The Government of Canada introduced new funding through the Research Support Fund (RSF) in Budget 2022 to further support the activities related to the indirect costs of research security and to support the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships.
Research security is categorized as a fifth priority area of the IPGs. These investments are aligned with the RSF’s objectives to help Canadian post-secondary institutions ensure their federally funded research projects are conducted in world-class facilities with the best equipment and administrative support available. By directing funds to specific investments and to annual or multiyear projects initiated by institutions, research security funding will help to build capacity within post-secondary institutions to identify, assess and mitigate the potential risks to research security.
This year the funds will cover several major elements. First, to engage with faculty, departments, and key University institutes on the major issues of research security, specifically the STRAC policy and its regulatory requirements. The program will also engage with senior government personnel, both federal and provincial, on the process of risk assessment and risk mitigation related to funding requirements and the provisions of safeguarding science. This project continues to implement a strategy to institutionalize risk assessment and risk mitigation requirements associated with research security for contracts, grant applications, corporate assessments, institutional relationships, faculty collaborations, and procurement evaluation. The National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships and STRAC policy are the basis from which risk will be measured in federal and provincial granting applications.
Projects for the upcoming year include:
Maintaining existing capability and capacity in the Waterloo Research Security Program: $742,768
Project allocation for 2024/2025
Enhance capability and capacity in the Research Security Program for UWaterloo: $422,266
Create a program to evaluate risk assessment and risk mitigation in funding applications: $189,543
Safeguarding Research Systems and Data Optimization: $125,000
Project allocation for 2023/24
Create a Research Security program for UWaterloo: $690,813
Create a program to evaluate risk assessment and risk mitigation in funding applications: $91,716
Project allocation for 2022/23
Create a Research Security Program for UWaterloo: $690,813
Create a program to evaluate risk assessment and risk mitigation in funding applications: $106,600