFIN selection criteria outlined in the Food Innovation Challenge guidelines, posted on our website. The top scoring submissions will be invited for a full proposal. Full proposals will be scored by a team of reviewers and all the submissions will be reviewed and discussed by CFIN’s Innovation Advisory Council. Decisions will be recommended by the Innovation Advisory Council to CFIN’s Board of Directors.

For the Food Innovation Challenge, applicants will be guided through a two-stage application process. A letter of intent with high level project details is submitted, and within 60 days selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal. The process from start to finish takes about 160 days. Each Call will have specific deadlines and dates. See https://www.cfin-rcia.ca/programs/fic for more information.