The Ocean Frontier Institute was established in September 2016 thanks to an investment of $227 million from the Government of Canada and various private and public-sector organizations. OFI is led by Dalhousie University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the University of Prince Edward Island, and includes partners in North America and Europe.
OFI operations are shared between Dalhousie University and Memorial University of Newfoundland. OFI reports to the Vice-President Research & Innovation at Dalhousie, and the Vice-President Research at Memorial.
OFI committees ensure the decisions made — and resources used — are aligned with public interest and that OFI funding which is contributed by government, industry, and institutional partners, is prudently used to establish a world-leading, and collaborative, research institution.
This group stewards OFI on behalf of Dalhousie University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the University of Prince Edward Island. Members of the Executive Council provide institutional oversight, financial accountability, and direction to the scientific and management affairs of OFI.
This team ensures OFI, and the projects and programs it undertakes, are managed in accordance with Canada First Research Excellence Fund guidelines.
This committee provides general oversight to the planning and coordination of research projects, including the allocation of research funding.
This committee guides OFI’s engagement with Indigenous communities and organizations to help ensure strong linkages and meaningful engagement between Indigenous communities and organizations and other ocean organizations in Atlantic Canada, while recognizing global aspects and impact on OFI’s international collaborations and partnerships. The Committee will work with OFI staff and the research community to help ensure the active incorporation of Indigenous interests and protection of Aboriginal and Treaty rights into coastal and ocean research to foster meaningful collaboration with Indigenous communities.
The Excellence, Impact, and Engagement Committee (EIEC) provides guidance on OFI’s research focus, reviews annual progress reports and funding allocation, project development, and strategic direction. The EIEC also ensures mechanisms are in place to exceed expectations for mid-term funding renewal.
This committee is responsible for advising on progress towards meeting annual, mid-term, and seven-year targets set for innovation and commercialization, and for promoting, developing, and facilitating commercialization arising from OFI’s proposed innovation deliverables.
The OFI Data Management Committee acts in an advisory role to the OFI Scientific Directorate. The Committee reports to the OFI Management Committee and is responsible for developing, overseeing, and supporting researchers in the implementation of data management policy and guidelines that direct and inform all OFI researchers in the management of all data collected through OFI sponsored research.
Dalhousie University is located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq. We are all Treaty people.
We acknowledge that the lands on which Memorial University’s campuses are situated are in the traditional territories of diverse Indigenous groups, and we acknowledge with respect the diverse histories and cultures of the Beothuk, Mi’kmaq, Innu, and Inuit of this province.
