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ARCHIVED - RPP 2007-2008
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada


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Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

SSHRC’s investments contribute to significant advances in knowledge, understanding and expertise in the social sciences and humanities, and to the development of a first-class research capacity in Canada. These investments are an integral part of an effective science policy. The Council is committed to support excellence in social sciences and humanities research and research training; to support research knowledge and capacity that has social, economic and cultural returns for Canadians; to help shape the research enterprise; and to contribute to innovation.

Overall, SSHRC’s activities are aimed at achieving the following results:

  • Enhanced capacity in the social sciences and humanities stemming from the supply of highly qualified people with leading-edge research skills to knowledge-intensive careers in universities, industry, government and other sectors of the economy;
  • Knowledge based on excellent research in the social sciences and humanities to help better understand the world and address complex and pressing societal issues; and
  • Enhanced linkages among researchers nationally and internationally, and enhanced connections between researchers and users to achieve effective knowledge mobilization and impact, with economic and social benefits to Canadian society.

The structure of section II of this report follows SSHRC’s Program Activity Architecture (PAA) in terms of its four strategic outcomes, related program activities and program sub-activities:

  • People: (1) Fellowships, Scholarships and Prizes; and (2) Canada Research Chairs.
  • Research: (1) Investigator-Framed Research; (2) Targeted Research and Training Initiatives; and (3) Strategic Research Development.
  • Knowledge Mobilization: Research Communication and Interaction.
  • Institutional Environment: Indirect Costs of Research.

Table 19 (in the Appendix) provides a complete breakdown of SSHRC’s PAA, along with indicators for measuring outputs and results.

2.1 People: A First-Class Research Capacity

2.1.1 Fellowships, Scholarships and Prizes

Table 3: Fellowships, Scholarships and Prizes


Fellowships, Scholarships and Prizes

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

Financial Resources

$102.3 million

$102.3 million

$102.3 million

Human Resources

25 full-time equivalents (FTE)

25 FTE

25 FTE


This program activity addresses demands from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors for large numbers of highly qualified personnel trained in the social sciences and humanities, and for faculty renewal at universities. Around 30 per cent of SSHRC’s overall grants and scholarships budget is dedicated to direct support of master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral awards.*

*This excludes the Indirect Costs Program, which SSHRC administers on behalf of all three granting agencies.

Canada Graduate Scholarships program

The Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) program was established by the federal government in 2003 to support graduate students who demonstrate scholarly potential and achievement at the highest levels. Administered by the three federal granting agencies, the CGS program has a master’s component and a doctoral component. Sixty per cent of CGS awards are administered by SSHRC for graduate students in the social sciences and humanities. SSHRC awards 1,200 scholarships at the master’s level and 1,200 at the doctoral level annually. In 2007-2008, the Council will participate in a formal evaluation of the CGS program, being led by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Master's Component of the Canada Graduate Scholarships Program

Together with SSHRC’s other research training programs, the CGS Master’s Scholarships program helps train Canada’s researchers and leaders of tomorrow. Specifically, the program develops research skills and helps in training highly qualified personnel, by supporting social sciences and humanities students who have demonstrated high standards of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies. SSHRC launched the CGS Master’s program in May 2003, and in September 2003 offered master’s scholarships to 815 students. The number of CGS Master’s recipients in the social sciences and humanities increased to its full complement of 1,200 in 2005-2006, and will remain at that level in 2007-2008 and beyond.

SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships and the doctoral Component of the Canadian Graduate Scholarships program

SSHRC offers support for excellent doctoral research through its well-established SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships program, as well as through its CGS Doctoral Scholarships program. Through the CGS program, SSHRC awards 400 new three-year scholarships each year (for a total of 1,200 award holders at any one time). CGS awards are tenable only at recognized Canadian postsecondary institutions. The Council also continues to award SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships, which are tenable at recognized institutions in Canada and abroad. In 2007-2008, SSHRC will offer some 600 new Doctoral Fellowships.

SSHRC is also examining new ways to improve the environments in which students are trained. Such training may be supported through a stand-alone program or by enhancing opportunities in existing research-support programs such as Major Collaborative Research Initiatives (MCRI) and Community-University Research Alliances (CURA).

Postdoctoral Fellowships

SSHRC’s Postdoctoral Fellowships program supports the most promising new scholars in the social sciences and humanities who have recently completed or will soon complete a PhD or equivalent, and who do not hold a tenured or tenure-track faculty position. These fellowships help new researchers in establishing a research base at a crucial stage in their careers. In 2007-2008, the Council will offer about 140 new Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Prizes

Outstanding achievements in social sciences and humanities research should not only be celebrated in the research community but should also be promoted in Canadian society at large. The highest SSHRC honour, the Gold Medal for Achievement in Research, is awarded to an individual whose leadership, dedication, and originality of thought have significantly advanced understanding in his or her field of research, enriched Canadian society, and contributed to the country’s cultural and intellectual life. The Aurora Prize recognizes an outstanding new researcher for exceptional contributions to, and innovation in, social science and humanities research. The Postdoctoral Prize is awarded to the year’s most outstanding SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship recipient. The William E. Taylor Fellowship is awarded to the year’s most outstanding SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship recipient.

Recognizing Canadian research talent in the social sciences and humanities not only honours the individual recipients; it also serves as a clear statement to the research community at large that its efforts are valued, and provides an opportunity to demonstrate to Canadians some of the outcomes of their investments in Canadian research and researchers.

Table 4: Fellowships, Scholarships and Prizes, by Sub-Activity


Fellowships, Scholarships and Prizes, by Sub-Activity

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

CGS Master's Scholarships

$21.2 million

$21.2 million

$21.2 million

CGS Doctoral Scholarships $42.3 million $42.3 million $42.3 million
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships $28.4 million $28.4 million $28.4 million
Postdoctoral Fellowships $10.0 million $10.0 million $10.0 million
Special Fellowships and Prizes $0.4 million $0.4 million $0.4 million

2.1.2 Canada Research Chairs

Table 5: Canada Research Chairs Program


Canada Research Chairs Program

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

Financial Resources

$61.8 million

$61.8 million

$61.8 million

Human Resources

24 FTE

24 FTE

24 FTE


The Canada Research Chairs Program was created in 2000 with a view to establish 2,000 research professorships — or Canada Research Chairs — in universities across the country by 2008. Fiscal year 2007-2008 will be marked by the announcement of the 2,000th Chair.

The Canada Research Chairs Program invests $300 million a year to attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising minds. These chairholders are world-class researchers, who, supported by strategic infrastructure funding, are improving universities’ capacity to generate and apply new knowledge. Chairholders advance the frontiers of knowledge in their fields, not only through their own work, but also by teaching and supervising students and coordinating the work of other researchers.

The program’s key objective is to enable Canadian universities, together with their affiliated research institutes and hospitals, to achieve the highest levels of excellence and become world-class research centres in the global, knowledge-based economy. SSHRC administers the program and hosts the Canada Research Chairs Secretariat on behalf of the three federal granting agencies.

The Chairs program also seeks to:

  • strengthen research excellence in Canada and increase Canada’s research capacity, by attracting and retaining the best researchers;
  • improve the training of highly qualified personnel through research;
  • improve universities’ capacity to generate and apply new knowledge; and
  • promote the best possible use of research resources through strategic institutional planning and collaboration among institutions and between sectors.

In its seventh year of operation, the Secretariat will administer the ongoing program and renew, replace or reallocate chairs and chairholders in accordance with the changing allocations to institutions. The Secretariat will apply a revised method for calculating allocations that embodies the principles of consistency with program objectives and among agencies and similar programs; fairness; and transparency.

International competition for the best researchers is intense. The Canada Research Chairs Program was unique when it was established, not only in its concept, but also in its magnitude. This program’s governance and impact have received significant interest from other countries. Several countries and jurisdictions have either begun or are embarking on plans to recruit and repatriate top-level researchers to their universities. However, this suggests that the competition for top talent may become even tougher in the future. The government’s continued investment in the Chairs program is instrumental in ensuring that Canadian universities and their research affiliates continue to foster research excellence and enhance their roles as world-class centres of research excellence in the global, knowledge-based economy.

The attraction and retention of top research talent in Canada stimulates new demand for the funding of research activities. The success of the Chairs program increases the expectations of research funding from the three granting agencies. The ability of the granting agencies to support the increase in research activity is a critical factor for the continued success of the Chairs program.

We are seeing, in an increasing number of domains such as human health, the environment and labour productivity, that private as well as public decision makers are faced with choices that require input from research results. The Canada Research Chairs Program intends to play an instrumental role in developing expert capacity in these and other fields. Chairholders will be mobilized to act as a national strategic resource to provide advice on the multiple challenges that Canada faces.

2.2 Research: New Knowledge Based on Excellent Research

2.2.1 Investigator-Framed Research

Table 6: Investigator-Framed Research


Investigator-Framed Research

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

Financial Resources

$90.6 million

$90.6 million

$90.6 million

Human Resources

50 FTE

50 FTE

50 FTE


The current renewal of faculty at Canadian universities is driving an increasingly active research environment and creating enormous pressures to support a larger, more cost-intensive and internationally connected research community in the social sciences and humanities. This, in turn, has a considerable impact on SSHRC, especially on two of its core programs — Standard Research Grants (SRG) and the MCRI — which are key in supporting investigator-framed research. Recent data demonstrate that faculty renewal and increased research activity are putting steadily mounting pressure on the SRG program. For example, 1,055 researchers applied to the 2007-2008 SRG competition as “new scholars,” a 90-per cent increase over the 2000 competition. In the case of established scholars, the 1,480 that applied to the 2007-2008 SRG competition represents a 50-per cent increase over the 2000 competition.

Another source of the increasing demand for SSHRC’s investigator-framed research programs is the success of the Canada Foundation for Innovation. This foundation was established in 1997 by the Government of Canada to fund the renewal of research infrastructure (equipment, databases, buildings) in Canada in order to strengthen the capacity of Canadian institutions to conduct world-class research. Through the foundation, Canada has invested $3.6 billion in research infrastructure, which has stimulated demand for funding from the three granting agencies to undertake research using this infrastructure.

Standard Research Grants

The SRG program serves as a catalyst for creativity and knowledge generation in the social sciences and humanities in Canada. The program, SSHRC’s largest single investment, supports research programs that explore an enormous range of issues dealing with human experience and help Canadians understand an increasingly complex world. The program offers opportunities for researchers to obtain support for their most creative and innovative proposals, following a process of independent peer review. Because of the program’s rigorous standards, securing an SRG grant is seen as an important endorsement of research excellence for both new and established faculty.

In addition, SRG projects offer valuable opportunities for training undergraduate and graduate students. SSHRC’s support of world-class research exposes students to a dynamic and productive research environment, and provides opportunities to participate in groundbreaking research. This exposure nurtures the range of skills that labour markets demand, within and beyond academia.

The specific objectives of the SRG program include: supporting high-quality, independent programs of research (as proposed by scholars and judged by their peers), providing opportunities for training future researchers, fostering collaboration among researchers, and helping communicate results within and beyond the academic community.

Through the SRG program, SSHRC will continue to sustain the critical mass of research expertise and the momentum of research activity on which innovation depends. SSHRC will:

  • support the best research projects, both basic and applied, proposed by established and new scholars in all social sciences and humanities disciplines; and
  • work towards SSHRC’s long-term goal of reducing the number of applications that are deemed excellent but are not funded due to financial constraints.

Major Collaborative Research Initiatives

The MCRI program supports leading-edge research that has potential for intellectual breakthrough and addresses broad and critical issues of intellectual, social, economic, and cultural significance. The research it supports reaches these goals by effectively coordinating and integrating diverse research activities and research results. MCRI project research questions have a breadth and scope that requires many scholars of different perspectives and with different types of expertise to work together in an enriching and effective way.

The MCRI program’s specific objectives include promoting broadly based collaborative research as the central type of research activity, within and across disciplines, departments and universities within Canada and internationally. It also aims to promote the development of active partnerships with private and public sector groups to ensure their participation in the design and conduct of the research and in the dissemination of research results.

In 2007-2008, SSHRC will continue building, maintaining and enhancing national partnerships and networks of world-class researchers through the MCRI program. In recognition of the complexity and scope of large-scale projects, the funding timeline for MCRI projects has been extended from five to seven years.

2.2.2 Targeted Research and Training Initiatives

Table 7: Targeted Research and Training Initiatives


Targeted Research and Training Initiatives

2006-2007

2007-2008

2008-2009

Financial Resources

$17.4 million

$12.5 million

$12.8 million

Human Resources

43 FTE

43 FTE

43 FTE


The program activities in this category are aimed at producing new knowledge and capacity on pressing social, economic and cultural issues of particular importance to Canadians, and ensuring this knowledge and capacity are available for decision making in various sectors.

Initiative on the New Economy

Established in 2001, the overall goal of the five-year, $100-million Initiative on the New Economy (INE) is to help Canada and Canadians adapt successfully to, and reap the benefits of, the “new economy.” More specifically, the INE seeks to foster excellent research to deepen our understanding of the new economy, and to develop partnerships among the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

The 2007-2008 year will be the INE’s last year. Apart from the innovative research on today’s global economy that the INE has funded, SSHRC, as a nascent knowledge council, continues to draw on the valuable opportunities for experiments in knowledge mobilization that the program has provided. In 2007-2008, SSHRC will invest $4.7 million in the final activities of the INE program, and will focus on mining and communicating INE-funded research results and assessing the impacts of this significant investment.

Strategic Research Grants

SSHRC currently has five priority areas for strategic research, which were established through national multi-sectoral consultations. These priority areas will continue to guide the direction and development of the Council’s strategic programs and activities in 2007-2008, and will be reviewed as part of the development of SSHRC’s new Partnerships Branch. The current priority areas are:

  • Aboriginal research — SSHRC launched its Aboriginal Research pilot program in 2004 to promote partnerships between academics and Aboriginal communities to investigate policy-related issues of concern to Canada’s Aboriginal peoples. This program will undergo an evaluation in 2007-2008.
  • Environment and sustainability — SSHRC is supporting, in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a third phase of the Ocean Management Research Network, and is working with Industry Canada and other partners on the Hydrogen Economy Initiative (see “The social and economic aspects of building a hydrogen economy” at the end of 2.2.3).
  • Culture, citizenship and identities (including official languages) — SSHRC is continuing its joint initiative with Sport Canada supporting research activities to help address issues related to promoting Canadians’ participation in sport. The Official Languages Research and Dissemination Program, offered in partnership with Canadian Heritage, had its last year in 2006-2007.
  • Image, text, sound and technology — SSHRC’s strategic program of the same name aims to increase the number of academics who are able to creatively use leading-edge information technology in their research, and to accelerate the pace at which researchers are able to acquire these types of skills and put them to use.
  • Northern research — SSHRC engages in activities such as participating in the European Science Foundation’s (ESF) multinational BOREAS: Histories from the North — Environment, Movement, Narratives program; managing its own Northern Research Development Program; and helping to shape Canada’s contribution to the research of the International Polar Year, 2007-2008 (see “International Polar Year” in 2.2.3).

Strategic Joint Initiatives

SSHRC regularly partners with public, private and not-for-profit organizations to co-fund targeted research-support programs. Since 1989, the Council has co-created 45 of these Joint Initiative programs.

One notable example of a SSHRC Joint Initiative is the Metropolis Project, under which SSHRC and other federal departments and agencies concerned with immigration and integration policy questions collaborate to support research and policy development on population migration, cultural diversity and the challenges of immigrant integration in cities in Canada and around the world. In 2006-2007, SSHRC and Citizenship and Immigration Canada entered into a final five-year phase of support for the Metropolis Project, aimed especially at securing policy research useful to decision-makers and community stakeholders.

Other Joint Initiatives that will be active in 2007-2008 include the Sport Participation Research Initiative (with Sport Canada), the Canadian Initiative on Social Statistics (with Statistics Canada), and the Ocean Management National Research Network Initiative (with Fisheries and Oceans Canada).

2.2.3 Strategic Research Development

Table 8: Strategic Research Development


Strategic Research Development

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

Financial Resources

$24.7 million

$24.7 million

$24.7 million

Human Resources

27 FTE

27 FTE

27 FTE


The program activities in this category are aimed at exploring and developing new perspectives, directions, modes and institutional capacity for research in the social sciences and humanities. Programs in this category include (among others) CURA, Research Development Initiatives, SSHRC Institutional Grants and the Aid to Small Universities program. This category also includes special activities that enable SSHRC to strategically position the social sciences and humanities within Canada and internationally. Following are descriptions of SSHRC’s key strategic research development activities.

Community-University Research Alliances

The CURA program’s overall objective is to support the creation of alliances between community organizations and postsecondary institutions that, through ongoing collaboration and mutual learning, foster innovative research, training and the creation of new knowledge in areas of importance for the social, cultural, or economic development of Canadian communities. The CURA program also provides unique research training opportunities to a large number of undergraduate and graduate students in the social sciences and humanities. Ultimately, the program aims to reinforce community decision-making and problem-solving capacity.

The CURA program supports an innovative mode of research — knowledge creation through the sustained interaction of researchers and users of research. CURA projects have innovated, and continue to innovate, with respect to techniques and methodologies for conducting research at the researcher-user interface, which itself is providing valuable new knowledge. SSHRC has taken steps to help the exchange of best practices among CURA grant recipients. In 2007-2008, SSHRC plans to continue activities in this area, including annual networking meetings of new CURA recipients.

International collaboration — agency level

An essential part of its new strategic plan, SSHRC’s International Policy and Strategy acknowledges the importance of international collaboration to help sustain excellence in research and position Canadian research in the world. In addition to new program initiatives, SSHRC continues to build partnerships with international funding organizations to develop opportunities for Canadian researchers to collaborate with international colleagues and to showcase Canadian research internationally. SSHRC is a member of three consortia of granting agencies funded by the European Union:

  • The European Research Area Network on the Societal Aspects of Genomics (ERA-NET SAGE): a consortium of funding agencies in nine countries that aims to develop a durable partnership in genomics policy and practice, along with a transnational research agenda on the ethical, environmental, economic, legal, and social aspects of genomics.
  • The European Research Area Network on New Opportunities for Research Funding Cooperation in Europe: a consortium of 12 national research-funding agencies that have come together to collaborate on funding policies and practices, exchange best practices, and facilitate high-quality international research in the social sciences.
  • The European Research Area and Canada (ERA-CAN) science and technology office: a consortium of eight Canadian federal departments and agencies that will work on improving the quality, quantity, profile and impact of science and technology cooperation and linkages between Canada and the European Union.

In 2007-2008, SSHRC will continue to expand its efforts to develop international collaboration opportunities for Canadian researchers, and to strengthen existing international partnerships and forge new ones. In particular, SSHRC will:

  • Organize the first meeting of an international forum of funding agencies from 20 countries and five continents to exchange information and develop collaborative activities in important policy areas for social sciences and humanities research;
  • Contribute to the organization of thematic workshops and information sessions to enhance collaboration between Canadian and European researchers in the context of ERA-CAN; and
  • With the United Kingdom’s Economic and Social Research Council and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, participate in organizing the June 2007 International Data Forum in Beijing to develop and promote comparable international datasets and improved arrangements for sharing research data between countries.

International collaboration — research level

At the research level, SSHRC promotes international collaboration through several programs that allow for such collaboration: MCRI, INE, Strategic Knowledge Clusters, and Aid to Research Workshops and Conferences in Canada. In addition, SSHRC offers two programs that explicitly target international research collaboration: its own International Opportunities Fund, and the ESF’s BOREAS program.

The International Opportunities Fund was established in 2005 to help researchers from Canadian postsecondary institutions initiate and develop international research collaborations, and to facilitate Canadian participation and leadership in current or planned international research initiatives offering outstanding opportunities to advance Canadian research. Interest in this program has been very strong. Results of the first four competitions demonstrate that Canadian researchers are actively pursuing international collaborative opportunities with researchers from a diverse range of countries on all continents: Europe (37 per cent), South America (18 per cent), Asia and the Middle East (18 per cent), North America (12 per cent), the Pacific region (8 per cent),  Africa  (3 per cent), and Central America and the Caribbean (3 per cent). The overwhelming number of submissions and their quality confirm a need for improved support for international collaborative research opportunities.

BOREAS: Histories from the North — Environments, Movements, Narratives — is a program developed in collaboration with the ESF and national research funding agencies from eight other countries. The program’s objective is to develop and run an interdisciplinary humanities research program focused on the circumpolar north. Of the seven BOREAS projects ultimately approved by the ESF, six involve Canadian researchers, a fact that reflects Canada’s research strengths in this area. All of the teams involve researchers from a minimum of three of the main sponsoring countries (Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United States). SSHRC’s investment in the program is $918,640 over four years.

In 2007-2008, SSHRC will move forward with its strategy for international collaboration by:

  • expanding its efforts to develop international collaboration opportunities for Canadian researchers;
  • funding Canadian participation in international research initiatives;
  • maintaining existing and forging new international partnerships; and
  • exploring ways to promote the international mobility of doctoral students.

International Polar Year

The International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 is an international initiative to focus major scientific research and observations and other activities on the Arctic and Antarctic regions. IPY activities in Canada will be linked with activities in other polar regions through partnerships with as many as 50 other countries.

In 2005-2006, SSHRC, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and CIHR worked with other federal departments and agencies, such as Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, to launch Canada’s program on the IPY. Over the course of 2006-2007, peer decisions were reached on how to distribute about $90 million in IPY research funds allocated by the federal government for research under the themes of climate change adaptation and the health and well-being of Northern communities.

SSHRC will continue to provide advice in support of the Canadian IPY program, placing emphasis on efforts to maximize research participation by Northern communities and Northern indigenous peoples in the funded IPY projects. SSHRC will continue to support research and related activities in the social sciences and humanities that are relevant to the IPY (such as through the Northern Research Development Program and BOREAS). SSHRC will also continue to support the operation of the Canadian IPY Secretariat at the University of Alberta.

The social and economic aspects of building a hydrogen economy

In October 2006, the University of Western Ontario and SSHRC held a joint conference on building paths to a low-carbon society. This was the second in a series of events looking at the social and economic aspects of a societal transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources of energy. The conference followed an initial workshop at the University of Victoria in October 2005. In 2007-2008, SSHRC will work with a network of five universities and various public and private sector partners to develop a set of research and public consultation activities on a hydrogen-based, low-carbon economy. The activities will likely have domestic and international components and directly involve industry, citizen groups, academic researchers and provincial governments. The key objective is to investigate and determine the social, economic, legal and cultural dimensions of more effectively integrating low-carbon energy carriers and sources into the Canadian economy.

Policy Research Initiative—SSHRC Policy Research Roundtables

In October 2006, SSHRC renewed its partnership with the Policy Research Initiative for two more years of joint activities to foster excellence in policy research and facilitate the transfer of knowledge between academic researchers and Ottawa’s policy community. The current agreement will mainly support a third major symposium on population, work and family. The work will involve three Strategic Knowledge Clusters (see “Strategic Knowledge Clusters” in 2.3.1) funded by SSHRC: Canadian Labour Market; Population Change and Public Policy Research; and Bringing all the Threads Together: The Contribution of Longitudinal and Life-Course Approach to Knowledge, Informed Public Debate and Decision Making.

2.3 Knowledge Mobilization: The Transfer, Dissemination and Use of Knowledge

2.3.1 Research Communication and Interaction

Table 9: Research Communication and Interaction


Research Communication and Interaction

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

Financial Resources

$22.4 million

$22.4 million

$22.4 million

Human Resources

17 FTE

17 FTE

17 FTE


Research — and the creation of new knowledge and capacity through research — produces direct and indirect social, economic and cultural benefits to Canadians. These benefits are achieved largely by mobilizing, disseminating, transferring and applying research-based knowledge. In fact, effectively mobilizing knowledge and applying research results are as essential as the research itself. Examples include improvements to public and private services (such as education), infrastructure (such as through urban planning), policies (such as immigration), and practices and procedures (such as alternative dispute resolution), as well as the development and refinement of broad analytical concepts (such as productivity) and a better understanding of key challenges for Canada, both at the national and international levels.

In June 2006, SSHRC’s governing council discussed a framework for knowledge mobilization as a critical part of SSHRC’s transformation to a knowledge council. A key objective in this is to embed knowledge mobilization in the Council’s organizational culture as a fundamental value and major orientation. SSHRC will work on defining the responsibilities of Grants and Fellowships Branch and Partnerships Branch managers and staff for knowledge mobilization and the diverse skills, competencies and training related to or relevant for knowledge mobilization.

Knowledge Impact in Society

SSHRC will further develop its role as a “national facilitator” for 11 three-year demonstration projects hosted by universities funded in 2006 under the Knowledge Impact in Society (KIS) one-time pilot program. As facilitator, SSHRC promotes and helps with knowledge mobilization and knowledge exchange among participating institutions. SSHRC expects to learn about and help apply best practices across funded projects to enhance the use and application of research-based knowledge. It will do this by promoting networking activities for the 11 KIS projects, such as annual workshops and an online discussion forum.

Strategic Knowledge Clusters

A cornerstone of the Council’s new strategic vision, “clustering” of research efforts promotes research interaction and knowledge mobilization. Following a pilot program in 2004, the Council launched an ongoing Strategic Knowledge Clusters program in 2006. This program calls on the research community to identify key research areas, issues and topics that would benefit from improved networking and communications — both among researchers, and between researchers and those in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors who use research knowledge to address important issues. The program, which funds networking activities as opposed to research activities, is designed to promote key aspects of the Council’s new strategic thrust — strengthening connections among researchers and between researchers and users of research, creating innovative research training environments, and promoting and showcasing Canadian research strengths internationally. In 2007-2008, SSHRC intends to fund an additional seven clusters.

Aid to Research and Transfer Journals

Responding to changes in the world of academic communication, particularly in the adoption of electronic publication and open-access business models, SSHRC is updating its Aid to Research and Transfer Journals program. SSHRC will expand the program eligibility to include open-access journals, and will allocate funding to support the dissemination of top-quality scholarship. The changes will be implemented over 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.

SSHRC will also continue to support the dissemination of research results and the mobilization of knowledge through its programs for scholarly publications, workshops and conferences, and associations. SSHRC will also continue building, maintaining and enhancing interdisciplinary national networks of researchers through the tri-agency Networks of Centres of Excellence program.

2.4 Institutional Environment: A Strong Canadian Research Environment

2.4.1 Indirect Costs of Research

Table 10: Indirect Costs of Research


Indirect Costs of Research

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

Financial Resources

$300.1 million

$300.1 million

$300.1 million

Human Resources

4 FTE

4 FTE

4 FTE


Indirect Costs Program

In the last decade, the Government of Canada has made significant investments in Canadian research through the activities of the three granting agencies and Genome Canada, Canada Research Chairs, and the Canada Foundation of Innovation. Universities have benefited greatly from this increased funding, but, at the same time, they have seen their operating costs increase substantially. The federal government has taken steps to lighten this financial burden by establishing the Indirect Costs Program. Budget 2006 announced that $40 million would be added to the $260-million-per-annum Indirect Costs Program, which supports about 140 eligible universities, colleges, and affiliated research hospitals and health research institutes.

The key goal of the Indirect Costs Program is to help eligible institutions pay a portion of the indirect costs — such as library acquisitions, maintenance of research databases, and financial administration services for research — associated with conducting federally supported academic research. The government’s contribution to defraying these costs helps maintain a sustainable and competitive research environment for recipient institutions. It also helps smaller post-secondary institutions, which cannot benefit from the economies of scale realized by larger universities, in their efforts to increase their research capacity.

The program’s priorities are set out in its terms and conditions and reflect the federal government’s commitment to research, and to an infrastructure that supports a vibrant and well-equipped research environment. Eligible institutions are awarded grants based on their research performance within each federal granting agency. The institutions establish their own priorities and determine internally how the grant will be allocated.

In 2007-2008, SSHRC, on behalf of the three agencies, will launch an overall program evaluation of the Indirect Costs Program, to be completed in May 2009. In preparation for that review, the program will improve its performance management by updating its annual outcomes report and validating the information it contains. The program will also develop and implement a protocol for paying monitoring visits to ensure that participating institutions are complying with program objectives.