The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research incubates ideas that revolutionize the international research community and change the lives of people all over the world. Through its research programs, CIFAR provides leading scholars with the time, direction, freedom and inspiration to pursue fundamental questions concerning society, technology, and the very nature of humanity and the universe.

CIFAR empowers the world’s most gifted thinkers to collaborate on groundbreaking, provocative projects and ensures that Canada remain a global leader in advanced research through its international scope.

Through regular program meetings CIFAR brings together researchers from different countries, institutions, disciplines and levels of experience. These meetings help to foster new connections, ideas, and long-term relationships that lead to avenues of research whose influence extends far beyond the CIFAR community to the broader research world. CIFAR’s cooperative, interdisciplinary approach means that program members delve into issues that no conventional university or research institution could address.