Research Support Fund

What is the Research Support Fund?

What are indirect costs of research?

Research funding provided through the granting agencies (CIHR, NSERC and 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.” These costs include, for example, the costs of maintaining modern labs and equipment; costs of providing researchers with access to up-to-date knowledge resources; costs of managing and administering research; costs of meeting regulatory and ethical requirements; and costs of transferring research results to knowledge users.

The Research Support Fund assists Canadian postsecondary institutions with the costs associated with managing their research enterprise, helping them to maintain a world-class research environment. Grants can be used to:

  •     maintain modern labs and equipment;
  •     provide access to up-to-date knowledge resources;
  •     provide research management and administrative support;
  •     meet regulatory and ethical standards; or
  •     transfer knowledge from academia to the private, public and not-for-profit sectors

…helping make Canada a world leader in research and development.

What are Incremental Project Grants?

The Incremental Project grants (IPG) funding opportunity is a stream of the Research Support Fund that provides further support for the indirect costs of research, in addition to the RSF grant.

IPG priority areas include:

  • innovation and commercialization activities;
  • facilities renewal, including deferred maintenance;
  • information resources, including digital resources, open access and databases;
  • equity, diversity and faculty renewal (in the context of equity, diversity and inclusion); and
  • research security.

Who is eligible as an affiliated institution?

Western provides allocations from the Research Support Fund to support units across campus, including its faculties and internal centres, institutes and groups, like Robarts Research Institute and the Stroke Prevention & Arteriosclerosis Research Centre. Funds from this program also provide benefits to:


Research Support Fund expenditures (Projected, 2023-24)

  • Facilities ($4,438,569)
  • Management & Administration ($4,857,302)
  • Resources ($701,378)
  • Regulatory Requirements & Accreditation ($157,025)
  • Intellectual Property ($314,050)

How are funds used?

This program touches research at every level, from the identification of a funding program or the completion of a grant application to supporting cutting-edge facilities and resources that help a researcher bring an idea to life. Western uses the Research Support Fund to support research in the following six categories:

Research facilities

In its most recent strategic plan, Towards Western at 150,’ Western set out ambitious goals to extend its reach and impact globally. At the core of many of these objectives is the need to nurture a research climate conducive to attracting and retaining the very best and brightest faculty and trainees, while offering infrastructure and tools that allow them to produce research that has global and local impact, and provides solutions to the world’s outstanding problems. It goes without saying that in an increasingly competitive, mobile and international academic community, top researchers are drawn to environments that will most benefit their research programs and offer the best opportunity for success.

This funding has provided all of Western’s faculties with benefits from updated laboratories and core facilities, while supporting technical staff, operations, ongoing maintenance and services costs. Used strategically, these funds allow Western to organize research on a thematic or programmatic basis and to increase collaborative research programs that increase the odds of success.

Research resources

Western’s ability to achieve ambitious objectives set out in Towards Western at 150 is also heavily reliant on its ability to purchase, maintain and develop research-related materials, including publications, software and hardware. By providing researchers with assets central to discovery, we are better positioned to produce research with impact, and to cultivate a culture of advanced innovation. Much of this investment is made in the University's extensive library system, and increasingly, in digital resources that provide researchers with access to previously impossible-to-find primary and secondary sources – regardless of their location.

Management and administration of the institution's research enterprise

By allowing academics to dedicate a greater proportion of their time into research, the Research Support Fund’s investments in research administration contribute greatly to Western’s ability to foster a leading culture of innovation. Furthermore, they help the University forge important partnerships with academic institutions, industry and communities to encourage the translation of knowledge and discoveries for the betterment of Canadian lives.

Broadly speaking, this funding helps faculties across the university provide researchers with a number of support services critical to the efficient management of the research process, including accounting, rules and procedures guidance, human resources administration, information technology, research promotion and knowledge transfer. These services enable researchers to ensure that appropriate guidelines for grant funding are being followed, expenditures are managed, and human resource issues are taken care of on their behalf, allowing them to focus on their scientific work and increase productivity.

Regulatory requirements and accreditation

As part of its effort to take the next step as a globally recognized research institution, Western has consistently assumed a leadership role with regards to research ethics and animal care accreditation. Compliance has become an increasingly important – and time consuming – aspect of the research enterprise, and Research Support Fund funding contributes to supports that lessen time burden for principal investigators, allowing them to focus more on their research programs. Research Support Fund monies are an essential resource that allows Western to achieve accreditation and maintain its enterprise in a climate where there are ever-increasing concerns about privacy, ethics and compliance.

Intellectual property

Funds provided through for indirect costs continue to support WORLDiscoveries in its commercialization efforts. Research Support Fund monies underwrite the operation’s base budget and allow WORLDiscoveries to recruit and retain highly qualified business development managers and administrative support personnel.  

These managers often then transfer their acquired skills into the private sector and/or establish companies of their own to help migrate new inventions to market. In all cases, WORLDiscoveries agreements return vital investment to the institutions and allow researchers to continue their work with capital generated from a marketplace that places an economic value on their inventions. WORLDiscoveries remains committed to this service proposition and will continue to use these funds to support its market-driven mandate.

Funds provided through for indirect costs continue to support WORLDiscoveries in its commercialization efforts. Research Support Fund monies underwrite the operation’s base budget and allow WORLDiscoveries to recruit and retain highly qualified business development managers and administrative support personnel.  

These managers often then transfer their acquired skills into the private sector and/or establish companies of their own to help migrate new inventions to market. In all cases, WORLDiscoveries agreements return vital investment to the institutions and allow researchers to continue their work with capital generated from a marketplace that places an economic value on their inventions. WORLDiscoveries remains committed to this service proposition and will continue to use these funds to support its market-driven mandate.


Incremental Project Grant areas of support

Area of Support 2019–2020 2020-2021
2021-2022
2022-2023
2023-2024 (Planned)
Innovation and commercialization activities $634,689 $280,363 $643,947 $619,926 $681,821
Facilties renewal, including deferred maintenance $233,695 $1,430,394 $1,026,170 $688,094 $100,000
Information resources, including digital resources, open access and databases $65,290 $0 $282,331 $606,876 $1,062,056
Equity, diversity, and faculty renewal (in the context of equity, diversity and inclusion) $183,863 $0 $174,302 $83,826 $226,877
Research security $824,430 $793,161
Totals $1,065,988 $1,417,707 $2,126,750 $2,822,151
 $2,709,812

Research Security

Broadly speaking, research security refers to the measures protecting knowledge, technologies and data that could assist a foreign threat's advancement of geopolitical, economic or security interests to Canada's detriment. Target assets can vary from applications in weapons of mass destruction programs (e.g., chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) to dual-use technologies (e.g., those with both civilian and military applications) such as artificial intelligence, bio and nanotechnologies, quantum computing and the intellectual property and confidential information used for research.


RSF, IPG and research security Indicators and outcomes

2023–24

2022–23

2021–22

2020–21

2019–20

2018–19

2017–18


Contact

For more information, or questions relating to the Research Support Fund program, please contact Lisa Cechetto, Executive Director, Western Research, 519-661-2111, ext. 88693.