DRI Investments for 2023-25

On March 24, 2023, Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada awarded funding of up to $228.3 million for the 2023-25 period for digital research infrastructure (DRI) initiatives that will directly benefit Canada’s researchers. 

The Alliance submitted its Multi-Year Funding Proposal (MYFP) for 2023-25 to ISED on September 30, 2022, following the development of the Canadian DRI Needs Assessments and extensive collaboration with Canada’s DRI ecosystem. The $450 million investment proposal included initiatives to upgrade critical infrastructure, as well as initiatives to improve services, access and functionality over fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25. 

Critical infrastructure upgrades, service continuity and support 

ISED has approved federal funding for the following initiatives, subject to the fulfillment of cost-matching requirements: 

Addresses the critical issue of Canada’s aging Advanced Research Computing (ARC) infrastructure (High Performance Computing Renewal and Community Cloud Renewal) across the National Host Sites.  

The High Performance Computing (HPC) Renewal initiative will replace computing resources (node-for-node) nearing end-of-life and capacity for storage in four National Host Sites. Each Host Site will undertake a competitive procurement process for its respective funding envelope. 

The Community Cloud Renewal initiative replaces computing resources (node-for-node) nearing end-of-life and capacity for storage at Arbutus Cloud (University of Victoria), Cedar Cloud (Simon Fraser University) and Graham Cloud (University of Waterloo). 

Cloud Connect Pilot

The Alliance Cloud Connect Pilot (ACCP) aims to build national cloud research capacity and deliver on the Alliance’s mandate to meet the increasing DRI resource demand from the Canadian research community.

Through this initiative, the Alliance will work with the research community to create and operate a platform to streamline and enhance access to community and commercial cloud providers in Canada. Three calls were launched (cloud service providers, developers and researchers) to help develop and test the platform.

Key features of the platform:

  • Seamless integration with leading commercial and community cloud providers, allowing users to manage and deploy resources effortlessly.
  • Security and compliance to meet industry standards and regulatory requirements.
  • Centralized and user-friendly interface, enabling technical and non-technical users to easily navigate its features.
  • Scalability, providing an agile cloud experience that can accommodate the evolving needs of researchers and adapt to changing requirements.

Investments in cloud solutions will ensure that Canadian researchers have better access to community and commercial cloud services. The ACCP also provides a unique opportunity for collaboration and partnership between the Alliance, academia, healthcare, private industry and other partners to accelerate cloud computing across the Canadian DRI ecosystem.

 

Federal Contribution: $120,569,000 

ISED Conditions: Evidence of cost-match; updated implementation plan and project selection framework 

Upgrades to the existing power infrastructure to 5 MW with related cooling capacity at Beluga (McGill/Calcul Québec), allowing future HPC and Cloud expansions in this site. 

Federal Contribution: $8,188,392 

ISED Conditions: Evidence of cost-match; agreement with ÉTS for dedicated power support for the national platform 

Controlled Access Management for Research Data (CAM) aims to enable researchers, institutions and repositories to manage controlled access to research data through new software, tools and workflows. With these resources in place, Canadian research security will be strengthened, greater discovery will be supported and unnecessary data loss will be prevented.

The Alliance has awarded a total of $240 thousand to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Université de Montréal and Unity Health Toronto for this initiative. Each institution will match $53 thousand.

Unity Health Toronto will host a Controlled Data Access Services Specialist, who will support pilot testing of new encryption software.

CAMH and Université de Montréal will each host a Controlled Data Access Engagement Specialist, who will support collaboration between researchers, repositories and institutions participating in the pilot.

29 Partner Organizations across Canada will co-develop and implement a Pilot Roadmap that will outline how controlled access management for research data technologies will be piloted, and how workflows and training resources will be developed and tested.

Investments in CAM will:

  • Improve research data management
  • Enhance research security
  • Streamline research workflows
  • Support compliance with data security and sharing requirements
  • Enable appropriate data reuse to help inform new research, promote collaboration and advance open science

Partner Organizations:

  • Athabasca University
  • Borealis (University of Toronto Libraries)
  • Canadian Research Knowledge Network
  • Carleton University
  • Centre de recherche de l'institut universitaire de santé mentale de Montréal
  • Centre de recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine
  • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
  • Consortium Érudit
  • Federated Research Data Repository (Digital Research Alliance of Canada)
  • Kwantlen Polytechnic University
  • McGill Centre for Integrative Neuroscience
  • McGill University
  • McMaster University
  • NorQuest College
  • PolicyWise for Children & Families
  • Queen's University
  • Simon Fraser University
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
  • TRIUMF
  • Unity Health Toronto
  • Université de Montréal
  • Université de Sherbrooke
  • Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
  • Université Laval
  • University of British Columbia
  • University of Calgary
  • University of Guelph
  • University of Toronto
  • Vector Institute

Federal Contribution: $240,000

The DMP Assistant Stabilization initiative aims to improve the usability and scope of the DMP Assistant, the Alliance’s bilingual data management planning tool developed in collaboration with the University of Alberta Library. The DMP Assistant helps researchers develop DMPs, which are foundational to research data management (RDM), an international best practice, and increasingly required by institutions and funders with the implementation of the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy.

The Alliance has awarded $237 thousand in funding to the University of Alberta for this initiative. The University of Alberta will match $158 thousand.

Through this initiative, the University of Alberta is hosting two positions, providing additional capacity and technical resources to implement new and extended features for the DMP Assistant. These features will help to:

  • Support researchers with Tri-Agency and institutional funding requirements for DMPs
  • Advance DMP innovations including machine-actionable DMPs and persistent identifiers (PIDs)
  • Support researchers and their institutions through greater integration with allied research processes (e.g., ethics review, funding applications and grant administration)
  • Augment the ability of Canadian researchers to participate in international research
  • Leverage and track the impact of data management planning on the research workflow
  • Support the FAIR Principles by making research more findable and citable

These new positions will also increase capacity to maintain the DMP Assistant, provide additional support for increased usage, and develop new resources including DMP examples and templates.

Investments in data management planning will also help to ensure more effective and efficient use of advanced research computing resources, as well as improved management, retention and reusability of research software code associated with research data.

The Expansion of Lunaris initiative aims to improve data discoverability in Lunaris, the Alliance’s bilingual research data discovery service, by expanding the support and development team.

The Alliance has awarded $164 thousand in funding to McMaster University for this initiative. McMaster University will match $109 thousand.

Through this initiative, McMaster University will host two positions, providing additional capacity to facilitate service improvements that will meet researcher needs and improve the discoverability of research data.

Service improvements to Lunaris will include:

  • Enhanced user experience (UX)
  • Alignment with Indigenous data sovereignty principles
  • Expansion of metadata harvesting capabilities to allow for an enhanced search experience
  • Improved discovery capabilities for specialized disciplinary data collections
  • Increase in Canadian repositories available for federated national discovery
  • Development of a community of practice centred on engagement, collaboration and promotion

Investments in Lunaris will ensure that researchers receive high-quality national data discovery services, add value to publicly funded research and help Canada become a leader in the expanding global community of open research.

Expands and implements the Cybersecurity Action Plans and Program with additional staff. 

Federal Contribution: $987,600 

Supports quantum HQP research support staff and research software for researchers who are innovating on quantum devices. 

Federal Contribution: $1,012,932 

ISED Conditions: Evidence of cost-match; the establishment of a national framework to assess best practices and lessons learned for a potential future scale up 

The DRI EDIA Champions pilot program is a $2.87 million funding opportunity to support equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) in DRI. Through the program, 82 successful early-stage researchers have been selected to serve as DRI EDIA Champions and receive up to $35,000 in funding. The funds will be used to support projects designed to advance local and inclusive awareness and uptake of national Alliance DRI services within the research community in Canada, specifically with members of equity-deserving groups.

Equitable access to DRI can empower more researchers to lead, share knowledge and drive discovery—strengthening the Canadian research ecosystem and paving the way for future researchers to follow.

DRI EDIA Champions recipients

Recipient name

Institution

Project title

Olivia Abram

University of Saskatchewan

kaykwy chi tootamaahk? (What do we do next?): Localizing CARE and FAIR to Develop Métis-driven RDM Guidelines and Training for Métis Data in Saskatchewan

Adekola Adeyemi

University of Windsor

Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion in Computational Fluid Dynamics: A Culturally Responsive Accessibility Initiative

Mohammed Adnan

University of Calgary and Vector Institute

Enabling access to LLMs using compression methods and understanding its potential impact on the algorithmic bias

Oluwatoyin Aladejebi

University of Lethbridge

Bridging the gap: Increasing Equitable Access to Research Data among Graduate Women Researchers in Science in Lethbridge, Alberta

Alex Alexis

Université de Montréal

InDABA - Initiative pour le Développement, l'Accès et le Balisage des données de recherche noires / Inception of Data in Academia for Black Acknowledgement

Mohammad Alnabhan

University of Ottawa

Empowering Equity-Seeking Groups to Detect Fake News on Social Media Using Digital Research Infrastructure

Chiedozie Alumona

University of Lethbridge

Training Racialized Groups in the Faculty of Sciences on Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) Utilization

Arne Andres

University of Alberta

Leveraging AI with Deep Neural Networks for Barrier Detection and Accessibility Enhancements using Computer Vision in Public Spaces:  A University of Alberta Pilot Study

Ria Arora

McMaster University

DRI EDIA Champions Collective

Arash Asgari

York University

EquityDRI: A Holistic Dataset for Evaluating Bias in Large Language Models

Kwaku Ayisi

University of Regina

Academic Research Made Simple (ARMS)

Soorena Azarhazin

Lakehead University

Introducing potential opportunities in applying DRI for research and building professional skills for persons living with visible and invisible disabilities

Mahshad Azimi

University of Manitoba

Making research computing for architecture and engineering more equitable, diverse, inclusive, and accessible

Fatoumata Bah

University of Ottawa

Interdisciplinary intersectionality and DRI : EDIA in data-intensive methodologies

Lanna Emilli Barbosa Lucchetti

Simon Fraser University

Bridging the Gap: Catalyzing High-quality Research with Digital Tools, Services and Infrastructure from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada

Laura Camelo

McGill University

Improving accessibility and awareness to Advanced Research Computing (ARC) and Research Data Management (RDM) for International Women Students Engaged in Genomics Research at McGill University

Yuwei cao

University of British Columbia

Advancing Equity in Forestry: Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) and Deep Learning (DL) for All

Shaghayegh Chavoshian

University of Toronto

Co-Designing and Developing a Novel Fall Detection System with Indigenous Communities

Vincent Comeau

McGill University

Expanding Knowledge of Digital Tools by Cree Researchers in Chisasibi

Sebastian D'Amario

Queen's University

Indigenous Collaboration and Digital Health Tools to Expand Access to Traumatic Brain Injury Care in Remote Communities

Amelia Danzinger

University of Calgary

Exploring intersectionality and academic barriers

Azam Dashti Khavidaki

McGill University

"Cultivating 21st Century Skills/DRI for Sustainable Development Goals in Supporting Participatory Research Involving Children with Refugee Experience" 

Kelly Davison

University of Victoria

Championing the use of Digital Research Infrastructure amongst nursing researchers in Canada: Sex-Gender Digital Health Equity Research Hub proof of concept and knowledge dissemination to national nursing associations

Alexander De Furia

University of Ottawa

Improving Onboarding Accessibility and Support for Alliance DRI

Clotilde Djuikem

University of Manitoba

Inspiration, Orientation et Médiation des Sciences du Numérique : Focus sur les Femmes, en particulier les femmes PANDC

Mirta Dumancic

McGill University, CIUSSS West-Central Montreal

Accelerated computing for women, racialized groups, and students from underprivileged countries

Moses Elleason

Lakehead University

Translating habitat change modeling for Caribou conservation with Indigenous insights

Jane Ezirigwe

University of Ottawa

Digital research infrastructure for a neglected group and discipline: Advancing equitable access for racialized researchers in Social Sciences at Uottawa

Musanna Galib

University of British Columbia

Bridging Quantum Mechanics and Machine Learning: Developing an Open-Source Soft- ware for Efficient Data Processing for Advanced Research Inclusivity

Jackie Girgis

McGill University

Training 2SLGBTQIA+ researchers on Canadian digital research infrastructure via social media outreach

Jaimie Greasley

University of Victoria

Advancing and Promoting Quantum Computing (Research) using Alliance DRI to Current and Future Quantum Scientists

Vrinda Gupta

McGill University

Building a multiplexed imaging data repository to increase accessibility for equity-seeking groups

Renee Hall

Dalhousie University

Empowering Women in Environmental Sciences: Contextual Tutorials for Digital Research Infrastructure

Lojain Hamwi

York University

Building the Knowledge Infrastructure for Mental Health Scientists from Diverse Backgrounds to Access Alliance Digital Research Infrastructure

Hamza Hanif

Simon Fraser University

Empowering Equity-Seeking Students Through DRI and High-Performance Computing Training

Gracielle Higino

University of British Columbia

Borderless Alliances

Niloofar Hooman

McMaster University

Empowering Communities: Research Data Management for Social Justice

Kook Hu

McGill University

Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) and AI for First-Generation Students (FGS) Development

Ijeoma Itanyi

Trillium Health Partners

Strengthening Digital Research Infrastructure at Trillium Health Partners: Advancing Equitable Access for Racialized Researchers

Nadia Khalili

McGill University

Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Awareness and Access to Big Data Tools for Underrepresented Women in Educational Psychology

Tasneem Khan

University of Waterloo

Identifying indicators of inequity in Statistics Canada datasets and understanding the experiences of CRDCN researchers belonging to equity deserving and seeking groups

Amy Kim

University of British Columbia

Enhancing Awareness and Training of Alliance's Digital Research Infrastructure for Equity-Seeking Groups in Evolutionary Biology

Stacey Koornneef

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Assessing EDIA & DRI Challenges and Needs and Introduction of DRI Tools to Graduate Students Across Six Disciplines

Mark Louie Lopez

University of Victoria

Utilizing Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) to Develop Environmental DNA Tools for Biodiversity Monitoring in Indigenous Lands

Tiara M

Dalhousie University

From Pixels to Purpose: Leveraging In-Person and Online Platforms for Data-Driven Advocacy for EDIA in The Use of Digital Research Alliance of Canada Resources

Memoona Maah

University of Waterloo

Equitable Sight: Co-Design Data Governance for CAN-VIEW with the Southern Chiefs’ Organization

Anemily Machina

University of Western Ontario

Community Driven Accessible Mini-Courses and Workshops to Further the Uptake of DRA DRI Resources

Chika Maduakolam

York University

No Boundaries - Accessible Digital Research Spaces for Black Female Scholars in Social Science Research

Islam Matar

Saint Mary's University

Chemderful: A Neurodiverse Molecular Modeling Society for Equitable Molecular Sciences Education

Fanwang Meng

Queen's University

Developing Accessible Computational Tools and Inclusive Training: From Computational Sciences to Health Sciences

Angelica Miraples

University of Guelph

The application of a broad to narrow scope approach to improve digital research infrastructure (DRI) service awareness and utilization by equity-seeking communities in microbiome research, and other integrative disciplines

Nishith Mishra

McGill University

Leveraging AI and Neurodiversity-Informed Pedagogy to Enhance Education, including Legal Education

Kimberly Mitchell

Queen's University

OCAP data management: a remote Ontario First Nation case study

Shayan Mohammadzadeh Novin

University of Toronto

Promoting Digital Research Infrastructure in Equity-Focused Research: Forming Sustainable Connections with Early-Career Translational Researchers

Letícia Magpali Moura Estevão

Dahousie University

Bioinformatics for Everyone

Lulwama Mulalu

McMaster University

Roadmap to Bill C-226: Understanding the advocacy journey behind Canada’s inaugural environmental justice bill

Meghana Munipalle

McGill University

ARC is for Everyone: Training, Mentorship, and Resources in Advanced Research Computing for Women in STEM

Ameer Nizami

Concordia University

Breaking Barriers in AI for Materials and Molecules

Nooshin Noshiri

University of Manitoba

Empowering women researchers in STEM: Creating an inclusive and supportive environment to leverage Advanced Research Computing services

Simplice-Eclador Nouboudem-Basso

Université Laval

Inclusion et équité numérique en recherche pour les étudiants chercheurs et chercheuses originaires d'Afrique subsaharienne et des Caraïbes de l'Université Laval (IENR-Afro-Ulaval)

Ugochukwu Nwosu

Simon Fraser University

The Saturday Sessions - Scientific Computing Workshops for Equity-Seeking Students

Linda Okpanachi

University of British Columbia, Okanagan

Bridging the Digital Divide: Empowering Equity-Seeking Researchers with Alliance DRI Tools

Arra Oman

McGill University

An investigation of local genetic adaptations to malaria in indigenous Ethiopian and Sudanese populations

Frank Onuh

University of Lethbridge

Inclusive Research: Increasing DRI Access and Engagement for Black Scholars at the University of Lethbridge

Sudhi Sharma Padillath Vasudevan

Carleton University

Convolutional Neural Networks for Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease

Ajitesh Parihar

Okanagan College

Data Warehouse Development Research and Advancing EDIA in Research with Collaboration and Inclusion

Mona Parizadeh

University of Calgary

Bridging Gaps in Research Computing for Canadian Persian-speaking Immigrants

Fatima Mariana Ramirez Rodriguez

University of Alberta

Inclusive DRI Training Program to develop Skills for Sustainable Construction

Eden Redman

McGill University

Catalyzing Open Science: Validating novel paths to democratizing better open tools with an interactive grassroots community-driven approach within stroke rehabilitation

Elham Reyhanianmotehaver

Queen's University

A Comprehensive Dataset: Capturing Brain Signals from Individuals with Cerebral Palsy Across Diverse Populations

Wesley Sanchez

McMaster University

Bridging the Digital Divide: Bringing DRI to Remote and Underserved Communities

Sana Sharif

Lakehead University

Enhancing AI Knowledge Among Women, Racialized Groups, and First-Generation Students

Alix Shield

Simon Fraser University

Understanding the Principles of CARE, FAIR, and OCAP in the context of localized Indigenous communities

Jonas Stadfeld

University of Calgary

Indigenous nation led data management, sharing knowledge on community concerns to community rightsholders, with a case study on algal blooms  

Emilie Storer

McGill University

Advanced Research Computing Within Reach for All at McGill

Ruben Tjhie

University of Toronto

Promoting Open Science in Human Factors Engineering with Researchers from Equity-Seeking Groups

Francois Gonothi Toure

Université du Québec à Montréal

Réseau des Étudiants Chercheurs de l'Alliance de Recherche Numérique à l'UQAM (RECARN-UQAM)

Steve Tu

University of Toronto

Roots/Routes: Stories of Diaspora on Philosopher's Walk

Eunice Tunggal

Toronto Metropolitan University

Exploring the impact of digital literacy on digital research participation for disabled women and gender diverse people in Canada from diverse socioeconomic status backgrounds

Kaitlyn Wade

University of Western Ontario

Utilizing the Digital Research Alliance of Canada Infrastructure for Artificial Intelligence-driven COVID-19 Gene Discovery 

Nathan Woods

University of Lethbridge

Cultivating Community Capabilities: Navigating Justice and Respect in the Humanities Data Ecology

Ahlam Zidan

McGill University

Challenges and Adaptation Required to Access to DRI Services among Researchers with Disabilities

Provides expert technical and user support to the research community, maintaining the level and quality of services as user numbers continue to grow and to provide integrated front-line support covering all DRI pillars. 

Federal Contribution: $3,469,786 

ISED Conditions: Evidence of cost-match; DRI ecosystem workforce plan 

Download the 2023-25 DRI Initiative Overview

Funding for existing DRI ecosystem operations

Up to $48 million is earmarked for the 2023-25 period to support existing operations of the DRI ecosystem and $40 million for Alliance operations, subject to workforce planning and enhanced data collection and reporting. This funding will provide for continuity of services to researchers for the next two years, support expert staff working within the DRI ecosystem across the country.  

Remaining Initiative Approvals

The following proposed initiatives did not receive federal funding in this funding cycle. The Alliance remains committed to working with partners to address the gaps identified during the DRI Needs Assessment and MYFP consultations. These initiatives will be evaluated as part of the development of the 2025-30 funding proposal. 

Initiative 

Description 

Connecting DRI, People and Research Outputs: Building a National PID Strategy ​  

Includes several initiatives to increase the amount and function of Persistent Identifier (PID) integrations to address lagging resources and automation. 

Networked Curation Services ​  

Supports a national data curation network to enable researchers to better fulfill their Tri-Agency requirements for data deposit while improving the value of their data. 

Towards a Sustainable Canadian Research Software Community ​  

Enables a coordinated national process for a three-stage funding call to improve long-term funding for software platforms (RSPs) and teams (RSPTs). 

Supporting and Expanding Training Capacity in the Canadian DRI Ecosystem ​  

Provides the necessary resources to create and enable a data-driven ecosystem-wide training strategy, while supporting existing training programs with the technology required to deliver a consistent accessible training experience. 

Innovation Funding Opportunity 

​​A​ funding program to redistribute funds to projects that integrate two of the three pillars (advanced research computing, research data management and research software).  

Next steps

The Alliance has been actively working on implementation plans since October 2022 in preparation for the formal decision from ISED. Implementation plans describe how the Alliance will administer each initiative by defining the program requirements, metrics, timelines, oversight, resources, risk management and communications.  

Once Contribution Agreements are finalized between the Alliance and ISED, the Alliance will engage with regional organizations and partner institutions with respect to the development of funding agreements, updated operating budgets and cost-matching requirements. The Alliance will regularly engage with ecosystem partners to collaboratively advance these important initiatives to implement Canada’s national DRI Strategy. 

More information

About the New Service Delivery Model/Funding Model

The New Service Delivery Model (NSDM) outlines the DRI services available across the three layers within the ecosystem (national, regional and local) and the roles of service sponsor and service provider for these services within each layer. The New Service Funding Model (FM) aims to develop a framework for predictable and stable funding for DRI and will include details on cost eligibility for services available across the ecosystem’s layers. The proposed NSDM and FM are currently under development and require additional work, validation and testing with our DRI community partners. We are devising a consultation process to engage further with our members and service partners.   

If you have any questions, please contact communications@alliancecan.ca.