ARCHIVED - Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council - Report

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Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome 1.0: Canada is a world leader in social sciences and humanities research and research training

Program Activity 1.1: Talent: attraction, retention and development of students and researchers in the social sciences and humanities

Program Activity Description

This program provides support to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the form of fellowships, and to researchers in postsecondary institutions in the form of grants that cover salary and the direct costs of research. This program is necessary in order to attract, retain and develop talent in the social sciences and humanities, to cultivate leaders within academia and across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, and to build centres of world-class research excellence at Canadian postsecondary institutions. The program brands Canada as a top destination for research and research training.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
178.1	178.1	178.1

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
40	40	40

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
SSHRC-funded scholarship and fellowship recipients are employed in positions of leadership, research, management, etc. in Canada and internationally	Employment rates of SSHRC-funded scholarship and fellowship recipients by degree and sector	85 per cent Master's, 85 per cent Doctoral, 90 per cent Postdoctoral by 2014-15
Canada builds research excellence and research capacity by attracting, developing and retaining world-class social sciences and humanities researchers in Canadian institutions	Proportion of social sciences and humanities Chairs awarded to Canadian, returning expatriate, and foreign candidates	75 per cent Canadians, 12.5 per cent expatriates, 25 per cent foreigners by 2012-13
	Proportion of SSHRC Talent-funded researchers receiving Canadian and/or international recognition or prizes	5 per cent by 2017-18

Planning Highlights

• Begin implementing changes to the Talent suite of funding opportunities. Proposed changes include implementing an achievement reporting system for Talent awardees, expanding the partnership funding opportunities to allow submission of proposals for research training partnerships, and making changes to the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships (value, eligibility and training plan requirements).
• Complete the first phase and launch the second phase of the application process for 10 new Canada Excellence Research Chairs announced in Budget 2011.
• Complete the tri-agency evaluation of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program (led by CIHR).
• Work with the other federal research granting agencies to further harmonize the Canada Graduate Scholarships program.
  

Program Activity 1.2: Insight: new knowledge in the social sciences and humanities

Program Activity Description

This program provides grants to support research in the social sciences and humanities conducted by scholars and researchers working as individuals, in teams and in formal partnerships among the academic, public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors and to support the building of institutional research capacity. This program is necessary to build knowledge and understanding about people, societies and the world, as well as to inform the search for solutions to societal challenges.

The objectives of the program are to build knowledge and understanding from disciplinary, interdisciplinary and/or cross-sector perspectives; support new approaches to research on complex and important topics; provide a high-quality research training experience for students; mobilize research knowledge to and from academic and non-academic audiences; and build institutional research capacity. Research supported by the program has the potential to lead to intellectual, cultural, social and economic influence, benefit and impact, and increased institutional research capacity. International research initiatives that offer outstanding opportunities to advance Canadian research are encouraged. Partnerships can include both Canadian and international partners from academic institutions and Canadian partners from public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
130.1	130.1	130.1

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
37	37	37

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
SSHRC funds excellent social sciences and humanities researchers/new scholars	Number of research projects cited for Canadian and/or international recognition or prizes	100 by 2012-13
Creation of new/enhanced research knowledge	Average number of research contributions per grant (e.g., peer-reviewed articles, presentations, speeches)	14 by 2012-13
Additional funding is leveraged to advance research, build capacity and increase intersectoral understanding among partners	Ratio of actual financial contributions leveraged from formal Partnerships grants compared to SSHRC funding	0:35:1 ($) by 2012-13

Planning Highlights

• Implement the framework for the identification of future challenges for Canada to which the social sciences and humanities research community could contribute.
• In collaboration with NSERC and CIHR, as appropriate, develop and update SSHRC’s policies on research outputs, including SSHRC’s Open Access and Research Data Archiving policies.
• In collaboration with federal departments, fund research on pressing questions of importance to Canadians, including through the Kanishka Project on global security.
• Support research activities related to the digital economy.

Program Activity 1.3: Connection: mobilization of social sciences and humanities knowledge

Program Activity Description

This program provides funding (grants and operational) to support the multidirectional flow, exchange and co-creation of knowledge in the social sciences and humanities among researchers and diverse groups of policy-makers, business leaders, community groups, educators and the media working as individuals, in teams, in formal partnerships and in networks. This program is necessary to help stimulate leading-edge, internationally competitive research in areas critical to Canada, build multisectoral partnerships and accelerate the use of multidisciplinary research results by organizations that can harness them for Canadian economic and social development. The program increases the availability and use of social sciences and humanities research knowledge among academic and non-academic audiences; supports the building of reciprocal relationships, networks and tools designed to facilitate scholarly work; and makes such networks and tools more accessible to non-academic audiences. The funding opportunities offered in this program are intended to complement activities funded through the Talent and Insight programs.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
30.6	30.6	30.6

Human Resources (FTEs)

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

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Partners and researchers benefit from linkages and mobilizing knowledge within and across their respective sectors	Proportion of researchers and partners indicating their partnership to be “quite successful” (≥4 on a 5-point scale)	60 per cent by 2012-13
Additional funding is leveraged to mobilize knowledge in social sciences and humanities	Ratio of actual financial contributions leveraged from Connection grants compared to SSHRC funding	0:35:1 ($) by 2012-13

Planning Highlights

• Launch new Connection funding opportunities.
• Marshal Canadian and international knowledge on investing in higher education research and development (HERD) to inform the evolution of Canadian S&T and innovation policy.
• Complete the summative evaluation of knowledge mobilization activities.

Strategic Outcome 2.0: Canada has the institutional capacity to enable research and research-related activities in social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering and health

Program Activity 2.1: Indirect Costs of Research

Program Activity Description

This program provides support to institutions in the form of grants in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health. This program is necessary to build institutional capacity for the conduct of research and research-related activities to maximize the investment of publicly funded academic research. This program helps to offset the central and departmental administrative costs that institutions incur in supporting research, which are not attributable to specific research projects, such as lighting and heating, maintenance of libraries, laboratories and research networking spaces, or for the technical support required for an institution's website or library computer system, ultimately helping researchers concentrate on cutting-edge discoveries and scholarship excellence, and ensuring that federally funded research projects are conducted in world-class facilities with the best equipment and administrative support available. The program is administered by the SSHRC-hosted Canada Research Chairs Secretariat on behalf of the three research granting agencies.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
332.8	332.8	332.8

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
4	4	4

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Universities and colleges have the necessary resources to host world-class research and enable knowledge mobilization	Proportion of institutions reporting maintained or improved capacity to support research activities by providing: management and administration services research resources (such as libraries) research facilities regulatory compliance intellectual property management	80 per cent by 2017-18

Planning Highlights

• Complete the consultation on baseline metrics indicators (three categories of expenditures) and launch data collection.

3.1: Internal Services

Program Activity Description

Internal Services provide support to the organization as whole in the form of operation and maintenance funds. They are necessary to support the delivery of programs and other corporate obligations. Internal Services include activities such as resource management, governance and asset management that apply across the organization, rather than those that support a specific program.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
16.6	16.6	16.6

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
105	105	105

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Effective management frameworks (policies, processes and controls) for all activities and resources that apply across the organization	Treasury Board Secretariat’s Management Accountability Framework (MAF) rating for the Area of Management # 3—Effectiveness of the Corporate Management Structure	“Acceptable” MAF rating in 2013
	MAF rating for the Area of Management # 12—Effectiveness of Information Management	“Acceptable” MAF rating in 2013
	MAF rating for the Area of Management # 17—Effectiveness of Financial Management and Control	“Acceptable” MAF rating in 2013

Planning Highlights

• Launch SSHRC’s 2013-16 strategic plan.
• Pilot new grants management and achievement reporting systems.
• Participate in the shared services initiative for small departments and agencies.
• Launch and implement a new policy for Part VII (section 41) of the Official Languages Act related to official language minority communities.
• Enhance peer/merit review processes and improve the recruitment, retention and recognition of reviewers.
• Implement a values and ethics code and a code of conduct.
• Implement an accreditation framework for the delegation of management authorities.

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