At a time when financial markets, technologies and products have become more complex and financial crimes are increasing, Canadian universities can play a critical role in addressing the global shortage of trained experts equipped to tackle these crimes – many of which can impact the most vulnerable such as children, newcomers and elderly.

On Sept. 13, 91��ɫ announced a contribution from Scotiabank that will provide $980,000 to support a variety of initiatives at the Lassonde School of Engineering.

The funding will support research into global financial crimes and computer security, while also providing support for programs that advance equity, diversity and inclusion in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

“91��ɫ is profoundly grateful to Scotiabank for their generous investment of $980,000 in support of the Lassonde School of Engineering. This contribution reflects the shared commitment of 91��ɫ and Scotiabank to supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in science, technology, engineering and math fields and to advancing the groundbreaking work of our researchers in the field of financial crime prevention,” said Rhonda L. Lenton, president and vice-chancellor of 91��ɫ. “In recognition of this substantial investment, the fund that supports critical research in global financial crimes will be named the Scotiabank Lassonde Financial Crimes Research Initiative.”

This innovative research initiative will support the essential work of talented graduate students and advance research areas related to global financial crimes, which include Ponzi schemes, money laundering efforts and cryptocurrency-based crimes, along with other serious areas of crime such as human trafficking, wildlife trafficking, sexual exploitation and drug trafficking. 

“There is a significant shortage of people with the specialized skills and knowledge to do this work,” says , associate professor at the Lassonde School of Engineering. “This research program will also prepare students and emerging scholars for jobs. We are also helping to further promote Toronto as a global financial hub, and providing professionals and expert specialists to the industry locally.”

This work has already shown promise in the real world, says Nguyen.

“This initiative with the Lassonde School of Engineering builds on a long history of collaboration between Scotiabank and 91��ɫ, spanning five decades,” says Stuart Davis, executive vice-president of financial crimes risk management at Scotiabank. “We are thrilled to be working with Lassonde’s students and faculty on leading-edge research to inform techniques used to combat financial crimes risk, while promoting a shared purpose to advance social sustainability goals.”

As part of Scotiabank’s generous investment in activities that advance equity, diversity and inclusion, the Lassonde School of Engineering’s Helen Carswell STEAM Program for Women will also receive support to encourage participation from Grade 10 and 11 students from marginalized neighbourhoods in a unique eight-week program of paid research in the school’s lab, which conducts work related to the United Nations Sustainabile Development Goals. High-school students in the program will work on research projects related to engineering and science under the guidance of undergraduate research assistant mentors, high-school teachers and Lassonde faculty.

As well, Scotiabank will support Lassonde’s Kindergarten to Industry Academy – expanding the K2I Academy to three Greater Toronto Area school boards to further enhance Grade 9 to 12 science and mathematics programs. Lassonde’s K2I Academy is an innovative ecosystem of STEM educators, thought leaders and partners focused on bringing STEM experiences to youth, educators and communities. K2I Academy is working with partners from Kindergarten to industry to dismantle systemic barriers and build sustainable programs that diversify representation in STEM professions.

“These programs are not just about STEM education. It’s social justice work,” says Lisa Cole, director of programming at K2I Academy. “We want to make sure that every student has a chance to explore the subjects before they make a decision about their path of studies. We want them to see the possibilities for their futures and the social impact they can make.”

Deinabo Richard-Koko, a third-year Lassonde student and mentor with the K2I Academy, says the program is unique in that it shows students how to apply their learnings in real time. “Most people say: ‘What does this add to my life? I’m never going to use this again outside the classroom,’ ” says Richard-Koko. “But with the K2I Academy, students can see the real-time application of what they learned. They can actually use it.”

The support from Scotiabank is already having a huge impact on Lassonde’s programs.

“This funding allowed us to make critical enhancements. We were able to purchase materials and resources, like small electronic devices for engineering learning, to help engage students in hands-on learning,” says Cole. “Without this gift, we wouldn’t have the creative space that we need to innovate and develop outreach materials for our students.”

The goal of these initiatives is to remove systemic barriers to access for underrepresented students in STEM and increase student achievement and enrolment in the prerequisite courses needed to enter post-secondary studies in engineering.

“At Lassonde, we know how important it is to support students of all backgrounds,” says , dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering. “That’s why I am pleased we are collaborating with Scotiabank through a shared sense of purpose, determined to equip every student with the skills and values needed to succeed in STEM fields as they work toward a better future.”

The post New partnership to advance fight against global financial crime and support equity, diversity and inclusion in STEM appeared first on Research & Innovation.

This initiative, spearheaded by the  and the Lassonde Research Office, supports the development and enhancement of an inclusive culture at Lassonde and beyond. The funding provides community members with many ways to advance equity, diversity and inclusion, from developing new recruitment strategies and funding EDI training to supporting faculty members during parental leaves and life events.

There are two funding categories available as part of the EDI fund. The first aims to improve work-life balance and support faculty members who are new parents, caregivers or going through extraordinary life events. The second category is meant to support initiatives that strive to catalyze change and create a diverse and inclusive environment at Lassonde.

“Different backgrounds and experiences provide a wide range of perspectives which strengthen our educational and research missions aimed towards making a positive impact on a global scale,” said Jane Goodyer, dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering. “By introducing new EDI funding that supports initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion within our community, we can create a cultural change within our school and beyond. Our work can help create systemic change in academia and in the workforce.”

Equity, diversity and inclusion are a key priority for the school, with the EDI Sub-Committee and the  acting as key drivers over the past years in implementing initiatives and programs that can create a systemic change within the school and across the education system.

This EDI fund is meant to empower students, faculty and staff to make a difference and pave the way to a more equitable future for all. With this fund, students, faculty and staff have the freedom to design their own initiatives, get creative, and find ways to think outside the box to make the school a more diverse and inclusive space. Community members can also use this funding towards training opportunities to enhance their EDI knowledge and credentials.

For more information about the funding categories and application instructions, visit .

The post New Lassonde EDI fund supports initiatives that reduce barriers and promote equity, diversity and inclusion appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Farah Ahmad

“The goal is to improve the mental health of students, in relation to experiences of stress, anxiety or depression through a supportive online community,” says Professor from the School of Health Policy & Management. El Morr, Professor of the School of Health Policy & Management and Professor of the School of Kinesiology & Health Science are the principal investigators for the study.

“We aim to develop a student-centred virtual platform to meaningfully engage them in learning about available resources, self-help modules and mindfulness practice,” said Ahmad.

As Ritvo points out: “Online mindfulness programs have been demonstrated to have mental health benefits equal to in-person programs.”

The researchers think more students may seek help online now as many are reluctant to pursue in-person help because of the stigma associated with mental health problems.

“I am excited to see Canadian ingenuity at work to support the health of Canadians. These projects have the potential to make high quality mental health services more available to the young Canadians who need them, and they are also making great strides for the delivery of increased home care services. We have the talent, the intelligence and the passion in Canada to make the field of eHealth one of our (many) strengths,” said the Minister of Health Jane Philpott.

Paul Ritvo

The 91��ɫ team will conduct a randomized controlled trial, recruiting 600 students over three semesters at 91��ɫ. The students will be divided into three groups. The first will use a MVC platform for two weeks; the second, an eight-week, in-person group-based mindfulness program using cognitive behavioural therapy; and the third will be placed in a wait-list control group. The researchers will compare the groups for impact on mental health, engagement and costs.

“Through this funding, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research is helping our researchers grow their innovative research programs and contribute to scientific knowledge that will lead to improved health resources for students,” said Robert Haché, vice-president research & innovation.

Funding for the project is part of CIHR’s Youth and Adolescent Mental Health priority area of eHealth Innovation Partnership Program (eHIPP), developed by the CIHR in collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program. Philpott and the Minister of Innovation, Science, & Economic Development Navdeep Singh Bains announced $13.8M for 22 innovative ehealth projects on Friday, March 5.

91��ɫ will conduct the research with information technology partner and several partner organizations.

Christo El Morr

“A Mindfulness Virtual Community would incorporate key elements of online student-to-professional group meetings, moderated peer discussion and mental health education,” said El Morr.

Students can access an online community and resources at any time. “The ultimate goal is to help students adopt health-enhancing behaviours that reduce needs for psychiatric and clinical counselling services,” said Ritvo.

In addition, the MVC model is expected to reduce pressures from an overburdened health-care system and cut wait times for help, said Ahmad.

The team hypothesizes that the MVC and group-based mindfulness groups will be similar in terms of reductions in mental distress, but the former will likely be less costly.  These methods are complementary, and in combination, could be less costly than traditional specialists’ services. In the next phase of the project, the team hopes to conduct a multi-campus, national trial.

For more information on MVC, visit the website.

The post 91��ɫ U team receives close to $1M in funding for mental-health care virtual community for students appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Now, with the introduction of an industry liaison manager and a commercialization manager to the unit, in addition to the existing research agreement staff, Innovation 91��ɫ is better able to develop relationships with companies at a much earlier stage in the research process in order to effectively facilitate research collaborations and the negotiation of agreement terms.

As the commercialization and industry liaison office for 91��ɫ, Innovation 91��ɫ offers services to faculty, trainees and industry within four service streams: agreements, industry liaison, commercialization, and entrepreneurship and start-up acceleration. Within the agreements stream, Innovation 91��ɫ manages the agreement process on behalf of researchers and 91��ɫ in order to effectively facilitate research projects and commercialize innovation.

Through the agreements stream, Innovation 91��ɫ works with the Office of the Counsel to negotiate with third parties in order to protect the researchers right to publish, protect confidential information, protect researchers from liability, clarify intellectual property rights for researchers and their students and ensure that the collaboration is aligned with university policies.

The number of research agreements at the University is on the rise. In 2006, 91��ɫ facilitated 226 research agreements compared to 348 in 2011. To date in 2012, 356 research agreements have been completed and $28 million in research funding has been transferred to 91��ɫ through research agreements managed by Innovation 91��ɫ.

“The increase in the number of research agreements at 91��ɫ is a good indication of the growth in research activity,” said Robert Haché (right), 91��ɫ’s vice-president research & innovation.  “We are seeing a larger number of faculty members who are receiving funding and working in collaboration with external partners.  Innovation 91��ɫ is committed to helping researchers facilitate these agreements, through its suite of comprehensive services.”

Agreements enable the receipt and transfer of funding, the sharing of research materials, data, and confidential information, participation in collaborative research projects, partnering with commercialization organizations and out-licensing innovations to industry.

The majority of the agreements executed by the Innovation 91��ɫ agreements stream are funding agreements, bringing money into the University for research projects. Of those funding agreements the following was the breakdown of funding sources for 2011:

Research agreements may be warranted when researchers want to send material to an external party, send information or data to an external party, send money to an external partner for participation in a research project (excluding the transfer of tri-council grant funding, which is completed by the Grants & Applications unit in the ORS), have a confidential conversation, or collaborate with another researcher or research partner.

For more information, contact Sarah Howe, director of Innovation 91��ɫ at showe@yorku.ca or ext. 20579.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin to research stories on the research website.

The post Innovation 91��ɫ builds suite of services to support growth in research agreements appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The important role of basic research for society and how it is funded are at the heart of a special lecture titled, "Funding Basic Research, Promoting Excellence, and Building Trust", which will be delivered at 91��ɫ by Professor Helmut Schwarz, the president of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and a leading international researcher in the field of molecular chemistry. This special lecture will be presented Oct. 31, from 3 to 4pm in the Senate Chamber, 940 North Ross Building.

Helmut Schwarz 

Schwarz will argue that publicly financed, fundamental research is neither a luxury nor a subsidy, but a cultural achievement and, as such, marks the starting point of every single value-added chain. In his comments, Schwarz will also reflect on the funding principles and core mission of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation – the funding of individuals rather than projects, the emphasis on individual excellence and academic freedom. He will argue that more campaigning on behalf of the individual researcher is needed to support genuinely high-risk endeavors that are necessary for groundbreaking research.

Schwarz holds a research chair in organic chemistry at the Technische Universität Berlin.

Schwarz’s visit also marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of 91��ɫ’s Centre for Research in Mass Spectrometry laboratory space on the second floor of the Chemisty Building, which he helped to celebrate 10 years ago at 91��ɫ.  A private roundtable discussion will be held in honour of this event and attended by Schwarz and the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany Sabine Sparwasser.

91��ɫ’s Centre for Research in Mass Spectrometry promotes and organizes research collaboration with other universities, hospitals, government institutes, such as , Ontario Centre of Excellence INC, ISTPCanada Incorporated, and the , and industries, such as , YESBiotech  and Concept 2 Clinic. Research in mass spectrometry has become an increasingly important and multi-disciplinary scientific activity world-wide.

“91��ɫ is delighted to host  Professor Helmut Schwarz, President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Institut für Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin and pleased that Sabine Sparwasser, consul general of the Federal Republic of Germany will also be joining us at this visit to mark this special occasion,” said Robert Haché, vice-president research & Innovation. “We look forward to the continued development of collaborative research initiatives and to strengthening the ties between 91��ɫ and research institutions in Germany.”

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants research fellowships and research awards to researchers from around the world, allowing them to conduct research with collaborative partners in Germany. All researchers sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation become life-long members of the international “Humboldt Network”. Support from the foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time researching in Germany. The Humboldt Network numbers more than 25,000 Humboldtians from all disciplines in over 130 countries worldwide - including 49 Nobel Laureates.

This lecture is sponsored by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation and the Faculty of Science & Engineering. It is free and open to University community members. Seating is limited, so arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin to research stories on the research website.

The post Special lecture looks at the important role of fundamental research in advancing discoveries appeared first on Research & Innovation.

On Monday, Gary Goodyear, minister of state (science & technology) announced the significant investment by the Government of Canada in basic research and research training in the social sciences and humanities.

Gary Goodyear

“We are very pleased with SSHRC’s investment to support the work of 91��ɫ’s researchers in the Social Sciences & Humanities,” said, Robert Haché, 91��ɫ’s vice-president research & innovation. “This funding allows our researchers to grow and strengthen their innovative research programs while contributing to Canada’s knowledge base.”

Thirty-two 91��ɫ faculty members received more than $3.8 million to fund their research projects through SSHRC’s Insight Grants and programs.  In the Insight Grants competition, 91��ɫ enjoyed an exceptional 39 per cent success rate, which is 12 per cent higher than the national success rate for the competition. 

Robert Haché

The funding was granted for research covering a wide range of topics, including: 

• Institutional changes and adaptive search behaviour of business groups in developing economies
• Industrialization, human capital and democracy
• Teaching for mathematical understanding: The potential of 'folding back' as a pedagogical tool
• Second generation success and marginalization: the impacts of race, gender and place on employment and social mobility
• Multilingualism and ethnic identity: An international perspective
• The roles of lead banks and institutional investors in secondary loan sales
• Modernist Literary Musics

Graduate students and doctoral fellows benefited from the announcements as well:  167 91��ɫ master’s and doctoral students have won more than $5.8 million in scholarships and fellowships. More than 2,400 graduate and postdoctoral projects across Canada received funding. 

“Canada’s position as a world leader in research excellence leads to discoveries, innovations and advanced skills that drive job creation and opportunities in the knowledge economy,” said Goodyear. “Through Economic Action Plan 2012, our government provided additional resources to support advanced research at universities and other leading research institutions, which will build on previous investments to further strengthen Canada’s research advantage.”

“This research is the key to innovation and to building knowledge for Canada’s future,” said Chad Gaffield, president of SSHRC. “Through this funding support, we are generating insights and developing innovative solutions for today’s social, economic and cultural issues, while training the next generation of researchers and leaders.”

A complete list of SSHRC-funded projects is available on the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post SSHRC awards more than $9.7 million to 91��ɫ researchers appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The grants, part of $6.3 million in funding and awards invested across the country, will support over 95 research projects to improve Canadians’ quality of life, while addressing important socio-cultural and economic issues.

“91��ɫ continues to build on and strengthen its commitment to community engagement,” said Robert Haché (right), 91��ɫ’s vice-president research & innovation. “91��ɫ’s researchers continue to share and co-create knowledge with the broader community, as exemplified by the success of our researchers in the receipt of funding for engaged scholarship through SSHRC’s Public Outreach grants program and the work of our researchers and Knowledge Mobilization Unit in further developing community-academic partnerships.”

Researchers from 91��ɫ include:

Sheila Cavanagh, a professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) Department of Sociology and coordinator of the Sexuality Studies program in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, received $102,117 in funding to professionally stage a research-based theatrical production titled Queer Bathroom Monologues, at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and to curate an accompanying research-based art exhibition. The objective of this project is to enable multi-layered conversation and networking between partners in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy, and proactive policy and educational programming in the Ministry of Education to combat LGBT bullying in Ontario high schools. The Queer Bathroom Monologues are based on interviews with LGBT interviewees published in Cavanagh’s book, Queering Bathrooms: Gender, Sexuality, and the Hygienic Imagination (2010).

Professor Mark Winfield, program coordinator of the Master of Environmental Studies/Juris Doctor joint program in the Faculty of Environmental Studies and co-chair of the Faculty's Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI), received $86,000 in funding to mobilize the knowledge developed through the initiative in order to support the development and deployment of sustainable energy technologies in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada. The project activities will include an SEI Sustainable Energy Policy Seminar Series employing virtual and live formats and the development of social media tools to engage students, staff, faculty and private sector, non-profit and municipal audiences around sustainable energy technologies and strategies.

Paul Lovejoy, Distinguished Research Professor and Canada Research Chair in African Diaspora History in the Department of History (LA&PS) and director of the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migrations of African Peoples, received $132,442 in funding to enhance public understanding of, and appreciation for, the crucial role played by African Canadians during the War of 1812. He will work with Caitlin Fisher, professor and Canada Research Chair in Digital Culture in the Faculty of Fine Arts Department of Film, Michele Johnson, associate professor in the Department of History (LA&PS), and Murray Wickett, chair of history, Brock University, on this project. The project is administered by Naomi Norquay, associate professor, Faculty of Education, and Karolyn Smardz Frost, Senior Research Fellow at the Harriet Tubman Institute and Visiting Bicentennial Professor in Canadian Studies, Yale University, for the coming year. The project builds on a workshop organized by the Tubman Institute, in collaboration with the History Department at Brock University, and is titled: We Stand on Guard for Thee: The African Canadian Experience in the War of 1812, which was held at Brock. This project will develop a series of concurrent public and educator-engagement sessions and be delivered using cutting-edge digital technology.

Sean Kheraj, assistant professor, Department of History (LA&PS) received $36,795 in funding to facilitate the mobilization of Canadian environmental history scholarship to a wider audience by creating and disseminating audio podcasts that feature interviews, round-table discussions and lectures on topics in Canadian environmental history that are relevant to key contemporary environmental issues in Canada. He will work with two project partners, Canada’s History magazine and the Network in Canadian History and Environment (NiCHE), on this project, in order to reach environmental groups, educators, and public policymakers.

Faculty of Education Professor Stephen Gaetz received $141,798 in funding to invest in knowledge mobilization focused on income and housing vulnerability. He will be collaborating and working with co-applicants Daniele Zanotti, CEO, United Way of 91��ɫ Region (UWYR), David Phipps, director, Research Services & Knowledge Exchange, and Michaela Hynie, professor in the Department of Psychology and the Program Evaluation Unit in the 91��ɫ Institute for Health Research on this project. Building on their five year knowledge mobilization partnership, 91��ɫ and UWYR will implement a community-campus knowledge mobilization strategy based on best practices so that 91��ɫ housing and income vulnerability research and expertise is accessible to community partners. For more information on this project, visit the .

Gary Goodyear, minister of state for science & technology, announced the investments in research that will help build a better understanding of important societal issues.

“Our Government’s top priority is the economy: jobs, growth and long-term prosperity. To remain at the forefront of the global economy, our government is investing in the people and ideas that will produce tomorrow’s breakthroughs,” said Goodyear. “The mobilization of knowledge leads to a more robust economy and helps develop new opportunities for economic growth while strengthening Canada’s research advantage.”

“Knowledge-sharing among multi-sectoral partners is essential to innovation and to building the expertise needed for Canada’s future,” said Chad Gaffield, president of SSHRC. “These Public Outreach Grants enable the flow and exchange of knowledge across campuses and the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, which, in turn, produces benefits for Canadians.”

For more information about the projects, please visit the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin

The post SSHRC awards $499,152 to five 91��ɫ researchers appeared first on Research & Innovation.

CCC is a new national initiative that creates supportive environments and works to remove institutional barriers to collaboration between the community and postsecondary educational institutions.

The initiative and the partners who made it possible are a subject of interest for David Johnston, the governor general of Canada.

On May 26, Johnston referred to the CCC initiative in his keynote address, , delivered to delegates at the 2012 Congress of the Humanities & Social Sciences. “The community-campus collaboration fostered by United Way-Centraide and the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council is quite simply a superb initiative," said Johnston. “It will help us ensure that social innovation is a key component of Canada’s innovation landscape. This initiative also provides us with a catalytic vehicle to apply knowledge and develop experiential learning.”

to view Johnston's address to Congress.

Over the past year, in response to a call for feedback on CCC initiatives at a meeting held in April 2011 attended by Johnston, Centraide Canada and Research Impact, working with 91��ɫ and UWCC, conducted a scan of university-community collaborative projects led by the United Way.  The organizations identified a total of 88 projects of interest.

Four of the projects identified by the scan were selected for further research to better understand the barriers and enablers of effective community and university collaboration. 91��ɫ Vice-President of Research & Innovation Robert Haché invested in funding the research, which was carried out by 91��ɫ education Professor Steven Gaetz and 91��ɫ's Knowledge Mobilization Unit.

One of the projects selected for further investigation was a collaboration between 91��ɫ and the United Way of 91��ɫ Region. This collaboration, which started in 2010, resulted in the creation of Strength Investments, a funding mechanism that has allowed UWYR to invest some $300,000 into citizen-led approaches to address community opportunities. For more information, read the article on Strength Investments that is available on the Mobilize This! Blog.

91��ɫ, SSHRC and UWCC took their collaboration a step further and developed a paper on the CCC concept. The paper provided a platform for a round-table discussion that was held on May 26, and attended by the governor general. Haché and David Phipps, director, Research Services & Knowledge Exchange, were invited to participate in the round-table discussion, which included representatives from the Canadian Federation of Humanities & Social Sciences (CFHSS), SSHRC, United Way Centraide Canada and national stakeholders at the Congress of the Social Sciences & Humanities. The purpose of the meeting was to engage partners in advancing CCC.

Robert Haché

“The CCC initiative encourages communities and universities to work more closely together on engaged scholarship and learning,” said Haché. “91��ɫ has many community-university assets to bring to this conversation, including our national leadership in knowledge mobilization, the TD Centre for Community Engagement and all of the initiatives funded by the Academic Innovation Fund that support students working in collaboration with community partners.”

“91��ɫ's Knowledge Mobilization Unit has worked closely with our local community and public sector partners, especially UWYR, to develop services that support knowledge mobilization and engaged scholarship, and we are pleased to play a leading role in this pan-Canadian initiative,” added Phipps.

The CCC Initiative includes , with the , the , , , , , , , and .

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post 91��ɫ plays key role in Canadian initiative supporting campus-community collaborations appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The recent federal budget reinforced the importance the government is placing on putting its fiscal house in order with some programs receiving cuts in excess of 10 per cent.

Within that overall context of restraint is a welcome affirmation of the government’s strong commitment to research and innovation, with funding programs largely preserved and substantial new commitments made.  At the same time, the new investments focus predominantly on Canada’s innovation agenda, while the importance of supporting fundamental research is acknowledged in less tangible ways. It is explicitly stated on page 271 of the budget document that "programming in support of basic research, student scholarships and industry-related research initiatives and collaborations are preserved."

The budget has reaffirmed the importance of Tri-Council funding by returning mandated budget cuts in the form of $37 million in new investment, albeit with a focus on industry-academic partnerships. This leaves Tri-Council with stable overall budget envelopes in the present fiscal year and the hope that next year’s mandated budget cut of $31.3 million may be similarly rescued through the infusion of additional new monies.

The long-term investment in the Canada Foundation for Innovation ($500 million over five years, beginning in 2014) and the doubling of support for graduate students to gain workplace experience through the Industrial Research & Development Internship Program, are further positive signals of the importance the government places on high-quality university research, and in attracting and retaining top students and researchers.

Other notable investments in research and higher education include:

• $40 million over two years to support Canada’s Advanced Research & Innovation Network’s (CANARIE) operation of Canada’s ultra-high-speed research network;
• $60 million for Genome Canada to launch a new applied research competition in the area of human health, and to sustain the Science and Technology Centres until 2014-2015;
• $10 million over two years to the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research to link Canadians to global research networks;
• $5.2 million in 2012–2013 to establish and integrate a network of mental health-related researchers in the Canadian Depression Research & Intervention Network;
• $67 million to assist the National Research Council (NRC) refocus on business-led, industry-relevant research, as well as doubling the contribution budget of the NRC’s highly successful cross-Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) in aid of small and medium enterprises.

These investments can only be seen as encouraging and a reflection of continuing strong support for university sector research. They provide important building blocks to developing knowledge, creativity and innovation within universities, now and into the future.  This is a reality the government recognizes. We are fortunate to have experienced a significant upswing in university research investments over the last decade, with investments having nearly quadrupled since the mid-1990s and continuing to rise despite economic setbacks. Budget 2012 presents a stable agenda for research funding – delivering a longer term message on research and innovation that reinforces the government’s goal, “to position Canada for increased success in the global economy that depends more and more on knowledge and innovation as a key driver of long-term competitiveness.”

Canada’s societal well-being and future economic health depend greatly on our capacity to innovate and build a highly competitive advantage.  This is a vision that 91��ɫ shares and will continue to foster in benefiting our researchers. With the sustained support towards higher education and excellence in research and technology, we will continue to work with the government to ensure the continuation of these vital investments – and to reinforce the need to invest equally in the ongoing development of fundamental research.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post VPRI responds to the federal budget appeared first on Research & Innovation.

"We are seeking to provide perspective and commentary on issues and initiatives in our external environment that are relevant to our researchers," says Haché. "It's important to highlight and create awareness about new opportunities and proposed policy and procedural changes that may affect the University research community."

Right: Robert Haché

First in this series is a review of the (R&D), a report on federal support released in October 2011. The report, commissioned by a federally appointed expert panel chaired by Michael Jenkins, executive chair and chief strategy officer of Open Text Corporation, reviewed national programs that support business innovation in Canada.

The panel was comprised of a distinguished cadre of business and academic experts. It proposes a number of fundamental changes to the way that government supports business-facing research and development. If adopted, the recommendations are expected to present expanded opportunities for 91��ɫ researchers with respect to research funding and some new challenges. 

Highlights of recommendations in the report include:

• Development of a new granting council, called the Industrial Research Innovation Council (IRIC), to support funding and delivery of business-facing R&D programs. This council would provide a common service platform for a reduced number of larger, more flexible support programs, including the National Research Council's (NRC) Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP).
• Changing the model under which the National Research Council operates into a grouping of large-scale, sectoral collaborative R&D centres involving business, the university sector and the provinces.
• Assigning responsibility and accountability to a single designated minister of innovation to build consensus and innovation partnerships with the provinces and territories.

To view the full commentary, click here.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post 91��ɫ's Haché offers analysis of federal R & D report appeared first on Research & Innovation.