Departmental Results Report 2020–21

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, 2021.

Cat. No. CR1-16E-PDF
ISSN 2561-1895

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Departmental Results Report 2020–21

(PDF, 475KB)

On this page

• From the Minister
• From the President
• Results at a glance
• Results: what we achieved
  • Core Responsibility 1: Funding Social Sciences and Humanities Research and Training
  • Core Responsibility 2: Institutional Support for the Indirect Costs of Research
  • Internal Services
• Analysis of trends in spending and human resources
  • Actual expenditures
  • Actual human resources
  • Expenditures by vote
  • Government of Canada spending and activities
  • Financial statements and financial statements highlights
• Corporate information
  • Organizational profile
  • Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
  • Operating context
  • Reporting Framework
• Supporting information on the program inventory
• Supplementary information tables
• Federal tax expenditures
• Organizational contact information
• Appendix: definitions
• Endnotes

From the Minister

It is our pleasure to present the 2020–21 Departmental Results Report for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). In a year that was characterized by uncertainty and rapidly shifting priorities as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and its Portfolio partners remained committed in their continued efforts to meet the evolving needs of Canadians and the Canadian economy. The ISED and Portfolio Departmental Results Reports describe a number of immediate and remarkable contributions over the past year, including those that were part of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan.

SSHRC’s promotion and support of postsecondary-based research and training in the social sciences and humanities continues to directly improve the lives of Canadians and help communities face challenges locally, nationally and globally. SSHRC delivered funding extensions, adaptive approaches and support for incremental costs for the social sciences and humanities research community during the COVID-19 pandemic, while rolling out targeted funding for pandemic-related research, and mobilizing research knowledge to reach audiences at all levels. Through the Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund, the Canada Research Coordinating Committee ensured Canada’s investments in the wide range of science research was protected, and supported researchers, trainees and research activities affected by the pandemic.

SSHRC is advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in its own and tri-agency programs, including the Canada Research Chairs Program, through new policies, inclusive guidelines and innovative program delivery. This year, it continued to implement the tri-agency and the Canada Research Chairs equity, diversity and inclusion action plans, as well as elements of the interagency strategic plan to strengthen Indigenous research capacity, and led a number of initiatives to help build greater understanding around systemic racism and discrimination.

Through all these initiatives and more, we continued to deliver on our commitment to foster a dynamic and growing economy that creates jobs, opportunities and a better quality of life for all Canadians, including those from diverse backgrounds, such as women, Indigenous peoples, racialized Canadians, persons with disabilities and LGBTQ+ groups.

We invite you to read this report to learn more about how SSRHC, like ISED and other Portfolio partners, is building a strong culture of innovation to position Canada as a leader in the global economy.

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

From the President

I am pleased to present SSHRC’s 2020–21 Departmental Results Report. This past year showed how social sciences and humanities research and training actively help Canadians face national and global challenges—from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change, racial discrimination and reconciliation. Guided by its 2020–25 strategic plan,⁠^{Footnote 1} SSHRC continued to support world-leading research, including into questions uniquely addressed by the social sciences and humanities, that builds paths toward a better future for all Canadians.

We are especially proud of our work this year, having worked closely with other federal research funding agencies, the Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC), and other federal departments and stakeholders, to deliver the Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund. The program provided approximately $434 million in urgent funding to sustain and ultimately ramp up the Canadian research enterprise.

Operating from a virtual platform, SSHRC delivered its regular funding portfolio, as well as targeted funding through the Partnership Engage Grants COVID-19 Special Initiative; coordinated Government of Canada support for SSHRC-funded research trainees and personnel through supplements and extensions; and connected research users with evolving knowledge through its Perspectives on COVID-19 online resource.

Internationally, SSHRC provided Canadian leadership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in developing the United Nations Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery, and worked alongside 15 other granting agencies to support the Trans-Atlantic Platform competition for Recovery, Renewal and Resilience in a Post-Pandemic World research. On behalf of the CRCC, SSHRC delivered the first stage of the tri-agency New Frontiers in Research Fund’s inaugural Transformation stream competition for Canadian teams working on large-scale, world-leading, interdisciplinary research projects. In addition, the Fund’s International stream announced the recipients from the Horizon Global Platform competition to support collaboration between Canadian and European researchers.

SSHRC promoted discussion on future research trends through its Imagining Canada’s Future initiative. In conjunction with the tri-agencies, SSHRC held its national knowledge mobilization forum on Living Within the Earth’s Carrying Capacity, and collaborated with the Future Skills Centre to develop a Knowledge Synthesis Grants competition on Working in the Digital Economy.

This year, our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) was reinforced through the continued implementation and public release of the tri-agency EDI Action Plan. SSHRC also updated and strengthened institutional EDI requirements within the Canada Research Chairs Program. On behalf of the tri-agencies, SSHRC also coordinated the approach for implementing the CRCC’s strategic plan Setting new directions to support Indigenous research and research training in Canada 2019-2022,⁠^{Footnote 2} to augment Indigenous research capacity.

I am extremely proud of the efforts of SSHRC employees in surmounting significant challenges this year to support the social sciences and humanities research community, and to help mobilize knowledge. SSHRC-funded research and training will, as a result, continue to help all Canadians navigate challenges as Canada moves toward a stronger and more confident future.

Ted Hewitt, PhD

Results at a glance

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), through grants, fellowships and scholarships, promotes and supports research and research training in the social sciences and humanities to develop talent, generate insights and build connections in the pursuit of social, cultural and economic outcomes for Canadians. In 2020–21, SSHRC pursued its departmental results focusing on two core responsibilities: (1) funding social sciences and humanities research and training; and (2) institutional support for the indirect costs of research.

Core Responsibility 1: Funding Social Sciences and Humanities Research and Training

In 2020–21, SSHRC invested more than $131 million to support over 4,800 students directly through scholarships and fellowships, and invested $368 million more to support more than 24,000 researchers directly and approximately 5,200 additional students indirectly through grants at postsecondary institutions across Canada.

SSHRC helped Canada sustain and enhance its globally competitive position as a producer of high-calibre research, by continuing to support research into questions uniquely addressed by the humanities and social sciences, particularly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• SSHRC successfully delivered its entire suite of funding opportunities in a virtual format and put in place measures to support the research community impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. SSHRC supported 32,000 research-related personnel and 22,000 research projects across all disciplines with $434 million funded through the Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund. SSHRC also launched and delivered the Partnership Engage Grants COVID-19 Special Initiative to examine the pandemic’s longer societal impacts.
• On the international stage, SSHRC supported Canadian leadership in the development of the UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery,⁠^{Footnote 3} and collaborated with 15 international granting agencies to develop the Trans-Atlantic Platform’s call for research on Recovery, Renewal and Resilience in a Post-Pandemic World.
• The New Frontiers in Research Fund delivered the first stage of the inaugural Transformation funding opportunity, with an extended deadline in 2021–22 to take into account the impact of COVID-19 on research teams. The program also delivered the Global Platform funding opportunity within its International stream to support 12 Canadian research teams partnering on projects supported by Horizon 2020.

To increase the pool of highly skilled people in the social sciences and humanities, SSHRC supported research training and initiatives that foster equity, diversity and inclusion across the research enterprise.

• As part of $291.6 million in government funding to support students and research personnel impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, SSHRC spent $32.2 million for extensions to scholarships and fellowships and supplemental funding to all existing research grants.
• The Tri-Agency Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (2018–2025)⁠^{Footnote 4} was updated and publicly released in 2021. SSHRC implemented initiatives asking applicants to consider equity, diversity and inclusion implications in their research practice and research design. SSHRC also worked to implement the Canada Research Coordinating Committee’s strategic plan, Setting new directions to support Indigenous research and research training in Canada 2019-2022.⁠^{Footnote 5}

SSHRC continued to seek opportunities to make the results of its funding accessible to Canadians and to organizations in all sectors, thus contributing to decision-making, policy-making and innovation, and helping to identify and address the challenges of today and tomorrow. The following key results were achieved in 2020–21:

• Non-academic partners on SSHRC grants increased by 9% to 1,168 and contributed almost $45 million in research funding, a 34% increase, partly because of the Partnership Engage Grants COVID-19 Special Initiative.
• Through its Imagining Canada’s Future⁠^{Footnote 6} initiative and in collaboration with funding partners, SSHRC launched two Knowledge Synthesis Grant funding opportunities on Skills and Work in the Digital Economy, and on Mobility and Public Transit. SSHRC also held its national forum on Living Within the Earth’s Carrying Capacity and developed the Imagining Canada’s Future Ideas Lab on the topic of Canada and the Circular Economy. The Ideas Lab will experiment with more innovative and collaborative approaches to stimulate multidisciplinary research and merit review processes.

Core Responsibility 2: Institutional support for the Indirect Costs of Research

The Research Support Fund reinforces the federal government’s 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. In 2020–21, the Research Support Fund provided $369 million in grants to 155 postsecondary institutions to offset part of institutions’ indirect costs in managing research funded by the three federal research funding agencies. Through its Incremental Project Grants stream, the Research Support Fund provided an additional $45.6 million to support 126 projects at 31 institutions.

For more information on SSHRC’s plans, priorities and results achieved, see the “Results: what we achieved” section of this report.

Results: what we achieved

Core Responsibility 1: Funding Social Sciences and Humanities Research and Training

Description: SSHRC, through grants, fellowships and scholarships, promotes and supports research and research training in the social sciences and humanities to develop talent, generate insights and build connections in pursuit of social, cultural and economic outcomes for Canadians.

Results:

Response to COVID-19

To lessen the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the research community, SSHRC implemented a number of emergency measures and adjusted its operations to ensure it could deliver its programming remotely. SSHRC successfully transitioned all merit review processes to a virtual format and fully delivered its entire suite of funding opportunities. Recognizing that some research activities may have been delayed as a result of the pandemic, additional 12-month grant extensions were provided to grant holders. SSHRC also put in place a number of measures to add flexibility to the application process, such as modifying the dates for several funding opportunities, encouraging applicants to include information about the impacts of COVID-19 on their careers or studies, and enabling applicants to include a contingency plan to address the potential impacts of COVID-19 on their proposed research. In addition, SSHRC created an online resource, Perspectives on COVID-19,⁠^{Footnote 7} to share information and resources on related social sciences and humanities research topics and on how SSHRC-funded researchers are contributing to the global fight against the pandemic.

As part of the Government of Canada COVID-19 economic response plan, SSHRC delivered the new Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund.⁠^{Footnote 8} This emergency funding provided $434 million to help sustain the research enterprise at Canadian universities and health research institutions impacted by the pandemic, supporting some 32,000 research-related personnel and over 22,000 research projects. SSHRC also launched and delivered the Partnership Engage Grants COVID-19 Special Initiative⁠^{Footnote 9} to examine the longer societal impacts of the pandemic, and funded 293 projects for a total investment of $7.1 million. In addition, SSHRC collaborated with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to launch a special $2.25 million tri-agency funding opportunity to support activities that promote vaccine confidence in Canada.⁠^{Footnote 10} SSHRC also fostered international collaboration by serving as part of the steering group for the UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery,⁠^{Footnote 11} and launched a new initiative on Recovery, Renewal and Resilience in the Post-Pandemic World in collaboration with funding agencies from 12 countries in Europe, the Americas and Africa.

Gender-based analysis plus

SSHRC strengthened its impact by integrating a gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) lens into program and policy decision-making. The GBA+ guiding framework—and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) more broadly—is the Tri-agency Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (2018–2025).⁠^{Footnote 12} Its main objectives are to ensure fair access to tri-agency research support and to promote equitable participation in the research ecosystem. In 2020–21, SSHRC continued to work with NSERC and CIHR to collect disaggregated self-identification data for better monitoring of the EDI performance of its programs. This included implementing a revised questionnaire with new questions on sexual orientation and official languages, and modifications to existing questions on gender identity, disability and visible minorities. Among other benefits, the revisions will allow for better intersectional analyses of participation in SSHRC programs. SSHRC continued to maintain and annually update EDI dashboards for SSHRC programs,⁠^{Footnote 13} as well as a dashboard for the SSHRC-administered New Frontiers in Research Fund.⁠^{Footnote 14}

Also this past year, SSHRC’s Evaluation Division conducted four program evaluations using a GBA+ protocol that includes standardized evaluation subquestions and data collection tools to identify any potential differential impacts of SSHRC’s programs with respect to research, research training and research careers. Finally, SSHRC put in place a monitoring plan focused on assessing the impact of the pandemic on participation in SSHRC’s funding opportunities, including a comparison of underrepresented groups’ application rates and award rates from competitions launched since the pandemic was declared, with those from pre-pandemic competitions of the same type.

Sustainable Development Agenda

In 2020–21, SSHRC continued to fund social sciences and humanities research and training that contributed to addressing the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For instance, SSHRC funding to support research in the field of education included projects that address inequities in access and work toward the elimination of gender disparities. These projects promote SDG 4: to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. As well, SSHRC mobilized social sciences and humanities research to address emerging economic, societal and knowledge needs for Canada in support of SDG 9—to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. SSHRC held a national forum in 2020–21 on the topic of Living Within the Earth’s Carrying Capacity and will soon publish a series of evidence briefs to help inform effective decision-making in support of the SDGs.

Departmental Result 1: Canada’s social sciences and humanities research is internationally competitive

In 2020–21, SSHRC used two indicators to measure its achievement of this result:

• 64% of SSHRC-funded research involved international collaborations (target minimum 70%)
• Canada ranked 20th among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nations on the citation score of social sciences and humanities research publications (target in the top 10)

The frequency of collaborations between Canadian and international researchers is a proxy for Canada’s reputation for research and training. The percentage of international collaborations has been slightly decreasing over the last three years, but additional years of data will be required to determine if this is a trend or just related to the variability of the data from year to year. The second indicator measures the strength of Canada’s social sciences and humanities research ecosystem overall and not just that resulting from SSHRC funding. While Canada’s rank has decreased in the last few years and SSHRC did not meet its target of being in the top 10, preliminary analysis indicates that the lower ranking is linked to an increase in citations for several other countries, even as Canada’s own citation numbers have been increasing.

International collaborations. Canada led efforts to leverage the power of research in post-pandemic recovery and renewal. Through participation in a steering group, SSHRC supported Canadian leadership in the development of the UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery,⁠^{Footnote 15} which identifies research priorities to support a socioeconomic recovery that benefits everyone and can inform a more equitable, resilient and sustainable future. SSHRC also collaborated with 15 international granting agencies to develop the Trans-Atlantic Platform’s call for research on Recovery, Renewal and Resilience in a Post-Pandemic World.⁠^{Footnote 16}

New Frontiers in Research Fund. In 2020–21, the New Frontiers in Research Fund⁠^{Footnote 17} delivered the first phase of the inaugural Transformation funding opportunity, with an extended deadline in 2021–22 to take into account the impact of COVID-19 on research teams. The letter of intent review stage was completed and applicants were informed of the outcomes. Of the 347 letters of intent submitted, 31 were invited to the full application stage. The New Frontiers in Research Fund also delivered the Global Platform funding opportunity within its International stream to support 12 Canadian research teams partnering with European researchers in the European Commission’s projects supported by Horizon 2020.⁠^{Footnote 18}

Departmental Result 2: Canada has a pool of highly skilled people in the social sciences and humanities

In 2020–21, SSHRC used three indicators to measure its achievement of this result:

• 61% of award holders self-identified as women (target minimum 51%)
• 3,838 research trainees were supported (target minimum 7,000)
• 61% of research trainees went on to work in a research position (target minimum 60%)

Measuring the number of supported research trainees involved in research projects demonstrates the impacts of SSHRC’s investments in building the research capacity of the next generation of researchers. In 2020–21, the 3,838 research trainees supported indirectly through grants is below the minimum target of 7,000. As this indicator is dependent on the number of end-of-grant reports received in a year, the result for this year is lower than in the previous two years due to the 12-month extension provided to grant holders to lessen the impacts of the pandemic on research projects.

Research trainees. As part of the federal government’s announcement of $291.6 million to the three granting agencies to support students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, SSHRC issued four-month paid extensions to scholarships and fellowships, and issued three months of supplemental funding to all existing research grants to continue supporting the salaries and stipends of students and personnel. In all, SSHRC provided $11.3 million directly to students and fellows and $20.5 million in supplements to grant holders.

Early career researchers. Work on the Tri-Agency Early Career Researchers Action Plan was suspended throughout much of 2020–21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the action plan was updated and is pending final approval by the Canada Research Coordinating Committee. The individual funding agencies focused on support measures for early career researchers, who are particularly vulnerable to impacts of the pandemic. For some funding opportunities, SSHRC extended the period during which applicants are eligible to apply as early career researchers if their research was interrupted by COVID-19.

Equity, diversity and inclusion. In 2020–21, work continued on facilitating equitable access to funding and promoting a more inclusive research community. The Tri-agency Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (2018–2025)⁠^{Footnote 19} was updated and publicly released in 2021. In accordance with the action plan, SSHRC continued to provide EDI-related training for review committee members and staff alike. SSHRC also developed new EDI-related requirements to reflect the importance of EDI in research practice and research design. For example, starting in 2021, a diversity module will be included in doctoral and postdoctoral research proposals, while Partnership Grant applicants will be required to describe how the project will consider EDI both in research practice and research design. This builds on the approach that was implemented in the New Frontiers in Research Fund in 2019.

The Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat, housed at SSHRC, continued to implement the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan for the Canada Research Chairs Program⁠^{Footnote 20} and the 2019 Addendum to the 2006 Canadian Human Rights Agreement for the same program. As part of the implementation plan, all institutions with an allocation of five or more chairs were required to develop their own EDI action plan based on a thorough review of their policies, processes and environment to identify systemic barriers, and to put in place actions to address them. In 2020–21, the formal review of these action plans was finalized and most institutions now have in place a plan that meets the requirements of the program. The program also launched a new equity target setting methodology that would see the program’s representation of individuals from underrepresented groups increased to meet Canada’s population level by December 2029. Finally, EDI principles were also embedded in the design of the Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund to reduce the influence of unconscious bias and facilitate fair access to funding through the program. Participating institutions were required to post on their websites the objectives of this emergency funding program, their strategy for EDI decision-making and an overview of the method used for allocating the program’s funds.

Launched in 2019, the Dimensions: equity, diversity and inclusion Canada⁠^{Footnote 21} program, delivered by NSERC on behalf of the three federal granting agencies, is mobilizing the transformational and cultural change needed to increase EDI within postsecondary institutions and the research ecosystem. To date, 125 organizations have signed the Dimensions Charter,⁠^{Footnote 22} which enables them to publicly express their commitment and track their progress toward advancing EDI in their institution’s research environment. Core elements of the program, including the inclusive assessment framework, are being designed through a co-development approach with a cohort of 17 Canadian postsecondary institutions.

Strengthening Indigenous research capacity. Despite delays due to COVID-19, SSHRC worked to implement elements of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee’s strategic plan, Setting new directions to support Indigenous research and research training in Canada 2019-2022.⁠^{Footnote 23} In April 2020, SSHRC formed the Interagency Committee on Indigenous Research and Reconciliation, which is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the strategy across Canada’s research funding agencies. The Interagency Committee is initially being supported by three working groups, including the new Reference Group for the Appropriate Review of Indigenous Research, led by CIHR. Composed exclusively of Indigenous scholars, the Reference Group advises Canada’s research funding agencies and provides guidance on the development and implementation of culturally appropriate review approaches and practices for research conducted by and with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Under the Administrative Barriers working group, the agencies harmonized eligibility processes for Indigenous scholars and organizations, and are exploring the question of indirect cost support. The third working group is focusing on recommendations for new funding opportunities.

Finally, in 2020–21, Canada’s research funding agencies launched a call for expressions of interest for the new Indigenous Leadership Circle in Research, which will monitor overall progress of the strategic plan’s implementation and advise the presidents of Canada’s research funding agencies on matters related to Indigenous research and reconciliation. The call for expressions of interest was concluded in January 2021, and members of the Leadership Circle are to be announced by the end of 2021.

Departmental Result 3: Canada’s social sciences and humanities research knowledge is used

In 2020–21, SSHRC used three indicators to measure its achievement of this result:

• partner funding for research projects was $44.9 million (target minimum $30 million)
• 1,168 partners collaborated on research projects (target minimum 600)
• 80% of funded projects reported socioeconomic outcomes for Canadians (target minimum 70%)

Participation and investment of partner organizations from non-academic sectors facilitates the co-creation of knowledge and the use of SSHRC-funded research knowledge in other sectors. The two indicators related to partners significantly surpassed their targets this year, in part due to the Partnership Engage Grants COVID-19 Special Initiative. Initiatives of note include the following:

• The second stage of the Collaborative Housing Research Network⁠^{Footnote 24} joint initiative between the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and SSHRC funded six Partnership Grants for a 75% success rate. These grants mean a year one investment by SSHRC of $960,806 and a total five-year investment of $7,938,424.
• SSHRC, in partnership with CIHR and NSERC, supported the Healthy Cities Research Training Platform⁠^{Footnote 25} that focused on how to create, implement and scale innovative, solutions-based interventions, in a variety of urban contexts, to promote healthy, resilient, sustainable and equitable cities. Five teams were invited in 2019–20 to submit a full application, based on their letters of intent. The successful team, led by Dr. David Ma from the University of Guelph, received a six-year grant of $4,975,000 (including $1,650,000 from SSHRC), starting in 2021–22.

Imagining Canada’s Future. Through its Imagining Canada’s Future initiative,⁠^{Footnote 26} SSHRC mobilizes social sciences and humanities research to identify emerging economic, societal and knowledge needs for Canada, to identify knowledge gaps and opportunities, and to help guide decision-making across all sectors toward a better future. As part of this initiative, virtual forums were jointly organized with partnering organizations, to bring together researchers and cross-sectoral stakeholders to present and discuss the findings of their Knowledge Synthesis Grants. These included forums on:

• Informing Best Practices in Environmental and Impact Assessments, held in partnership with the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada in September 2020, which was based on Knowledge Synthesis Grants and led to 13 evidence briefs⁠^{Footnote 27} that are now published on SSHRC’s website; and
• Living Within the Earth’s Carrying Capacity, held in March 2021, with another forum occurring in April 2021. A series of 31 evidence briefs will be published on SSHRC’s website in 2021–22, which will help inform directions for policy development and new research toward a sustainable future.

In 2020–21, SSHRC launched two new Knowledge Synthesis Grant competitions in collaboration with funding partners. The first competition, in collaboration with the Future Skills Centre,⁠^{Footnote 28} funded 36 projects on the topic of Skills and Work in the Digital Economy. The second competition was held in collaboration with Infrastructure Canada, on the topic of Mobility and Public Transit. The results of the competition will be announced in spring 2021.

SSHRC also worked to mobilize research knowledge on emerging federal priorities including forging a partnership with the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat, based at Canadian Heritage, to help build greater understanding around systemic racism and discrimination. Together with the Secretariat, SSHRC began organizing a series of virtual roundtable discussions with SSHRC-funded scholars and senior Government of Canada officials. The first event, Black Canadians: History, Racism and Contributions, was held in November 2020. An additional four events are scheduled in 2021–22 on the topics of anti-Semitism, anti-Asian racism, anti-Indigenous racism and Islamophobia.

Support for enduring social sciences and humanities questions. The discovery of the oldest archaeological evidence of human activity⁠^{Footnote 29} was made possible by the work of SSHRC-funded Canadian archaeologists and their international partners. This find, the subject of extensive media coverage, is just one example of the research SSHRC supports into questions uniquely addressed by the social sciences and humanities.

Open access and data management. SSHRC is committed to promoting open science and the stewardship of research data. In 2020–21, in collaboration with NSERC and CIHR, SSHRC launched the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy⁠^{Footnote 30} to create a robust environment for data stewardship in Canada. SSHRC also continued to support the platforms that enable access to research publications and data. One example is the Pan-Canadian Knowledge Access Initiative⁠^{Footnote 31} begun in 2020, which supports a dissemination platform for many of Canada’s top social sciences and humanities journals. SSHRC also led the collaborative efforts between CIHR, NSERC, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Statistics Canada to develop and publish the first interdisciplinary Canadian Research and Development Classification⁠^{Footnote 32} to provide a common language for discussing and categorizing research activities in Canada.

Experimentation

In 2020–21, SSHRC developed the Imagining Canada’s Future Ideas Lab.⁠^{Footnote 33} This two-year pilot project is designed to stimulate and fund innovative interdisciplinary research collaborations on the topic of the Circular Economy, using an experimentation opportunity to assess a more iterative and collaborative approach to proposal development and adjudication than seen in traditional merit review processes. At the end of the pilot, participating teams will have a fully developed project proposal and be ideally positioned to seek additional funding from established competitions, while SSHRC will have gained experience with new research design and merit review processes. The project also intends to foster collaboration with other national and international research funding agencies. The Ideas Lab will be launched in May 2021 with a call for participation.

Financial, human resources and performance information for SSHRC’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.⁠^{Footnote 34}

Core Responsibility 2: Institutional Support for the Indirect Costs of Research

Description: SSHRC, on behalf of CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, provides financial support to universities, colleges and their affiliated research hospitals and institutes to reimburse a portion of indirect costs associated with the funded research.

Results:

The Research Support Fund (RSF) program supports the achievement of SSHRC’s departmental result: Canada’s university and college research environments are strong. The RSF reinforces the investment made by the federal government to support research in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, social sciences and humanities by helping institutions maintain the equipment, facilities and administrative support needed to foster a world-class research environment. Meanwhile, the Incremental Project Grants (IPG)⁠^{Footnote 35} funding stream aligns with the RSF’s objectives, but directs funds to projects that focus on a set of priorities, including:

• 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 EDI).

In 2020–21, the RSF and IPG achieved the following results:

• The RSF, including the IPG stream, invested $414.6 million in 2020–21. RSF grants to postsecondary institutions equalled $369 million. This funding supported 155 institutions to offset part of their indirect costs incurred when managing research funded by the three federal research funding agencies. Grants to postsecondary institutions from the IPG stream alone equalled $45.6 million in 2020–21. This funding provided additional support to 31 institutions for 126 projects.
• Applications to the 2020–21 RSF grant cycle, including the IPG stream, showed the intended use of funds across all five eligible expenditure categories as follows: intellectual property and knowledge mobilization, 6%; research facilities, 33%; research resources, 22%; management and administration of the institution’s research enterprise, 31%; and regulatory requirements and accreditation, 8%.
• Applications to the 2020–21 IPG stream reflected the following distribution across the four eligible priority areas: innovation and commercialization activities, 15%; facilities renewal, 52%; information resources, 25%; and equity, diversity and faculty renewal (in the context of EDI), 8%.
• The 15th-year program evaluation of the RSF was finalized in 2020–21. The final RSF evaluation report⁠^{Footnote 36} and management response to the RSF evaluation⁠^{Footnote 37} were posted online in November 2020. The evaluation recommended that the program continue to contribute financially to defraying the indirect costs associated with federal investments in academic research. It also recommended revising the program’s logic model and institutional reporting to align with the contributory nature of the program, the risk associated with the program and the performance information needs of program management. SSHRC initiated revisions to the program’s logic model in the fall of 2020.

Financial, human resources and performance information for SSHRC’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.⁠^{Footnote 38}

Internal services

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are:

• Acquisition Management Services
• Communication Services
• Financial Management Services
• Human Resources Management Services
• Information Management Services
• Information Technology Services
• Legal Services
• Material Management Services
• Management and Oversight Services
• Real Property Management Services

Results:

Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the way SSHRC conducted its business and required a quick shift to virtual delivery of its internal services.

Enabling SSHRC’s workforce. To enable SSHRC employees to adapt to work virtually from home, in 2020–21 SSHRC continued to equip its workforce with the technology needed to work remotely and strove to ensure all employees are aware of best practices and have confidence in these tools. Throughout the pandemic, the health and safety of employees remained a priority, and SSHRC put in place safety measures for employees required to be on site. Other guidance and supports were developed for employees, including a virtual ergonomic program to ensure staff could work safely from home, and a wide range of mental health resources.

SSHRC also made significant progress in preparing to move to a new location and in aligning with the GCworkplace standard despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

SSHRC also worked to finalize its new People Strategy that set the vision to build a talented and agile workforce that is engaged to contribute to SSHRC’s mandate in a safe, healthy and inclusive work environment for years to come. This strategy sets out, in an integrated and focused way, its strategic priorities and commitments in key areas such as EDI, mental health and wellness, and talent management. The strategy also integrates key elements of SSHRC’s roadmap toward the future of work.

Tri-agency grants management solution. In 2020–21, the Tri-Agency Grants Management Solution team continued to advance the development of the project. Despite delays in obtaining the necessary Treasury Board authorities, progress was made on stakeholder engagement and solidifying the procurement approach. In addition, proofs of concept were successfully completed.

Compliance and alignment. SSHRC continued to plan for several key compliance activities, some of which have been delayed further by the COVID-19 pandemic. SSHRC provided input for updates for the new Policy on Transfer Payments, which has now been postponed to 2022. Collaboration with central agencies and with other SAP partner departments is ongoing to work toward migrating to a new financial system in 2023–24. SSHRC is also compliant with the new Bill-C-65 legislation and has developed a new Prevention of Harassment and Violence in the Workplace policy.

Analysis of trends in spending and human resources

Actual expenditures

In 2020–21, SSHRC had access to the Public Health Events of National Concern Payments Act statutory fund, which it used to support two COVID relief funding initiatives:

• $32.2 million was used to provide paid extensions to scholarships and fellowships and supplemental funding to all existing research grants; and
• $324.8 million was used from the statutory fund for payments to universities and researchers through the Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund. SSHRC also paid $109.6 million from a voted authority under a listed grant with the same name as the program to cover the remaining payments.

During 2020–21, SSHRC’s total authorities available for use increased by $486.5 million over the 2020–21 Main Estimates, largely due to increased funding from the Public Health Events of National Concern Payments Act for COVID-19: $32.2 million in SSHRC statutory funding to provide paid extensions to scholarships and fellowships and supplemental funding to all existing research grants; and $449.8 million of tri-agency funding to support ongoing research activities through the Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund.

Actual human resources

Expenditures by vote

For information on SSHRC’s organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2020–2021.⁠^{Footnote 39}

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of SSHRC’s spending with the Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available in GC InfoBase.⁠^{Footnote 40}

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

SSHRC’s financial statements (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2021, are available on the departmental website.

Financial statement highlights

The increase in total expenses over the previous year is mainly due to spending related to the Public Health Events of National Concern Payments Act to support students and youth impacted by COVID-19, as well as research institutes and universities.

The decrease in total revenues over the previous year is mainly due to a decrease in SharePoint hosting revenues from other government departments.

The decrease in net liabilities and net financial assets is mainly due to grants and scholarships recorded as liabilities at the end of March 2020 (fiscal 2019–20) but paid in April 2020 (fiscal 2020–21). In April 2021 (year-end 2020–21), all grant and scholarship payments were paid within the same month without any impact on year-end liabilities.

The increase in non-financial assets is mainly due to an increase in SSHRC’s tangible capital assets, where expenditures related to the Workplace Renewal project were recorded as construction-in-progress during 2020–21.

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on SSHRC’s website.⁠^{Footnote 43}

For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister’s mandate letter.⁠^{Footnote 44}

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on SSHRC’s website.⁠^{Footnote 45}

Reporting Framework

SSHRC’s Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2020–21 are shown below.

Supporting information on the Program Inventory

Financial, human resources and performance information for SSHRC’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.⁠^{Footnote 46}

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on SSHRC’s website⁠^{Footnote 47}:

• Reporting on Green Procurement
• Details on transfer payment programs
• Gender-based analysis plus

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.⁠^{Footnote 48} This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA+ of tax expenditures.

Organizational contact information

Mailing address

350 Albert Street
Ottawa, ON K1P 6G4
Canada

Telephone: 613-992-0691
Email: corporate-performance@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
Website: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council⁠^{Footnote 49}

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3-year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité)

A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

experimentation (expérimentation)

The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works, for whom and in what circumstances. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])

An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2020–21 Departmental Results Report, those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2019 Speech from the Throne, namely: Fighting climate change; Strengthening the Middle Class; Walking the road of reconciliation; Keeping Canadians safe and healthy; and Positioning Canada for success in an uncertain world.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)

The process of communicating evidence based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.

Date modified:

2022-02-01