Section 1: institutional GBA Plus governance and capacity
Governance
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has several committees in place, at different levels, that support the advancement of EDI. SSHRC maintains an Executive Coordination Committee on EDI to support agency-wide approaches to meeting the EDI objectives set out in the Tri-Agency EDI Action Plan. SSHRC also participates in an Interagency Coordination Committee on EDI to support coordination across SSHRC and other federal research funding agencies.
SSHRC also maintains standing and ad-hoc external advisory committees to better understand differential impacts of our programs as well as to inform program design and other actions implemented to advance EDI. One such long-standing committee is the Advisory Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy that focuses on the Tri-agency Institutional Programs that SSHRC administers on behalf of the three federal research funding agencies (including, notably, the Canada Research Chairs Program).
Key actions taken in 2022-23 to advance the implementation of GBA Plus governance within SSHRC occurred through the work of the Advisory Committee to Address Anti-Black Racism in Research and Research Training and the newly created external Advisory Committee on Accessibility and Systemic Ableism. In addition to its internal engagement with its Persons with Disabilities Network, the internal Working Group on Anti-Black Racism and several focus groups, SSHRC’s engagement with both external advisory committees has provided the agency with insight and understanding to support GBA Plus objectives and inform the agency’s analyses of the differential impact of our policies and programs.
The work of the Advisory Committee to Address Anti-Black Racism in Research and Research Training led to the publication of their report this year that identified ways to break down existing barriers to ensure equitable access for Black scholars in SSHRC funding opportunities and in the Canadian research enterprise more broadly. In a published response to the report, SSHRC committed to developing an action plan to address the Committee’s findings and recommendations.
Similarly, engagement with the Advisory Committee on Accessibility and Systemic Ableism and collaborative efforts across the agency helped shape SSHRC’s inaugural Accessibility Plan, which identifies barriers to accessibility in the agency’s programs and policies and proposes actions to remove and prevent them. SSHRC is currently developing an implementation strategy to detail the actions the agency will take over the next three years to fulfill the requirements laid out in the Accessibility Plan.
Capacity
In 2022-23, institutional GBA Plus capacity at SSHRC was advanced through the continued collection of self-identification data from funding applicants, co-applicants and merit reviewers; the incorporation of a GBA Plus lens in evaluations; and mandatory training for all staff on GBA Plus and diversity and inclusion.
GBA Plus departmental capacity was advanced through SSHRC’s continued collection of self-identification data from funding applicants, co-applicants and merit reviewers (as it has done since 2018), and an annual update of SSHRC’s EDI dashboard. The self-identification questionnaire and dashboard are important sources of administrative data on the participation of underrepresented groups in SSHRC’s funding programs. They also allow SSHRC to monitor the equity performance of its funding programs and eventually design new measures to help ensure that the agency supports a diverse and inclusive research community.
In 2022-23, SSHRC’s Evaluation Division conducted program evaluations using a GBA Plus protocol that includes standardized sub-questions and data collection tools to identify any potential differential impacts of SSHRC’s programs with respect to research, research training and research careers. This protocol was used in the evaluation of the Canada Research Chairs Program and in the Talent Evaluation (the tri-agency evaluation of funding for graduate student training).
SSHRC continued to implement mandatory training for all staff: Introduction to GBA Plus; and Diversity and Inclusion. Bias in Peer Review is a mandatory training for program delivery staff. Staff members who handle self-identification data must take the Introduction to Security Awareness course and the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Data and Privacy Protection course. By March 31, 2023, 76.34% of SSHRC staff had completed the Introduction to GBA Plus training course.
SSHRC also provides equity training for all members of its tri-agency executive management governance committees and implements action plans related to EDI objectives from the management responses to the program evaluations for the Canada Excellence Research Chairs, Canada 150 Research Chairs and Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
Section 2: gender and diversity impacts, by program
Core responsibility: Funding Social Sciences and Humanities Research and Training
Insight Research provides grants to researchers and institutions to support research and related activities in the social sciences and humanities. This program builds knowledge and understanding about people, societies and the world, as well as informs the search for solutions to societal challenges. Self-identification data is collected from applicants and other participants in almost all the funding opportunities within this program, and is analyzed annually to better understand access to agency funding by members of underrepresented or historically marginalized groups, as well as diversity within the overall Canadian research enterprise. Significant engagement with Black scholars, deaf and disabled scholars and Indigenous scholars through formal external committees established or active in 2022-23 is helping identify and implement actions that the agency needs to take to better support participation in these programs, as well as diversity in the broader research enterprise.
This program attracts and retains the best and brightest by recognizing and supporting research talent at varying career stages, including funding for graduate or postgraduate-level research and recognition of achievements through awards and prizes. Self-identification data is collected from applicants and other participants in almost all funding opportunities within this program and is analyzed annually to better understand access to agency funding by members of underrepresented or historically marginalized groups, as well as diversity within the overall Canadian research enterprise. Significant efforts in 2022-23 were made within the Talent Evaluation, which applied a GBA Plus framework to understand differential outputs and outcomes of tri-agency talent programs. In 2022-23, targeted funding for Black scholars and Indigenous scholars was implemented within this program. The recommendations and the management response to the evaluation will consider possible differential effects on different populations.
Target population:
Students, international students, scientific researchers
Distribution of benefits
Distribution
Group
By gender
Third group
By income level
Second group
By age group
First group
Key program impactsFootnote * on gender and diversity
This program provides funding to enable social sciences and humanities research collaboration with partners across academic, public, private and not-for-profit sectors. This program helps stimulate leading-edge, internationally competitive research, fosters strong and productive research collaborations with multisectoral partners, and accelerates the use of research results by organizations that can harness them for Canadian economic, social and cultural development. Self-identification data is collected from applicants and other participants in almost all funding opportunities within this program, and is analyzed annually to better understand access to agency funding by members of underrepresented or historically marginalized groups, as well as diversity within the overall Canadian research enterprise. Significant engagement with Black scholars, deaf and disabled scholars and Indigenous scholars, through formal external committees established or active in 2022, is helping identify and implement actions that the agency needs to take to better support participation in these programs, as well as diversity in the broader research enterprise.
New Frontiers in Research Fund provides grants to support transformative, interdisciplinary and high-risk research led by researchers at eligible institutions. The program supports fast-breaking research in response to urgent issues and time-sensitive opportunities for international collaboration. It also provides targeted funding for research in emerging areas. The program is administered by SSHRC on behalf of the CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC. Self-identification data is collected from applicants and other participants in almost all of the funding opportunities within this program, and is analyzed annually to better understand access to agency funding by members of underrepresented or historically marginalized groups, as well as diversity within the overall Canadian research enterprise. Multiple EDI considerations have been implemented in the design and delivery of the NFRF funding opportunities, including in the requirements for applicants and in the adjudication processes.
Target population:
Scientific researchers
Distribution of benefits
Distribution
Group
By gender
Third group
By income level
Fourth group
By age group
Second group
Key program impactsFootnote * on gender and diversity
The Canada Biomedical Research Fund is a federal grant program announced in Budget 2021 to support high-risk applied research, training and talent development, as part of a suite of foundational investments to establish a resilient and robust domestic biomanufacturing sector in Canada. The Fund contributes to the pipeline of new technologies and supports the translation of academic research into applications and commercial products. Multiple EDI considerations have been implemented in the design and delivery of the CBRF, including in the requirements for applicants.
Target population:
Scientific researchers
Distribution of benefits
Distribution
Group
By gender
Third group
By income level
Fourth group
By age group
Second group
Key program impactsFootnote * on gender and diversity
The Research Support Fund supports institutions by offering grants to offset the indirect costs of research in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, or health. This program builds institutional capacity by offsetting the central and departmental administrative costs that institutions incur in supporting research, which are not attributable to specific research projects. The Research Support Fund allows postsecondary institutions to advance, among other eligible areas, their own EDI objectives through RSF base program grants as well as through Incremental Project Grants.
Target population:
Colleges and/or universities
Distribution of benefits
Distribution
Group
By gender
Third group
By income level
Fourth group
By age group
Second group
Other key program impacts
Introduction to GBA Plus and associated mandatory training given to policy and program delivery staff enabled those employees to define key concepts of GBA Plus and to recognize how various identity factors can influence the experience of members of designated groups in dealing with the federal government.
A mandatory Bias-Awareness Training for Staffing Purposes course was offered throughout the year. The course provides a variety of applicable examples and strategies for mitigating the impacts of biases in the staffing process. The course is designed for executives, managers, supervisors and staff participating in hiring committees. Subsequently, a bias-awareness checklist with tips for screening and interview processes was developed to raise managers’ awareness of their possible biases to help eliminate them from staffing processes.
Ongoing communication with managers through the quarterly human resources bulletin and with all staff continued through monthly learning emails highlighting various learning opportunities related to EDI and GBA Plus.
GBA Plus data collection plan
Key actions taken in 2022-23 include data collection and analysis of SSHRC’s program through the self-identification questionnaire. These actions will continue to be taken to develop and improve data collection and analysis tools for program impact assessment.. Additionally, SSHRC’s EDI dashboard will continue to present an aggregated summary of applications, awards, success rates and committee participation related to identity factors collected through the self-identification questionnaire (age, gender, Indigenous, visible minority, disability).
Scales
Gender scale
First group: predominantly men (80% or more men)
Second group: 60% to 79% men
Third group: broadly gender-balanced
Fourth group: 60% to 79% women
Fifth group: predominantly women (80% or more women)
Income‑level scale
First group: strongly benefits low‑income individuals (strongly progressive)
Second group: somewhat benefits low‑income individuals (somewhat progressive)
Third group: no significant distributional impacts
