Nutrition Research Funding Program
Funding program for research projects on the role of dairy products in human nutrition and health, and sustainable diets.
The Call for Proposals is now open. The LOI submission deadline is December 1, 2026.
DFC’s Nutrition Research Funding Program offers financial support for research projects in the area of human nutrition and health, food science and sustainable diets, in relation to dairy products. Projects are peer-reviewed and evaluated by an expert scientific advisory committee comprised of renowned Canadian researchers with expertise in various areas of food science, nutrition, health and medicine.
The objective of the Nutrition Research Funding Program is to gain a better understanding of the specific role of dairy products in attaining and maintaining optimal health, as well as their contribution in a sustainable diet. DFC considers proposals that have nutrition and health implications for Canadian dairy products and that are relevant to Canadian dairy farmers.
NEW: DFC now uses the Submittable online platform for the application process. Letters of Intent must be submitted through the platform by December 1, 2026, for funding beginning in January 2028.
Link to the platform: https://dairyfarmersofcanada.submittable.com/submit (Applicants will need to create a free Submittable account to submit their application.)
| KEY DATES | |
|---|---|
| October 21, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. (EDT) | Webinar: Learn about DFC's new research priorities and the Call for Proposals (Zoom link available in the guidelines) |
| December 1, 2026 | Letter of Intent submission deadline |
| Late February 2027 | Letter of Intent decisions communicated to Principal Investigators |
| April 16, 2027 | Full Proposal submission deadline (by invitation only) |
| July 2027 | Full Proposal decisions communicated to Principal Investigators |
DOCUMENTS FOR DOWNLOAD
RESEARCH PRIORITIES
Our current research priorities can be found here. Please refer to the guidelines above for the research priorities for this Call for Proposals.
KEY RESEARCH FUNDING PRINCIPLES
Our Key Research Funding Principles can be found here.
INDIRECT COSTS POLICY
Dairy Farmers of Canada will not pay the research institutions, principal investigators and/or co-investigators for any indirect costs for projects funded in this research funding program. Please refer to the guidelines above.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND COMMERCIAL USE POLICY
Research institutions and/or investigators shall grant Dairy Farmers of Canada and other involved partners in a research project a license to use the project results for internal, non-commercial, and research purposes, along with a first option to negotiate an exclusive commercial license to commercially exploit the project results, as well as a right of first refusal to match any third-party offer for their commercialization of the project results.
If the Dairy Farmers of Canada and partners are not involved in the commercialization of the project results, Dairy Farmers of Canada and partners shall be entitled to a royalty based on the net profits generated by the research institutions from these research results. The percentage of this royalty would be determined prior to commercialization, through good faith negotiations based on commercially reasonable terms.
HEALTH CLAIMS
Please note that research projects that refer to or involve the potential for a health claim must comply with Health Canada’s Guidance Documents for substantiation of health claims. For more details, please consult Health Canada’s website at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/label-etiquet/claims-reclam/assess-evalu/index-eng.php