August 2014: CCR Pre-Budget Submission

Ottawa, August 2014 –

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
With 19 member organizations, the Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) represents more than
50,000 researchers and 500,000 students across disciplines (http://en.ccr-ccr.ca/). In this capacity, it is the
largest advocacy coalition in Canada, focusing on research funding in all disciplines and support for post-secondary education.

The CCR recognizes that the federal government has continued to make investments in research
infrastructures, internships, as well as in Canada’s federal granting councils in past years. We look
forward to further details about the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, which we anticipate will be
accessible to all post-secondary institutions across Canada, based on a peer-review process by the
research community.

We appreciate that in a time of fiscal constraint, increases in research funding may have been seen as
challenging; necessitating a number of years of austerity for the research community, particularly
individual researchers who have seen base funding for the granting councils decrease when adjusted for
inflation. As we enter a surplus budget, increased investments in core funding for research, students and
infrastructure are required to ensure program growth and to position Canada competitively in the
international research landscape.

These investments will contribute to more and better-paying jobs, new inventions and patents, increased
productivity, increased government revenues over the medium- to long-term and an increased standard
of living for Canadians. They will also help to secure Canada’s place as an international work destination
for the next generation of researchers. For these reasons, the CCR submits the following
recommendations for further investments in these areas as part of the 2015 Budget:

  • Recommendation #1: That the government continue to increase the base budgets for the granting
    councils and the Indirect Cost of Research program at levels that compensate for the effects of
    current and past inflation, including increases in costs associated with infrastructure and research
    personnel, and restore Canada’s international competitiveness, measured as a percentage of GDP.
    Cost: $150 million per year.
  • Recommendation #2: Increased support for students through graduate scholarships, full-time
    internships and post-graduate training, across a diversity of disciplines and settings, particularly high demand
    fields. Cost: $35 million per year.
  • :Recommendation #3: Invest in various building blocks of Canada’s national research capacity and public science that support research conducted both within and outside of academic settings. Cost: $20 million per year.

    • The CCR’s recommendations address four of the six key themes identified by the House of Commons
    Standing Committee on Finance:

  • Theme 2: Supporting families and helping vulnerable Canadians by focusing on health, education and training
  • Theme 3: Increasing the competitiveness of Canadian businesses through research, development, innovation and commercialization
  • Theme 4: Ensuring prosperous and secure communities, including through support for infrastructure
  • Theme 6: Maximizing the number and types of jobs for Canadians

    • Click here for the full submission: CCR_pre-budget_submission_July2014_v10_Final.pdf