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Launched in 2008, the   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 .

The CERC program is a Tri-agency initiative of, and funded by, the the  and the .  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.