Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) Program

Launched in 2008, the Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) Program (external link, opens in new window)   supports Canadian universities in their efforts to build on Canada's growing reputation as a global leader in research and innovation. The current program awards world-renowned researchers and their teams either $8 million or $4 million over eight years to establish ambitious research programs at Canadian universities. These awards are among the most prestigious and generous available globally. The program offers eligible degree-granting Canadian institutions an opportunity to recruit the top tier of world-class researchers in the Government of Canada’s Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) priorities for the CERC program (external link, opens in new window) .

The CERC program is a Tri-agency initiative of, and funded by, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) (external link, opens in new window)  the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (external link, opens in new window)  and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (external link, opens in new window) .  It is administered by the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS), which is housed within SSHRC.

The objectives of the program are to:

• Strengthen Canada’s ability to attract the world’s top researchers, in order to be at the leading edge of breakthroughs in ST&I priority areas expected to generate social and economic benefits for Canadians.
• Help Canada build a critical mass of expertise in ST&I priority areas identified by the Government of Canada.
• Create a competitive environment to help Canadian institutions attract a cadre of world-leading researchers in their pursuit of excellence in research.
• Contribute to branding Canada as a location of choice for world-leading research, science and technology development, alongside other federal programs with similar objectives.