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Research Support Fund

Public Acknowledgment

Body: 

Every year, the Government of Canada invests in research excellence in the areas of health sciences, engineering, natural sciences, social sciences and humanities through its three granting agencies: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The Research Support Fund (RSF) reinforces this research investment by helping institutions ensure that their federally funded research projects are conducted in world-class facilities with the best equipment and administrative support available. 

Eligible institutions receive an annual grant through the RSF to help pay for a portion of the central and departmental administrative costs related to federally funded research, also known as the indirect costs of research. These are the operational costs that underpin the university's research activities which are not attributable to specific research projects. Examples of such costs include, but are not limited to, heating, lighting, ethics reviews, facilities for animals used in research, management of intellectual property, environmental assessment and safety compliance 1.

Institutions have flexibility in deciding how to use their grant, provided that the funds are used for the payment of current expenditures of indirect costs attributed to federally sponsored research that falls within the following five categories:

  1. Research facilities; 
  2. Research resources; 
  3. Management and administration of an institution's research enterprise; 
  4. Regulatory requirements and accreditation; and 
  5. Intellectual property and Knowledge mobilization. 

The amount of Laurentian University’s grant is calculated using an algorithm based on the amount of funding awarded in the previous fiscal year by federal granting agencies to Laurentian University and affiliated researchers. According to this calculation, in 2023-2024, Laurentian will receive a grant of $1,971,060 which will be allocated in the five categories as explained below. 

 Expenditure Categories  Amounts ($)     Overall % of Investment 
 Facilities  $660,305

33.5 %
 Intellectual Property & Knowledge Mobilization   $37,450

1.9 %
 Management & Administration   $626,797 

31.8 %
 Resources   $482,910 

24.5 %
 Regulatory Requirement and Accreditation   $163,598

8.3 %

Laurentian invests funds in facilities to support and maintain laboratories and other research spaces across campus. These funds help ensure that researchers can rely on a research space where they can discover and innovate. 

A significant portion of the grant is allocated to research resources to ensure that up to date, relevant materials are available to support research and training at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels. Maintaining a library is at the very core of an institution as it is a repository of knowledge and an academic foundation for the research enterprise. 

Management and administration funds support salaries and benefits of staff in the Office of Research Services and in the Financial Services Office. These teams are central services that facilitate and administer, pre- and post-award functions supporting research initiatives. 

Regulatory requirements and accreditation funds support Animal Care Certification and Research Ethics staff to proactively meet compliance issues. These efforts help minimize risk to researchers and to the University, and help ensure that research funds are used only on projects that meet regulatory and other compliance guidelines. 

Funds expended on the management of intellectual property allow for the successful execution of contracts and agreements when working with sponsored research and industry.

Consult grant allocations for previous years by clicking here.

Laurentian University Outcomes for 2022-2023 

Eligible Expenditure Category 

Output

Institutional 
Performance 
Objective

Performance
Indicator 

Target Outcome 

Anticipated Outcomes Reported at Year-End

Outcomes

1. Facilities 

Invest a portion of the RSF grant to maintain research laboratories to support new and ongoing research.

Maintain current research laboratory space by maintaining laboratories to support new and ongoing research.

Number of laboratories
maintained in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2023.

No decrease in usable laboratory space due to lack of maintenance.

Number of laboratories 
maintained in FY 2022-2023, compared to 2021-2022.

No decrease inusable laboratory
space due to
lack
of maintenance.

2. Resources 

Invest a portion of the RSF to support library resources.

Continue to support library research 
holdings and 
subscriptions.

Same proportion of the RSF funding 
contributed to library resources as in FY 2021-2022.

Same level of support to the library from the RSF compared to FY 2021-2022.

Number of library research holdings and subscriptions in FY 2022-2023 compared to 2021-2022.

Same level of support to the library from the RSF in FY 2022-2023 compared to FY 2021-2022.

3. Management and 
administration of an institution’s research 
enterprise

Invest a portion of the RSF grant to improve research administration support by enhancement to the ROMEO system and additional training for research services staff.

Improve service supports for researchers uploading applications to ROMEO.

Improved user experience with the ROMEO system.

Decreased number of concerns with ROMEO reported to the Office of Research Services (ORS) and Vice-President Research

Improved user experience with ROMEO in FY 2022-2023 compared to FY 2021-2022.

Staff in ORS have improved training and are able to provide improved ROMEO services for researchers.

4. Regulatory Requirements 

Invest a portion of the RSF funding to support the operation of the Research Ethics Board (REB) and the Animal Care Committee (ACC).

Continued support of the REB and the ACC compliance activities.

Same proportion of the RSF funding 
contributed to
maintenance of support to the REB and the ACC as in FY 2021-2022.

No decrease in support to the REB and ACC compared to FY 2021-2022.

Level of support for the REB and the ACC in FY 2022-2023 compared to FY 2021-2022.

No decrease in 
support to the REB and ACC in FY 2022-2023 compared to FY 2021-2022.

5. Intellectual Property and Knowledge Mobilization

Invest a portion of the RSF funding to support intellectual property (IP) management and partnership 
development.

Sustain capacity to provide IP management and partnership 
development.

Number of private and public sector partnered projects and partnerships.

Increase in private and public sector partnered projects and partnerships over FY 2021-2022.

Number of private and public sector partnered projects and partnerships in FY 2022-2023 compared to FY 2021-2022.

Resources maintained to support IP management and partnership development. 

Consult outcomes for previous years by clicking here.

Laurentian University Performance Goals 2023-2024 
 

Eligible Expenditure Category 

Output

Institutional 
Performance 
Objective

Performance 
Indicator 

Target Outcome 

Anticipated Outcomes Reported at Year-End

1. Facilities 

Invest a portion of the RSF grant to maintain research facilities 
that support new and ongoing research.

Maintaining research facilities to support new and ongoing research.

Number of research facilities
maintained in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024.

No decrease in usable research facility space due to lack of 
maintenance.

Number of research facilities
maintained in FY 2023-2024, compared to FY 2022-2023.

2. Resources 

Invest a portion of the RSF to support library resources.

Continue to support library research
holdings and subscriptions.

Same proportion of the RSF funding contributed to library resources as in FY 2022-2023.

Same level of support to the library from the RSF compared to FY 2022-2023.

Same proportion of the RSF funding contributed to library resources in FY 2023-2024 as in FY 2022-2023.

3. Management and administration
of an institution’s research 
enterprise

Invest a portion of the RSF grant to improve research 
administration support, to enhance training of administrative staff and to maintain the Romeo cloud system.

Improve the user experience with the ROMEO system.

Improved service levels of staff in the Office of Research Services (ORS) stemming from additional training on the Romeo system. 

Fewer user complaints with the ROMEO system due to system improvement and service from ORS staff due to additional ROMEO training.  

Fewer user complaints from users of ROMEO in FY 2023-2024 compared to FY 2022-2023.

4. Regulatory Requirements 

Invest a portion of the RSF funding to support the operation of the Research Ethics Board (REB) and the Animal Care Committee (ACC).

Continued support of the REB and the ACC compliance activities.

Same proportion of the RSF funding 
contributed to maintenance of support to the REB and the ACC as in FY 2022-2023.

No decrease in support to the REB and ACC compared to FY 2022-2023.

Level of support for the REB and the ACC in FY 2023-2024 maintained compared to FY 2022-2023.

5. Intellectual Property and Knowledge Mobilization

Invest a portion of the RSF funding to support intellectual property (IP) management, 
partnership development and knowledge mobilization activities.

Sustain capacity to provide IP management and partnership development support. Maintain support for knowledge mobilization activities.

Same proportion of RSF funding to support IP management, partnership development and mobilization activities.

Maintain support for IP management, partnership development and mobilization activities compared to FY 2022-2023.

Level of support maintained in FY 2023-2024 compared to FY 2022-2023 with an increase in the number of knowledge mobilization activities (including education activities and industry outreach).  

Consult outcomes for previous years by clicking here.

In 2022, the Government of Canada introduced new funding through the Research Support Fund (RSF) to further support the activities related to the indirect costs of research security and to support the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships.

Research Security is categorized as a fifth priority area of the Incremental Project Grants (IPGs). These investments are aligned with the RSF’s objectives to help Canadian postsecondary institutions ensure their federally funded research projects are conducted in world-class facilities with the best equipment and administrative support available. By directing funds to specific investments and to annual or multiyear projects initiated by institutions, research security funding will help to build capacity within postsecondary institutions to identify, assess and mitigate the potential risks to research security.

Further information regarding the Research Security grant can be found on the Government of Canada’s website.

In 2023-24, Laurentian University’s notional allocation under the RSF for Research Security is $34,610. With these funds, Laurentian looks to support initiatives that are aimed at implementing the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships. These include the procurement of open-source due diligence software to help research administrators identify and mitigate research security risks related to partnerships, as well as the provision of professional development in the area of research security for research office staff, faculty, and others. 

Project title

Output (investment of research security funds)

Performance objective

Performance indicator

Target outcome

Implementation of the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships

$31,500 invested in the procurement of a software solution that consolidates and automates open-source due diligence searches

Provide research office staff with quick and easy access to basic business information, investigations, and analysis to check if any current or potential research partners are associated with sanctioned or trade-restricted parties, politically exposed persons, or negative/adverse media

 

Standardize screening process, ensuring it is conducted efficiently and ethically

 

Help document and explain findings

Aid in identifying and mitigating research security risks

 

Effectiveness in consolidating and improving aspects of due diligence searches will be evaluated using key performance indicators (KPIs) such as number of processed files, average time on file, and overall report quality. KPIs will 
be analyzed periodically to inform both research administrators and institutional leaders as to the success of the project and whether or not adjustments need to be made in the way the software is leveraged to ensure a maximum return on investment.

Implementation of a software solution into our partnership risk assessment pathway and procedures that allows our research administrators to effectively identify, assess and mitigate the potential risks associated with research security and in particular research partnerships

$3,110 committed to provide research security training for the research office staff, faculty and others

Increase participation and awareness about research security initiatives

Development of a training module on research security

 

Number of staff receiving training

At least 75% of research office staff receiving research security training

 

Training delivered via workshops