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Government of Canada is strengthening research and innovation across Canada
CNW Group
5 min read
Funding provides support for new and renewed Canada Research Chairs, excellence in research equity and indirect costs of research.
OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 14, 2024 /CNW/ - Investing in Canada's world-class postsecondary institutions and their teams of diverse researchers leads to groundbreaking discoveries and innovations. It encourages researchers to dig deeper and build on the knowledge that informs and influences public policies across the health, environmental, economic and social sectors in Canada and beyond.
Today, Yasir Naqvi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced that the government is investing more than $638 million in science and research funding.
More than $452 million will be distributed through the Research Support Fund (RSF) to ensure researchers and institutions are equipped to address new demands in the current research environment and compete on a global scale. Funded projects will namely:
create eco-responsible platforms to reduce the environmental impacts of research activities
establish digital tools to support research and cybersecurity
support inclusive and Indigenous research.
Over $182 million will support 224 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs. This funding will allow researchers to advance essential knowledge in areas such as Black and racialized people's health, emergency responses to the opioid overdose epidemic, wearable brain injury sensing technologies, changes in the Great Lakes ecosystems, and more.
As a Canada Research Chairs Program partner, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is also committing more than $3.3 million to support 17 research infrastructure projects at 12 institutions through its John R. Evans Leaders Fund.
Finally, $300,000 will be distributed among the three recipients of the 2023 Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity. The recipients will each receive $100,000 to help them advance their bold and game-changing initiatives that spark change and address systemic barriers within and beyond their postsecondary institutions.
As part of Budget 2024, the government unveiled a package of measures worth over $4.6 billion to strengthen Canadian research and innovation. With these investments, researchers and institutions are empowered to solve the world's biggest challenges and pave the way for a more prosperous and sustainable future for everyone.
Quotes
"By supporting our world-class postsecondary institutions and their diverse teams of researchers, we're fueling the innovations that drive progress and competitiveness. This funding not only strengthens science and discoveries but also informs public policy, fosters equity, and ensures Canada remains at the forefront of global issues like health, the environment, and social justice." —François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
"Canada's researchers continue to pave the way and lead on solutions to some of the world's most complex problems. Today's investment in our researchers and the postsecondary institutions that host them will foster groundbreaking discoveries, address systemic barriers, and lead to social and economic benefits that impact Canadians today, as well as future generations." —Ted Hewitt, Chair, Tri-agency Institutional Programs Steering Committee; and President, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
"With this funding, the CFI is strengthening Canada's ability to attract and retain top researchers. The John R. Evans Leaders Fund helps build and outfit the vital spaces in postsecondary institutions where these bright minds are making discoveries and driving innovations that improve lives." —Sylvain Charbonneau, President and CEO, Canada Foundation for Innovation
Quick Facts
The RSF helps Canadian postsecondary institutions with the indirect costs associated with managing their research enterprise and maintaining a world-class research environment. Of the $452 million investmentin the RSF, more than $369 million will be distributed between 153 institutions.
In terms of the rest of the RSF funding, $58 million will be provided through the Fund's Incremental Project Grants (IPGs), and nearly $25 million will be dedicated to research security.
The IPG stream of the RSF provides further support for the indirect costs of research, while supporting projects across five IPG priority areas. The $58 million investment will go to 33 institutions across four IPG priority areas: innovation and commercialization activities; facilities renewal, including deferred maintenance; information resources, including digital resources, open access and databases; and equity, diversity and faculty renewal (in the context of equity, diversity and inclusion).
Research Security is the fifth priority area of the IPG stream. It helps build capacity within eligible postsecondary institutions to identify, assess and mitigate potential risks to research security. The $25 million investment will go to 51 institutions.
As part of Budget 2024, the Government of Canada is providing an additional $353.6 million over five years, and $149.7 million ongoing, to the Incremental Project Grants stream of the Research Support Fund, starting in 2024-25. This funding offsets indirect costs associated with increased direct research funding.
The Canada Research Chairs Program invests up to $311 million annually to attract and retain some of the world's most promising and accomplished researchers. The program aims to advance research that leads to groundbreaking discoveries and innovations across health, engineering, sciences, social sciences and humanities.
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) invests in research infrastructure at Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions, equipping researchers with the tools they need to be global leaders. Through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund, the CFI supports the research infrastructure Canada Research Chairs need to conduct their work.
The Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity is designed for institutions eligible for the Canada research Chair Program to invite eligible faculty members or a team of eligible faculty members who lead bold and potentially game-changing initiatives that challenge the status quo, spark change and take action to address persistent systemic barriers in the research ecosystem and academia.
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), through its Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat, administers all of the above programs on behalf of Canada's three federal research funding agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and SSHRC.
