Departmental Performance Report 2011-12

1. Grants and Scholarships

Name of Transfer Payment Program: Grants and Scholarships (voted)

Start Date: 1978

End Date: No end date

Description: This transfer payment program consists of grants and scholarships awarded for research, research training, and research dissemination activities in the social sciences and humanities.

Strategic Outcome:

1. People—A first-class research capacity in the social sciences and humanities
2. Research—New knowledge based on excellent research in the social sciences and humanities
3. Knowledge Mobilization—Facilitating the use of social sciences and humanities knowledge within and beyond academia

Results Achieved:

Strategic Outcome 1: People
The development of talent through direct support to student and postdoctoral fellows has increased 27 per cent between 2007-08 and 2011-12, to $37.2 million. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) awarded 731 doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships and prizes in 2011-12 (excluding Canada Graduate Scholarships [CGS] and Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships [Vanier CGS]).

In 2011-12, SSHRC undertook an evaluation of the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships funding opportunity. The purpose of this summative evaluation, which covers a 17-year period, was to assess program relevance and continued need, design and delivery, and performance. It was designed to evaluate longer-term outcomes and trends over time. The evaluation demonstrated that the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships funding opportunity contributes to research outputs and knowledge advancements in all disciplines of the social sciences and humanities, and that the support had been pivotal in helping postdoctoral researchers advance their careers.

Performance has been maintained for the Canada Research Chairs Program. By March 31, 2012, there were 1,819 Canada Research Chairs at 71 postsecondary institutions across Canada. Of these chairs, 24.5 per cent were filled by researchers recruited from abroad, including 206 Canadian expatriates. In 2011-12, a total of 385 new or renewed Canada Research Chairs were announced at Canadian postsecondary institutions. Over 22 per cent of Canada Research Chairs are in the social sciences and humanities.

Strategic Outcome 2: Research
As SSHRC’s largest investment, funding levels for the direct costs of research were at $127.6 million in 2011-12.

Since 2007-08, the number of applications for Investigator-Framed Research, SSHRC’s largest program activity—providing approximately $88.4 million in funding—increased by 33.7 per cent. The number of awards granted annually since 2007-08 has increased by 48.8 per cent.

In 2011-12, funding opportunities under Investigator-Framed Research supported 2,859 new and ongoing projects across all areas of the social sciences and humanities. A total of 1,267 new grants were awarded in 2011-12 following peer review of the submitted proposals.

Since 2007-08, funding levels for Strategic Research Development and Targeted Research and Training Initiatives decreased by 9.8 per cent, to $42.4 million. The decline in the number of applications under the Targeted Research and Training program activity is a reflection of the realignment and streamlining of funding opportunities as SSHRC moved towards full implementation of its renewed program architecture.

In 2010-11, SSHRC developed and launched a partnered funding opportunity with a research and/or significant knowledge mobilization requirement. While investigator-driven, these Partnership Development Grants and Partnership Grants require a formal partnership (with financial and/or in-kind contributions) from postsecondary institutions and the public, private or community sectors. In 2011-12, SSHRC awarded 25 Partnership Grants (involving 377 distinct partners) and 72 Partnership Development Grants (involving 274 distinct partners). SSHRC’s 2011-12 investment was $13.8 million, with cash and in-kind contribution commitments of just over $1.8 million. For every dollar requested through SSHRC, Partnership Grant holders are, on average, leveraging up to $0.96 in partner contributions (cash and in-kind), with 83 per cent of these contributions confirmed. Furthermore, Partnership Development Grant holders leveraged up to $2.18 through partner contributions.

Strategic Outcome 3: Knowledge Mobilization
Since 2006-07, funding support for knowledge mobilization has increased by 7 per cent, to $22.5 million. Through its Public Outreach Grants funding vehicle, Knowledge Translation awarded 95 new grants in 2011-12 in support of the effective mobilization and implementation of research and research results. Forty per cent of these fell within SSHRC priority areas (Northern Communities, Aboriginal Research, Canadian Environmental Issues and Digital Economy).

Comment(s) on Variance(s):  Received $7 million from Budget 2011.

Audits Completed or Planned: Audit of Canada Research Chairs, expected completion date in 2012-13

Evaluations Completed or Planned:

• Evaluation of Prizes and Special Fellowships, completed February 2012
• Evaluation of the Postdoctoral Fellowships Program, completed April 2012
• Knowledge Mobilization Cluster Evaluation, expected completion date in 2012-13
• Evaluation of Canada Excellence Research Chairs, expected completion date in 2013-14
• Summative Evaluation of the Canada Research Chairs Program, expected completion date in 2015-16
• Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, expected completion date in 2016-17

Engagement of Applicants and Recipients: A variety of engagement initiatives (webinars, site visits, telephone, email, online forums, etc.) are used as part of the regular competition cycle in order to give applicants and recipients opportunities to seek and receive information and to provide feedback on service delivery.

2. Canada Graduate Scholarships

Name of Transfer Payment Program: Canada Graduate Scholarships (voted)

Start Date: 2003

End Date: No end date

Description: This transfer payment program supports doctoral students and master’s students in the social sciences and humanities.

Strategic Outcome:

1.0 People—A first-class research capacity in the social sciences and humanities

Results Achieved:

SSHRC awarded 1,861 Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS master’s and doctoral scholarships in 2011-12. The targeted funding area of business, management and finance received continued support from 100 of the new CGS doctoral fellowships.

A 2008-09 evaluation of the CGS programs found that the programs are meeting two key goals: enhancing the quality of graduate training and increasing the number of highly qualified personnel graduating from Canadian universities. The evaluation generally supports the notion that there is a continuing need for CGS and related programs.

Audits Completed or Planned: No audit was conducted or planned during the reporting year.

Evaluations Completed or Planned: Summative evaluation of CGS, expected completion date in 2013-14

Engagement of Applicants and Recipients: A variety of engagement initiatives (webinars, site visits, telephone, email, online forums, etc.) are used as part of the regular competition cycle in order to give applicants and recipients opportunities to seek and receive information and to provide feedback on service delivery.

3. Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Name of Transfer Payment Program:Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (voted)

Start Date: 2008

End Date: No end date

Description: SSHRC’s portion of this tri-agency class grant transfer payment program provides financial support to Canadian and international students who have achieved outstanding success in their studies and will pursue a doctoral program at a Canadian university in an area of the social sciences and humanities.

Strategic Outcome:

1.0 People—A first-class research capacity in the social sciences and humanities

Results Achieved:

The third competition of the flagship Vanier CGS program was delivered in 2011-12, with:

• 58 doctoral scholarships awarded in the social sciences and humanities;
• SSHRC, in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), having achieved the harmonization of the program’s resources and delivery mechanisms, the full uptake of 500 awards, and the establishment of a common Vanier website; and
• SSHRC, in collaboration with Canadian universities, Industry Canada, and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, implementing a national and international promotion and branding campaign for the program.

Audits Completed or Planned: No audit was conducted or planned during the reporting year.

Evaluations Completed or Planned: Evaluation of the Georges Philias Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships Program, expected completion date in 2013-14

Engagement of Applicants and Recipients: A variety of engagement initiatives (webinars, site visits, telephone, email, online forums, etc.) are used as part of the regular competition cycle in order to give applicants and recipients opportunities to seek and receive information and to provide feedback on service delivery.

4. Indirect Costs of Research

Name of Transfer Payment Program: Indirect Costs of Research (voted)

Start Date: 2003

End Date: No end date

Description: This transfer payment program supports a portion of the indirect costs associated with the conduct of academic research in institutions that receive research grant funds from any of the three federal research granting agencies. Grants are awarded to eligible institutions using a progressive funding formula based on the average revenues from research grants received from CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC.

Strategic Outcome:

4. Institutional Environment—A strong Canadian science and research environment

Results Achieved:

Since the Indirect Costs Program’s inception in 2001, SSHRC has allocated close to $2.8 billion in Indirect Costs grants to more than 140 eligible Canadian postsecondary institutions, including $331.7 million in 2011-12. The funding has provided vital support to the academic research environment in Canada.

Since 2007-08, there has been a more than 6 per cent increase in financial support to postsecondary institutions for indirect costs of research supported by the federal government’s three research granting agencies (SSHRC, CIHR and NSERC).

In 2010-11, the most recent year for which data is available, eligible institutions invested along five key investment areas: 33 per cent of the Indirect Costs funds were spent on facilities; 18 per cent on research resources; 35 per cent on management and administration; 9 per cent on regulatory requirements and accreditation; and 5 per cent on intellectual property management.

The distribution of funds among the five expenditure areas has remained fairly stable since the program’s inception, with a gradual increase in the proportion of funds allotted to regulatory requirements, accreditation, and management and administration, combined with an equivalent decline in the proportion spent on resources and facilities.

In response to a recommendation from the Indirect Costs Program evaluation carried out in 2008-09, program management committed to working with the university community to establish a baseline measurement of the state of the research environment in Canada. A working group composed of senior administrators from various organizations (universities, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the Canadian Association of University Business Officers, and the Canadian Association of University Research Administrators) has been tasked with identifying a set of indicators to assess the health of the university research environment every five years.

To date, the working group has identified indicators for three of the five components that define the health of the research environment (i.e., quality of facilities; availability and quality of research resources; and management and administration capacity). Work continues on identifying indicators for the two remaining components (degree of regulatory compliance; and intellectual property management capacity).

Comment(s) on Variance(s): Received $10 million from Budget 2011.

Audits Completed or Planned: No audit was conducted or planned during the reporting year.

Evaluations Completed or Planned: Summative evaluation of Indirect Costs Program, expected completion date in 2013-14

Engagement of Applicants and Recipients: A variety of engagement initiatives (webinars, site visits, telephone, email, online forums, etc.) are used as part of the regular competition cycle in order to give applicants and recipients opportunities to seek and receive information and to provide feedback on service delivery.

5. Networks of Centres of Excellence

Name of Transfer Payment Program: Networks of Centres of Excellence (voted)

Start Date: 1997

End Date: No end date

Description: This federal class grants transfer payment program is administered jointly by the three federal research granting agencies, in partnership with Industry Canada. It supports research in complex areas of critical importance to Canadian universities and hospitals, in partnership with private and public sectors. The networks funded through this program are multidisciplinary and multisectoral partnerships that stimulate leading-edge, internationally competitive research in areas critical to Canadian economic and social development.

Strategic Outcome:

3. Knowledge Mobilization—Facilitating the use of social sciences and humanities knowledge within and beyond academia

Results Achieved:

In 2011-12, SSHRC continued to work towards deepening the social sciences and humanities’ involvement in the Networks of Centres of Excellence.

Audits Completed or Planned: No audit was conducted or planned during the reporting year.

Evaluations Completed or Planned: Joint Summative Evaluation of Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence and Networks of Centres of Excellence, expected completion date in 2013-14

Engagement of Applicants and Recipients: A variety of engagement initiatives (webinars, site visits, telephone, email, online forums, etc.) are used as part of the regular competition cycle in order to give applicants and recipients opportunities to seek and receive information and to provide feedback on service delivery.