Evaluation of CANARIE

ISED Funding to CANARIE was renewed in Budget 2015 for a total of $105 million over five years and is used to support the delivery of the network and CANARIE’s other programs: 1) the National Research and Education Network, 2) Canadian Access Federation, 3) Research Software, 4) Research Data Management, and 5) Digital Accelerator for Innovation and Research. [...] FINDINGS There is a demonstrated need for the federal government to continue supporting CANARIE in the delivery of its core service, a national high-speed network, which facilitates data sharing and collaboration among the Research and Education (R&E) community and which is essential for research and innovation. [...] Financial, administrative and operational data were also reviewed and analyzed to support the assessment of the efficiency and economy of program delivery. [...] However, this can be attributed to the expansion of the network and the fact that, according to interviews, a majority of Canadian institutions now have established connections as a result of the completed network infrastructure projects. [...] In areas such as research software, cloud launched in 2018-19, it provides funding for the development of infrastructure (via the Digital Accelerator for software and tools that promote Innovation and Research (DAIR)), and research data research data management.