Organization: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Pressure grows to increase support for fundamental research, tie funding levels to demand

Canada’s support for fundamental research has fallen by a third between 2005 and 2015, but many in the Canadian research community are concerned the federal government doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to take action. The deterioration in federal support — occurring over a period closely corresponding to the decade in which the government of Stephen Harper was in power — witnessed a major swing in funding from fundamental to applied research, with 40% of researchers reporting a similar shift in their focus.

R$ talks with Dr. Rebecca Keiser — NSF international chief pursues new collaborations with Canada

President Donald Trump intention to slash key areas of his government’s research spending is inadvertently providing an incentive for new research collaborations between the United States and Canada.
The president’s fiscal 2018 budget, unveiled earlier this year, proposed massive cuts for climate science, medical research and energy projects across government, including major granting organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency. Despite a reprieve in early May when Congress voted to mostly maintain current budgets for the rest of 2017, it’s uncertain whether the axe can be avoided again in 2018.

Basic science needs better oversight and coordination, and more money: Expert panel

R$ talks to David Naylor

A federally commissioned blue-chip panel calling for greater coherence and financial support for fundamental research has made a series of 35 recommendations, including a $1.3-billion increase in the budgets of the three granting councils, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and related entities over the next four years.

New funding boosts Queen Elizabeth Scholars program

The Queen Elizabeth Scholars (QES) program has issued a call for new applicants of advanced scholars, fuelled by a $12.5 million expansion of the program. The new funding is being provided by the International Development Research Centre ($10 million) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ($2.5 million). The aim of the program is…

CRC steering committee calls for greater equity

The steering committee of the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program is calling on participating universities to do more to address the under representation of women, Aboriginal people, the disabled and visible minorities when making their nominations for new chairholders. A letter was sent to university presidents and signed by Dr Ted Hewitt, president of the…

SSHRC community social innovation pilot awards $6M

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council is providing $6 million to 27 research projects at colleges and polytechnics across Canada. The pilot Community and College Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) is part of SSHRC’s Insight funding stream. It will dispense $15 million to support projects with funding of up to $200,000 over one to three…

SSHRC announces Partnership Grant recipients

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has finally announced the results of its latest Partnership Grants (PG) and Partnership Development Grants (PDG). The granting council is investing $44 million in 15 PGs and 57 PDGs with the largest grant ($2.9 million) going to the Univ of Toronto‘s Creating Digital Opportunity project (see page…

NCE releases impact of federal Budget cuts

The Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program has received a 16.6% reduction in its budget over the next two years as a result of austerity measures announced in the last federal Budget. The cuts apply only to the traditional or academic-led NCEs and will result in fewer new NCEs being approved in the future.…

SSHRC funds 95 public outreach projects

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has awarded $6.3 million to 95 public outreach research projects to disseminate, transfer, exchange and synthesize results of social and cultural research to wider audiences. The grants were made under SSHRC’s Public Outreach Grants program as a way to inform policy makers, public organizations, private and not-for-profit…

AUCC seeks targeted funding increases in next Budget

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) is making a series of recommendations for increased federal investments in the granting councils, international collaboration and expanding access for Aboriginal Canadians. The recommendations were contained in its pre-Budget submission to Finance minister James Flaherty. Among the recommendations, AUCC is requesting a 4% increase to the…