ARCHIVED - Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada - Report

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Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome(s)

Strategic Outcome 1.0 - People: Highly skilled science and engineering professionals in Canada

 

Program Activity 1.1: Promote Science and Engineering

Program Activity Description

This program activity stimulates the public's interest in science, math and engineering and encourages the next generation of students to consider careers in these fields, helping to ensure that Canada has an ongoing supply of future discoverers and innovators. These activities are necessary as Canada has fewer university students enrolled in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines and fewer PhDs graduating and working in these fields, relative to most OECD countries. NSERC awards grants to support activities of community based organizations, museums, science centres and universities that stimulate the interest of young people and students and improve school performance in science and mathematics. In addition, NSERC offers several prizes that recognize and highlight Canadian achievements in training, research and innovation.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
5.8	5.8	5.8

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
1	1	1

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Student interest in research in the sciences, math and engineering is encouraged.	Percentage of science promotion projects that successfully complete the planned activity.	Greater than 80 percent.

Planning Highlights

1)PromoScience:In 2012-13, NSERC will continue to focus more of the support that is available through PromoScience grants towards outreach activities aimed at groups that are under-represented in the natural sciences and engineering (e.g. women, Aboriginals) and will continue to build upon the November 2010 Summit, Maximizing Opportunities, Increasing Women’s Participation in Science and Engineering, hosted by NSERC and supported by Engineers Canada and Research In Motion. The PromoScience program aims to hold a competition in 2012-13 to disburse $2.75  million in over 125 grants.

Program Activity 1.2: Support Students and Fellows

Program Activity Description

This program activity supports training of highly qualified people through programs of scholarships, fellowships and stipends. Support is provided to students during their research studies at all levels of university enrolment (undergraduate, master’s and doctorate level graduate studies, postdoctoral work), providing opportunities for recipients to develop technical and professional skills, and to experience enriched and varied research environments both within Canada and abroad. Scholarship programs aim to ensure that Canada is able to attract, retain and develop a talented, highly skilled workforce. The recipients of scholarship and fellowship awards are selected through peer reviewed national competitions.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
141.8	141.8	141.8

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
32	32	32

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
A supply of highly-qualified Canadians with leading-edge scientific and research skills for Canadian industry, government and universities.	Average completion rates among NSERC award recipients vs. general NSE student population.	Completion rate 10 percent greater than NSE student population.
	Percentage of student population supported through scholarships in the NSE.	Greater or equal to 10% of student population supported.

Planning Highlights

1)Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program: The Banting Fellowship Program serves to attract the world’s top research talent to Canada. The program also increases NSERC’s capacity to foster international mobility in research for Canadian researchers. In 2012-13 and beyond, NSERC will work together with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and universities to broaden the program’s reach to more of its intended audiences abroad. The Program’s Steering Committee has set an overall goal of having thirty percent of applications to the program from foreign candidates.

2)Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program:In 2012-13, NSERC will continue to implement the CREATE program, increasing the number of grants toward the planned goal of 120 active grants each year. This steady state is expected to be attained in 2014-15. The expected impacts of this implementation include the development of highly qualified people with professional, job-ready skills and with experience in varied research environments. During the 2012-13 competition, the CREATE program will award up to 20 new grants, of which up to half will feature a formal link with industry.

Furthermore, in 2012-13 NSERC will continue to explore opportunities to align programs that promote student mobility with other countries following the model of a bilateral agreement signed in 2011 with the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Program Activity 1.3: Attract and Retain Faculty

Program Activity Description

This program activity aims to attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising researchers for faculty positions in Canadian universities. Chairs are awarded through a competitive peer review process and support faculty positions within post–secondary and research institutions by providing funding for salaries and research activities. Chair holders conduct leading edge research that improves our knowledge and quality of life, strengthens Canada’s international competitiveness, and helps train the next generation of highly skilled people. These top researchers serve as magnets to other high calibre researchers and students to come to, or to remain in, Canada. Ultimately this helps to cultivate centers of world class research excellence at Canadian universities, and to brand Canada as a top destination for research.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
153.0	153.0	153.0

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
10	10	10

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Enhanced research capacity in science and engineering.	Number of new, foreign-educated applicants to NSERC’s Discovery Grants program.	Greater than 100 per year.
	Number of NSERC-funded professors leaving the country.	Less than 100 per year.

Canada Research Chairs Database

Planning Highlights

1)Canada Excellence Research Chairs:In 2012-13, all of the 13 inaugural Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) in natural sciences and engineering will be working at full capacity, as outlined in their proposals. The adjudication of the Phase 1 applications for 10 new CERC awards announced in Budget 2011 will be completed in 2012-13. Once this is completed, Phase 2 of the competition will be launched. 

2)Canada Research Chairs:Following the 10th-year evaluation of the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program completed in 2010-11, NSERC will continue to work in partnership with CIHR, SSHRC and Canadian academic institutions to maximize the program’s impact.

The first internal audit report of the CRC program is expected in mid 2012. The audit report will identify if any risks and inefficiencies exist within the program's processes and, as required, help identify improvements needed to correct them.

Strategic Outcome 2.0 - Discovery: High quality Canadian-based competitive research in the natural sciences and engineering

Program Activity 2.1: Fund Basic Research

Program Activity Description

This program activity promotes and enables global excellence in discovery research in Canada. NSERC’s discovery based programs support long term, ongoing programs of research as well as shorter term research projects. In addition, NSERC provides substantial and timely additional resources to select researchers in order to accelerate progress and maximize the impact of their research program. Having a solid capacity for basic research across a broad spectrum of natural sciences and engineering disciplines ensures that Canada remains at the leading edge of knowledge creation. It also ensures that Canada can access and exploit S&T developments from other countries and forms the foundation for training the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
366.6	368.0	368.0

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
56	56	56

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
The discovery, innovation and training capability of university researchers in natural sciences and engineering is enhanced by the provision of support for ongoing programs of basic research.	World ranking in number of NSE publications.	Maintain top 10 world ranking (Canada was 7th in 20088).
	Percentage of funds spent on training of students and postdoctoral fellows.	35 percent.

Planning Highlights

1)Discovery Grants Program:NSERC plans to invest $7.2 million of the $15 million provided in Budget 2011 to enhance the Discovery Grants of early career researchers with supplements to their grants. As a result of the 2012-13 national competition, the program aims to award funding to between 250 to 300 early career researchers.

Furthermore, preparations will be made to carry out an evaluation of the Discovery Grants Program which will take place in 2013-14. NSERC will develop the type of evaluation and its scope, including identifying and developing necessary data and statistics in 2012-13.

NSERC will analyze the findings of a Report on Science Performance and Research Funding by the Council of Canadian Academies which is to be published in 2012. NSERC will invite feedback from the research community and will consult with its Committee on Grants and Scholarships. The information will be used to find better ways to compare overall levels of excellence across disciplines according to international best practices, with the goal of devising a new budget allocation methodology to allocate funding between the 12 Evaluation Groups for the Discovery Grants program.

2) Climate Change and Atmospheric Research: In 2012-13, NSERC will administer a national competition to award $35 million over the next 5 years in support of Climate Change and Atmospheric Research (CCAR) at Canadian post-secondary institutions. This funding was provided in Budget 2011. The Call for Proposals is expected to be launched in 2012. 

Moreover, NSERC will participate in the Belmont Forum, an international group of funding agencies supporting global change and environmental research. The themes selected by the Belmont Forum intersect with areas funded by NSERC through funding for CCAR.  This funding will allow Canadian researchers supported by NSERC to collaborate with international researchers in Belmont Challenge projects.

Program Activity: 2.2: Support for Research Equipment and Major Resources

Program Activity Description

This program activity helps to support the acquisition, maintenance and operation of research equipment and major research resources. Funds are also used to facilitate researchers’ access to major and unique research facilities in Canada and abroad. Grants are awarded through a competitive peer review process. This activity is necessary because, in addition to funds to carry out research, top scientists and engineers need state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to carry out research at world-class levels. Access to top facilities plays an important role in attracting the best minds to Canada and keeping them here.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
37.1	23.0	23.0

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
10	10	10

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
The discovery, innovation and training capability of university researchers in the NSE is supported by their access to research equipment and major regional or national research facilities.	Average number of researchers benefiting from equipment awards.	Over 1,000.
	Average number of researchers benefiting from a Major Resources Support award.	Greater than 50.

Planning Highlights

1) Research Tools and Instruments Grants Program:In 2012-13, NSERC will continue to foster and enhance the discovery, innovation and training capability of university research in the natural sciences and engineering by supporting the purchase of research equipment and installations smaller than those funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) through the Research Tools and Instruments Grants. 

2)Major Resources Support Program: In 2012-13, NSERC, together with the CFI, will continue to ensure effective operational support of national research facilities. To provide more effective client service, NSERC and CFI will collaborate in the oversight and monitoring of successful funding applications under both the CFI’s Major Science Initiatives program and NSERC’s Major Resources Support program competitions.

Strategic Outcome 3.0 - Innovation: Knowledge and skills in the natural sciences and engineering are transferred to and used productively by the user sector in Canada

Program Activity 3.1: Fund Research in Strategic Areas

Program Activity Description

This program activity funds activities and research projects in selected areas of national importance and in emerging areas that are of potential significance to Canada. To take advantage of Canada’s established excellence in research and innovation, and to build capacity in areas that are critical to the Canadian economy, NSERC invests in research areas that have been carefully selected as strategic priorities for the country. These investments support a range of activities such as research projects, networks and workshops. Funded activities share the common goal of connecting researchers with end users in order to strengthen innovation and thus increase Canadian prosperity.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
106.6	95.8	85.5

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
20	19	18

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Research and training in targeted and emerging areas of national importance is accelerated.	Percentage of researchers applying for a strategic grant for the first time (or who have never applied in a specific area).	Five percent.
	Percentage of organizations participating in strategic partnerships for the first time.	Increasing trend.

Planning Highlights

1)Strategic Partnerships Program: The budget of the Strategic Partnerships Program is expected to decrease over the next three years, starting in 2012-13, and relative to 2010-11 levels. NSERC will align the delivery of, and communications about the Strategic Partnerships Programs competitions to available resources. NSERC will continue to support international collaboration and exchanges through the Strategic Partnerships Program by launching concurrent calls for joint research proposals with France, Taiwan and Japan. 

2) Collaborative Health Research Projects: The Collaborative Health Research Projects is a jointly funded NSERC-Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) program. NSERC will transfer responsibility for program delivery to CIHR at the end of 2011-12. In 2012-13, NSERC will assist in completing the transition of the administration of the CHRP program to CIHR, ensuring a strong ongoing presence for researchers in the natural sciences and engineering.

The CHRP program will include a reinforced requirement to have at least one user-partner in each proposal. This will ensure a stronger impact on the health system, and will focus projects on efficiencies and use of knowledge to improve the health of Canadians.  

Program Activity 3.2: University-Industry-Government Partnerships

Program Activity Description

This program activity fosters collaborations between university researchers and industry, as well as other sectors, to develop and transfer new knowledge to Canadian based organizations. A range of industry driven programs aim to stimulate innovation in the Canadian economy and encourage greater science and technology (S&T) investment by the private sector. These partnership programs and projects address real world challenges that are relevant to industry, help build sustainable relationships between the two sectors and connect people and skills.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
171.8	181.0	191.5

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
61	62	63

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Mutually beneficial collaborations between the private sector and researchers in universities, resulting in industrial or economic benefits to Canada.	Increase in the number of industrial partners supporting and participating in collaborations with university or college research teams.	Greater than 150 new partners.
	Partner satisfaction with research results.	75 percent of partners indicating satisfaction through final reports and/or follow-up surveys.
	Percentage growth in partner contributions.	Greater than 5%.

NSERC Chairholders Database

Planning Highlights

1) Industry Driven Collaborative Research and Development Grants: Budget 2011 allocated an additional $7.5M in ongoing support that has been invested to fund additional Engage Grants.

In 2012-13 and beyond, NSERC’s Regional Offices will continue to focus on working with regional development organizations including in areas of mutual priority; increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Engage grants; and increasing awareness of NSERC funding opportunities among faculty at universities, colleges and companies new to NSERC.

2)Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence: Budget 2011 announced funding to establish a Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence (CIRCE), as part of the Government of Canada's wider India Engagement Strategy. The CIRCE will help to forge closer ties with India across different sectors and to enhance the bilateral Canada-India relationship. The CIRCE will be overseen by the Network Centres of Excellence (NCE) Steering Committee, which includes participation by Industry Canada, Health Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Centre, Canadian Institutes for Health Research and Canada Foundation for Innovation. Day-to-day administration of the Program and its initiatives is provided by the NCE Secretariat, which reports administratively to NSERC.

NSERC has launched a competition to fund one CIRCE over five-years. The Centre will foster organization-to-organization level relationships and increase researcher-to-researcher collaborations, forming a network of key individuals and organizations from Canada and India.

The CIRCE will also facilitate knowledge exchange in areas of mutual strategic importance through knowledge and personnel mobilization, research exchanges, networking and partnerships with business and other end users, while building upon established Canada-India collaborations.

3) International University-Industry Partnerships: NSERC will implement a joint pilot initiative with the International Science and Technology Partnerships Program Canada (ISTPP) to extend the Canadian academic-industry relationship to include an international connection with China, Brazil and India. Part of this initiative will include work with DFAIT and Natural Resources Canada to develop a joint call for Canada-China collaborative proposals in the area of clean transportation technologies.

Program Activity 3.3: Support Commercialization

Program Activity Description

This program activity supports the development of commercially promising technologies and promotes the transfer of knowledge and technologies to Canadian companies for commercialization. Strengthening Canada’s record in commercialization is necessary to achieve business growth, job creation and a stronger, more resilient economy. By means of grants awarded through competitive peer review processes, NSERC aims to support the development of pre-competitive technologies and to help build the capacity of Canadian universities and colleges to work with industry and fuel economic growth. Federal investments serve to leverage significant amounts of private funding.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
42.9	44.1	43.9

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
19	19	19

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
The transfer of knowledge and technology residing in Canadian universities and colleges to the user sector is facilitated.	Percentage of projects that lead to successful commercialization including the creation of new spin-off companies and licensing agreements.	Greater than 10%.
	A set of nine university commercialization indicators collected by Statistics Canada.9	An increase in the majority of the nine indicators.

Planning Highlights

1) College and Community Innovation Program: Budget 2011 identified funding to support two new initiatives in the College and Community Innovation Program: the Industrial Research Chairs for Colleges and the College-University Idea to Innovation grants; 2012-13 will be the first complete year for the roll-out of these two new initiatives. The program is managed by NSERC and delivered in collaboration with CIHR and SSHRC.

A summative evaluation of the College and Community Evaluation program is currently underway and will conclude in 2012-13. The evaluation will explore the effectiveness and impact of the program and will help streamline the program to increase its impact on business innovation from applied research at colleges.

2)NSERC – Idea to Innovation Program: NSERC will work with CIHR to combine the Idea to Innovation program with CIHR’s Proof-of-Principle program to offer a single window of support for post-secondary commercialization efforts. The combined program will be offered for the first time in 2012-13, and will be managed by NSERC in collaboration with CIHR. The harmonization of the programs will also provide an opportunity to optimize current funding tools to the scale and duration of promising commercialization efforts.

3) Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research: The Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) program is administered jointly by CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, in partnership with Industry Canada. The CECR will build upon a recent formative evaluation and a review by the Private Sector Advisory Board to develop criteria for upcoming competitions to maximize the economic, social, health or environmental benefits of the CECRs.

Internal Services

Program Activity Summary

NSERC and SSHRC share internal services for general administration, human resources, finance, awards administration, information management and technology, and audit services. This common administrative services model has proven highly efficient for the two federal granting agencies. In addition, NSERC has its own corporate services to address the agency’s distinct needs in terms of governance, policy, planning, statistics, program evaluation, performance measurement, communications and international relations.

NSERC is working cooperatively with SSHRC, CIHR and CFI in order to improve the coordination of programs, activities and policies. Adopting a more integrated approach to programs and client services helps reduce the administrative burden on researchers and institutions. It also enables the support of crosscutting, multidisciplinary research initiatives designed to address important scientific opportunities and problems that matter to Canadians.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
24.0	24.1	24.1

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
179	179	179

Planning Highlights

From 2012-13 to 2013-14, NSERC will:

• Maximize the results and impact of federal government investments in research by leveraging relationships with researchers and with communications departments at colleges and universities to increase NSERC’s outreach and visibility to the Canadian public. This will be done by leveraging relationships with the media, stakeholders and partners to showcase the impact of research on the lives of Canadians and in Canada’s economy.
• Continue to identify new opportunities to connect with external audiences. This will be achieved by:
  1. Partnering with other organizations and stakeholders on areas of priority for the government and bringing together researchers and KOLs.
  2. Identifying speaking opportunities that target industry and sector-specific associations to underscore the benefits of NSERC’s Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation (SPI) and to showcase the impact and results of government investments in the Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation.
  3. Identifying opportunities to demonstrate the value and impact of NSERC-funded researchers.
• Continue to increase its outreach via social media by producing and posting on the NSERC Web site and Social Media sites videos that promote NSERC funded researchers and demonstrate how their research impacts Canadians.
• Continue to develop and practice integrated planning to support the development of a multi-year strategic plan, an annual corporate plan, annual divisional plans and an annual budget plan.
• Place greater emphasis on performance, evaluation and audit/riskanalysis activities to ensure that programs and services are offered in a strategic, coherent and cost-effective manner and support a more results-oriented culture.
• Monitor mitigation strategies identified in NSERC’s 2011-2012 Corporate Risk Profile.
• Implement the new Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Researchwith CIHR and SSHRC, including the already established Secretariat and Panel on the Responsible Conduct of Research.
• Revise and update the tri-agency Memorandum of Understanding on the Roles and Responsibilities in the Management of Federal Grants and Awards, for implementation by winter 2012.
• Work in collaboration with CIHR and SSHRC to develop a policy on access to research outputs.

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