Dear TRIUMF Community,

Based on the information provided by CFI on their program timelines,

https://www.innovation.ca/sites/default/files/Funds/IF/2020_june_update…

the call for the next CFI Innovation Fund (IF) competition is planned for the fall of 2021, with the letter of intent deadline in early 2022, the full proposal submission deadline in the spring of 2022, and a decision by the CFI Board in early 2023.

In this context we would like to invite submission of Project Initiation Sheets by January 31, 2021 for projects that intend to submit to the upcoming CFI IF competition. Please reach out to your TRIUMF contacts to access and develop your Project Initiation Sheets.

The Policy and Planning Advisory Committee (PPAC) will meet in March 2021 to review, analyze, and prioritize the submissions and make recommendations to the TRIUMF Director. PPAC will not only take the scientific merit into account, but also the resource requirements from TRIUMF in the context of existing commitments. PPAC may request additional information from the proponents before the PPAC meeting.

Based on the PPAC recommendations and taking into account the priorities of the Five-Year Plan 2020- 25, the TRIUMF Project Management Oversight Group (PMOG) will make a decision on which proposals it is able to support in the upcoming CFI IF competition and approve Gate 0 for those projects.

For proposals that also relate to SNOLAB, TRIUMF and SNOLAB have agreed to align and, where appropriate, combine project governance processes in order to avoid duplication of efforts.

We want to remind you that CFI projects that involve TRIUMF will have to follow the project management process (TSOP-15). Please reach out to your TRIUMF contact to access and review TSOP-15 and associated documentation and utilize the tools provided in the Project Management Toolkit.

Following a successful Gate 0 approval in the Spring of 2021, projects need to expeditiously move to a Gate 1 review before the CFI Notification of Intent is to be submitted (in the fall of 2021), which fixes the proposal budget to within 10%. In order to pass Gate 1 the project needs to be well defined with top level requirements, preliminary cost estimates to support an initial budget, and, as applicable, a system architecture.

The work to prepare for and submit a CFI application happens between Gate 1 and 2. A project team must develop their concept sufficiently well to be able to adequately prepare a proposal, including a preliminary resource-loaded schedule, a preliminary concept that has been reviewed by peers and stakeholders, and a budget based on cost estimates (for example using a work breakdown structure to ensure that all scope is covered). While the project does not have to go through Gate 2 before the final proposal submission to CFI, TRIUMF will have to review the CFI application before submission. This is a condition for TRIUMF to supply support letters to CFI. This interim review is called the CFI Funding Application Review, with criteria listed in Document-153866, which can be accessed via your TRIUMF contact.

This process will ensure that information on performance, design, budget, and timelines is robust, reliable and consistent. It will strengthen CFI proposals in a substantial way. In order to allow for sufficient time to develop the initial technical concept, it is important that the process start early.

The TRIUMF Project Management Office will provide support and advice, including project management tools and templates. Further information
can be found at the following link:
http://www.triumf.ca/administration/project-management-0

Please e-mail Project Initiation Sheets as well as any questions, and comments to the head of the TRIUMF Project Management Office at projectmanagement@triumf.ca or myself at reinerk@triumf.ca.

Sincerely,

Reiner Kruecken
Deputy Director, Research TRIUMF