Research Support Fund

Research funding provided through three federal research granting agencies [Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)] is generally limited to direct project costs (e.g., research equipment, research assistant salaries, etc.). Institutions whose researchers receive funding for research also incur costs to manage their research enterprise. These are often called “indirect costs of research.” From 2015-2016, the Research Support Fund (RSF) program replaces the former Indirect Costs Program established in 2003.

The RSF assists Canadian postsecondary institutions and their affiliated research hospitals and institutes with the indirect costs/expenses associated with managing the research funded by the three federal research granting agencies. The RSF grant can be used to:

• maintain modern labs and equipment;
• provide access to up-to-date knowledge resources;
• provide research management and administrative support, including support for equity, diversity and inclusion practices;
• meet regulatory and ethical standards/requirements; and
• transfer research results/knowledge from academia to the knowledge users (private, public and not-for-profit sectors).

The RSF grant that the University College of the North (UCN) receives each year helps to defray a portion of these costs. A full list of RSF eligible expenses is provided at www.rsf-fsr.gc.ca/administer-administrer/expenditures-depenses-eng.aspx. More details about the RSF program are available at http://www.rsf-fsr.gc.ca/home-accueil-eng.aspx.

Affiliated Organizations

UCN does not have any affiliated organizations.

RSF Allocation in 2024-2025

The RSF grant assists Canadian postsecondary institutions with the costs associated with managing their research enterprise, helping them to maintain a world-class research environment. In 2024-2025, the RSF grant amount allocated to UCN is $63,066. UCN has planned to distribute this RSF grant under the five expenditure categories as listed below:

1. Research Facilities ($6,000; 9.5%): Research equipment, furniture, maintenance and operating cost.
2. Research Resources ($16,066; 25.4%): Campus-wide SPSS license, NVivo license, library holdings, telecommunication, IT and databases.
3. Management and Administration ($14,000; 22.2%): Research grant consultancy, grant writing workshops, research planning and promotion, research collaboration, and memberships and conference participations in CARA, CAUBO, CICan and others.
4. Regulatory Requirements and Accreditation ($17,000; 27.0%): Participation in CCAC program, animal user training for students and faculty, and memberships and conference participations in CAREB, CCAC and others.
5. Intellectual Property and Knowledge Mobilization ($10,000; 15.9%): Annual truth and reconciliation conference, and Indigenous knowledge initiatives.

RSF Communications Strategy for 2024-2025

UCN acknowledges and is grateful for the support of the Government of Canada and three federal research granting agencies (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC), through its RSF.

The RSF grant provides financial support to UCN to achieve its research goals by minimizing the costs in five eligible expenditure areas: research facilities, research resources, management and administration of research enterprise, regulatory requirements and accreditation, intellectual property management and knowledge mobilization.

Research at UCN contributes to the achievement of our Strategic Plan, and contributes to the economic well-being of the peoples of Northern Manitoba and beyond.

In an effort to provide information about the role of the RSF grant in supporting and building capacity for research at UCN, the following specific communications strategies will be followed through 2024-2025:

1. UCN Website:
   UCN’s website, https://ucn.ca/, contains a webpage specifically highlighting the RSF and its impact on research and research capacity building at UCN. The RSF webpage, located at https://ucn.ca/research-support-fund/, highlights RSF allocation, usage and outcomes. All research related articles, videos and audio clips that utilized RSF grant will acknowledge the impact of RSF. UCN’s RSF webpage will be updated regularly. The webpage of UCN’s Office of Research (https://ucn.ca/research/) will have a report listing all research-related and scholarly activities.
2. Publications:
   UCN will capitalize on publications created by its faculty, staff, students, and others associated with federally-funded research activities, in order to highlight and share research stories with both internal and external audiences. The RSF will be given a direct reference in publications, emphasizing the value it has brought to strengthening the research environment at UCN.
3. Media Relations:
   Existing local and regional media contacts will be contacted, and relationships will be built with new media sources in order to share UCN’s research stories and successes. Any stories being published through news releases will acknowledge the support of the RSF grant in the release.
4. Social Media:
   Social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) will be utilized to share news and generate conversations about UCN’s research expertise and contributions.
5. Presentations/Lectures:
   All federally-funded research-related presentations will acknowledge contributions from the RSF grant. This could be a verbal acknowledgement and/or acknowledgement through inclusion of the RSF on the ‘Benefactors/Thank You’ page of a slideshow presentation.
6. Annual Truth and Reconciliation Conference:

Recognition for the support of the RSF will be also included in the opening and closing remarks of our annual Truth and Reconciliation academic conference which is well-attended by both academics and the general public.