Last week Genome Canada officially announced their upcoming competition to support large-scale applied research projects which focus on the application of genomics and related technologies* in the agrifood and aquaculture sectors (*bioinformatics, epigenomics, metabolomics, metagenomics, nutrigenomics, pharmacogenomics, proteomics and transcriptomics). The Request for Applications (RFA) is expected in June 2018, but given the scale of these projects and the amount of work needed to develop a strong, interdisciplinary project team, Genome BC is starting to work with interested researchers now. Some general information about this upcoming competition is provided below, but some aspects of the competition have not been finalized yet.
Focus of the competition:
The goal of this competition is to support projects that will demonstrate how genomics research can be translated into solutions that advance the sustainability, productive capacity and the resulting competitive position of the Canadian agriculture/agri-food and fisheries/aquaculture sectors and thereby contribute to the Canadian bioeconomy and the well-being of Canadians. Applicants must demonstrate how their proposal holds a high potential for attaining concrete deliverables by the end of the funding period.
Project total budgets will likely range in size from $2M to $8M, and successful projects will be awarded funding for a term of up to four (4) years.
Funding available:
There is approximately $30 million available for this competition from Genome Canada. At this time the cofunding ratio has not been finalized, but will be at least 1/3 of the overall approved budget, up to $4 million from Genome Canada per project. Projects with total budgets smaller than $2 million are not eligible. Genome Canada is in discussion with other agencies to partner for this competition.
For projects in this competition (LSARP2018) led by a BC-based project leader, Genome BC is committed to providing co-funding up to 23% of the total project budget, not to exceed $1.84 million, if the project is approved for funding by Genome Canada. The co-funding provided by Genome BC will be restricted to expenditures incurred in the Province of British Columbia. Genome BC funds can flow to federal laboratories (e.g. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans etc.) but not to provincial laboratories or departments. Please note that Genome BC co-funding is conditional upon approval of the final project and budget by Genome Canada, availability of funds and approval by Genome BC’s Board of Directors.
The remaining project funds can be covered through a variety of sources. Potential research applicants should contact Genome BC directly to discuss possible co-funding scenarios.
Research teams:
Based on Genome Canada’s criteria the Project Leader must have an academic or research appointment at an eligible institution:
1. Canadian university or affiliated institution;
2. Canadian non-federal government department or agency; or
3. Not-for-profit organization (including community or charitable organizations) with an explicit research or knowledge-translation mandate.
Research teams may include as co-applicants international, private sector (for-profit organizations), or federal laboratory scientists who may also provide co-funding for eligible expenses.
Genome Canada funds can flow to eligible Canadian research institutions as well as provincial laboratories. Note that Genome Canada cannot flow funds outside of Canada for research undertaken in a foreign country, in for-profit organizations or in federal laboratories (e.g. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans etc.) except for costs incurred based on a reasonable fee-for-service arrangement or contract.
Genome BC funds can be awarded to researchers at British Columbia post-secondary organizations and affiliated research institutes, Canadian federal government departments and agencies and not-for-profit organizations. Note that Genome BC funds cannot flow to BC provincial laboratories. For full details about Genome Canada and Genome BC funding and eligible costs, please contact Genome BC.
End-users must be clearly integrated into the project team in the form of a project team member, collaborator, and/or member of the management team. Co-funding would clearly demonstrate end-user interest in the project’s potential deliverables, although it is not a requirement for an end-user organization to contribute co-funding.
Research projects are expected to take an interdisciplinary team-based approach, including an appropriate integrated GE3LS research component. The acronym GE3LS stands for “Genomics and its Ethical, Environmental, Economic, Legal and Social aspects”. GE3LS work may include research questions surrounding the effective translation of genomics or focus on the appropriate uptake of genomic-based applications in a societal context.
A four minute interview with previously successful teams explaining GE3LS and the value for their projects of engaging with social scientists, environmental scientists and others can be found here: https://youtu.be/9xv-wNIMDyE.
There is also the opportunity to submit large-scale GE3LS-led projects for funding. These projects can investigate pressing national and/or international factors affecting genomics advances within the agrifood and aquaculture sectors in a comprehensive, innovative and interdisciplinary manner. Project outputs are expected to be of sufficient scope and depth to fall within the parameters of the competition.
Process:
The application process involves registration, pre-application, full application and a face-to-face meeting with Genome Canada’s review panel. Genome Canada plans to launch the RFA in June 2018 and notify the successful applicants in June 2019. Genome BC works with teams every step of the way to help develop robust and competitive project proposals.
Next steps:
All research applicants from BC who are leading a proposal and research team are required to apply for Genome Canada funding through Genome BC. BC researchers who are co-project leaders and co-applicants on projects led by other Genome Centres in Canada are encouraged to contact Genome BC.
Potential applicants are encouraged to contact David Charest (Agrifood, dcharest@genomebc.ca) or Anita Mueller (Aquaculture, amueller@genomebc.ca) to learn more about the competition.
Genome BC will be hosting 90 minute “white-board” sessions on April 19-20, 2018 to help interested researchers develop their project concept to ensure that it will be a good fit for the competition. These will be small meetings where the entire focus will be on helping you develop a competitive proposal, including discussions about deliverables and potential outcomes, suitable end-users and possible GE3LS research. White-board sessions will each be facilitated by a consultant with extensive expertise with similar Genome Canada large-scale competitions, as well as a Genome BC Sector Manager. A short project summary (“one-pager”) is required before the meeting so that Genome BC and the consultant can review it in preparation for the discussion. Please contact Alison Dendoff, New Programs Manager at adendoff@genomebc.ca at your earliest convenience to select a timeslot.