Securing $83M in Government Funding for a Water Research Program

The University of Saskatchewan needed a compelling proposal to secure investment from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) for a water security research program.

Working with representatives from three universities who formed a partnership for the application, Shift Health facilitated a strategic session to uncover the opportunity for the program. Working shoulder-to-shoulder with university leadership, researchers and administrative staff, Shift Health crafted consistent messaging to anchor the proposal and substantiated the claim that the program had the potential to position Canada as a global leader in the field.

As 1 of 13 winning applications (out of 65 letters of intent and 30 full proposals), the University secured $83M in funding and, with Shift Health’s support, was the only institution to receive an award in each of CFREF’s first two competitions.