Sponsor

Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance

Description

The Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance Tier 1 Research Program [1] requests proposals that address Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) research priorities:

• Protection and Risk Resilience
  • Food Safety
  • Animal Health & Welfare
  • Plant Health & Protection
• Environmental Stewardship
  • Soil Health
  • Water Quality & Quantity
  • Sustainable Production Systems
  • Productive Land Capacity
• Productivity and Growth
  • Competitive Production Systems
  • Innovative Products & Product Improvement
  • Trade, Market & Targeted Sector Growth Opportunities
  • Strong Rural Communities

For further information about this call, please visit the Alliance Tier 1 webpage [1] and consult the OMAFA Research Priorities document and the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance Tier 1 Program Guide.

A town hall information session will take place on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. in ANNU room 141 (Animal Science and Nutrition building). The meeting can also be attended via Microsoft Teams at the link below.  No registration is required. The presentation will be posted to the Alliance website after the meeting.  

• Join the town hall on your computer or mobile app [2].

For more details on OMAFA research priorities, please reach out to the appropriate OMAFA Research Analyst identified in the Research Priorities document accessible on the Research Priorities webpage [3].

The Alliance Tier 1 Research Program involves a single-stage call for proposals. Full Proposals are due by 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 17, 2025. Intent information must be complete by Wednesday, August 6, 2025 (General and Peer Review tabs complete in the RMS, Co-Applicant (optional) confirmed).

Eligibility

University of Guelph faculty members are eligible to be the Lead Applicant and/or a Co-Applicant on any Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance Research Program project. Adjunct faculty members may also apply (using their @uoguelph.ca email address and U of G department for their RMS login credentials) if they are eligible to hold research funding at the University of Guelph and are not employed by or have a financial interest in any of the collaborating organizations or co-funders. Consult the program guide for more details.

Applicants must be fully compliant with all reporting requirements prior to a new proposal being reviewed under any Alliance Research Program. The Lead Applicant and the Co-Applicant will have 30 days from the submission deadline to complete any outstanding compliance requirements, including reporting, data management plans and financial obligations such as recovery of Research Centre fees. If applicants are not compliant at that time, the submitted proposal will be withdrawn from the review process and declined.

Special Notes

Proposal Compliance Checks (optional)
Office of Research, Agri-Food Partnership staff are offering to complete a compliance check of proposals in advance of the submission deadline. The compliance check does not assess overall quality or scientific merit but will review the proposal for issues that are not caught during the system validation checks in the RMS (e.g., congruence between team/HQP tables and the budget, eligibility of budget items etc.). 

Please email rescoord@uoguelph.ca [4] on or before September 2 if you want program staff to complete a compliance check of your proposal. Proposals should be at or near completion.

How to Apply

Visit the Alliance Tier 1 Program webpage [1]