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  1. U of G Homepage
  2. Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance
  3. Programs
  4. Research & Innovation
  5. Project Operating Funding (Tier 1)

Project Operating Funding (Tier 1)

The Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance Research and Innovation Program invests in research that aligns with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) priorities of supporting strong rural communities, keeping our food safe, and developing a prosperous, environmentally sustainable agri-food sector in Ontario.

Call Status

  • CLOSED

Call Timeline

  • Town hall information session June 25, 2025
  • Intent fields due August 6, 2025
  • Full proposals due September 17, 2025, at 1 p.m.

Resources

  • OMAFA Research Priorities
  • Resources for Researchers
  • Research Centres and Fees
  • Preparing Your Tier 1 Proposal
  • KTT Services and Resources
  • Data Management Plans

Eligible U of G researchers interested in applying for research project operating funding may do so through the Alliance Tier 1 Research Program Call for Proposals.

Please see the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance Tier 1 Program Guide for complete details on the 2026 Call, including program changes and application instructions.

Research Priorities

Research priorities for the Alliance Research and Innovation Program are aligned within the Ministry’s core businesses and objectives: Protection and Risk Resilience, Environmental Stewardship, and Productivity and Growth. Each research priority has a set of goals and research focus areas, in addition to eight cross-cutting focus areas.

New for 2026: Tier 1 research proposals no longer need to address a specific research question.

Program applicants must clearly demonstrate that their proposal is within scope of one of the Ministry’s research priorities, as well as a focus area within that priority or one of the cross-cutting focus areas. The need for the research and the benefits to the sector should be clearly demonstrated in the proposal, including through leverage, letters of support, alignment with industry/sector priorities or relevant government policy frameworks and strategies, or other evidence of pull from end user groups.

OMAFA's Research Priorities for 2025-2026

Town Hall Information Session

The town hall occurred on June 25, 2025.

Click here to access the Town Hall Information Session presentation.

How to Apply

The Alliance Research Program uses the Research Management System (RMS) for receiving and adjudicating research proposals.

RMS is available at: https://omafra2.smartsimple.ca. Please contact rescoord@uoguelph.ca if you experience any difficulties logging in.

A Word version of the Full Proposal application, as well as an Excel version of the application budget, are also available for applicants to create and edit their proposals outside of the RMS. However, this information must be entered into the fields in the RMS to be submitted. See 'File attachments' at the bottom of this page for the program documents and additional documents such as the Value Assessment Plan, which is required for projects involving product development. Please contact rescoord@uoguelph.ca if you require these materials in an alternate format.

An intent process is employed as part of the single-stage call. The intent process requires all applicants to start a proposal and complete the 'General' and 'Peer Review' tabs and ensure that the Co-Applicant (if applicable) has accepted their team invitation in the RMS by August 6, 2025. This will support peer review and committee planning in advance of proposal submission. No formal submission is required in the system at the intent stage.

University of Guelph faculty members are eligible to be the Lead Applicant and/or a Co-Applicant on any Alliance Tier 1 Research and Innovation Program project. Adjunct faculty members may also apply 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 Plan submissions, recovery of outstanding Research Centre fees and other financial obligations. If applicants are not compliant at that time, the submitted proposal will be withdrawn from the review process and declined.

Researchers proposing to use the research centres must include the appropriate Research Centre Fees in their proposal budget.

Research Centre access for Tier 1 projects is subsidized at a rate of 89%. External (non-Alliance) partner funding is required to cover 11% of the total annual cost of Research Centre usage for the approved project.

See our Research Centre Fees Price List for more information.

  • Alliance Tier 1 Program Guide
  • OMAFA Research Priorities 2025-2026
  • Text-based Application for Tier 1 Research Program (Word 99KB)
  • Value Assessment Plan Template (Word 210KB)
  • Budget Template for Alliance Tier 1 Research Program Applications (Excel 23KB)
  • Sub-Award and CRA Budget Template (Excel 31KB)
  • Tip Sheet: How to Apply for Tier 1 Funding Using RMS

Questions?

Contact: Research Program Coordinators in the Agri-Food Partnership Office at rescoord@uoguelph.ca.

Additional Resources

Previously funded Tier 1 projects
Resources for researchers
Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance wordmark

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This website is managed by the University of Guelph. Views expressed here are the views of the University and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Ontario.