Canada’s 2013 budget for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), announced in April, remained level at about CAD 1 billion ($970 million).The Canada Foundation for Innovation, which matches costs for high-end lab equipment, was designated CAD 500 million for five years. Funding will continue for prominent centers like TRIUMF, Canadian Light Source and Ontario’s neutrino lab. Casualties of the budget were the Research Tools and Instruments, and Major Resources Support programs, which combined accounted for about CAD 60 million in annual grants. The assessment protocol for proposals for the NSERC’s Discovery Grant Program, the chief funding source for science and engineering researchers, was altered in 2008 to promote competitiveness. Although the number of scientists funded by the program grew from about 7,000 to 10,000 between 2002 and 2012, the percentage of approved grants fell from 84% to 62%.

Source: Physics Today