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CCR Budget Response, April 2015

News Release:

Budget 2015: Some important new investments, but missed opportunities for discovery-driven research

(Ottawa, Ontario) April 22, 2015 — Although the Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) acknowledges the new research funding announced yesterday, Budget 2015 missed key opportunities when it comes to funding for discovery research and graduate students.

The CCR pre-budget submission recommended increased investments in the tri-council basic research discovery funding programs, support for students through graduate scholarships and internships, and support for Canada’s knowledge infrastructure.

The budget announced a total of $10 million in new funding in support of research and innovation activities for 2015 that includes digital research infrastructure support for CANARIE, funding for TRIUMF, and industry-research partnerships through the National Research Council. It also included a number of promises of funding to start in future years, such as: funding targeted mainly for industry-research partnerships through the tri-councils (2016-2017); support for Mitacs (2016-2017); and new investments in CFI (2017-2018).

While we acknowledge and welcome the importance of the announced funding, the absence of either immediate or promised increases to discovery research funding through the NSERC Discovery Grants, SSHRC Insight Grants, and CIHR Operating Grants is of primary concern to the CCR. As noted above, the promised future increased funding is, once again, allocated to tri-council targeted programs.

“Industry-partnered research is important to answer questions of an immediate or targeted nature. However, science advances and innovations happen when researchers are supported in discovery –research that isn’t driven by specific industry needs or interests,” says Canadian Consortium for Research Chair, Dr. Lisa Votta-Bleeker.

“While the increase to Mitacs is welcome, the CCR is disappointed that there is no new funding for graduate scholarships and internships. An opportunity to address the needs of students and support the next generation of researchers was, unfortunately, missed,” added Dr. Votta-Bleeker.

The CCR will continue to advocate for funding for discovery-based research, graduate student funding and for support for knowledge infrastructure such as Statistics Canada and Library Archives Canada.

The CCR is the largest advocacy coalition in Canada, focusing on research funding in all disciplines and support for post-secondary education. CCR includes 19 organizations that represent more than 50,000 researchers and 500,000 students across disciplines.

For more information:
Dr. Lisa Votta-Bleeker
Chair, Canadian Consortium for Research
executiveoffice@cpa.ca or 613-237-2144 ext. 323

CCR_BudgetResponses_April2015_Final.pdf

CCR Budget Response, February 2014

News Release:

Budget 2014 introduces new funding for research, but more needs to be done.

For immediate release: February 12, 2014 –

OTTAWA— The Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR) welcomes research funding in Budget 2014, some of which support CCR’s key recommendations. The CCR recommended increased investments in basic research, support for students through graduate scholarships and internships, and support for Canada’s knowledge infrastructure.

“We are pleased to see some support for our recommendations in Budget 2014. However, this money is really just the bare minimum required to maintain existing funding for the granting councils and TRIUMF,” says Canadian Consortium for Research Chair, Dr. Lisa Votta-Bleeker.

The $46 million per annum to support advanced research, scientific discoveries, and indirect costs maintains current granting council base funding when adjusted for inflation. “Positively, the new funds for NSERC and SSHRC can be put toward discovery-based research in contrast to the past two federal budgets,” says Dr. Votta-Bleeker.

This budget introduces a Canada First Research Excellence Fund that promises over $1 billion in funding over the next decade. The CCR expects this program will provide research support to all post-secondary institutions and researchers across Canada, and awaits further details.

Budget 2014 includes support for full-time internships for post-secondary education graduates in high-demand fields. While the CCR is pleased to see some investment in internships, it is insufficient to meet current student needs. The Budget does not include any new funding to address the shortfall in Canada’s graduate scholarships nor does it contain any new financial assistance to address student debt.

The CCR is disappointed that its recommendation to support knowledge infrastructure for Statistics Canada and Library Archives Canada was not addressed in Budget 2014. These key institutions must be strengthened as the federal government returns to fiscal balance next year.

Budget 2014 announces funds for TRIUMF, Quantum Computing and the Open Data Institute. The CCR welcomes these funds, but these are insufficient to maintain current levels of operation for TRIUMF when accounting for inflation. As a minimum, all of Canada’s research institutes and laboratories require stable inflation-adjusted funds to continue. New investment is required for program growth and to remain competitive internationally.

For more information:
Dr. Lisa Votta-Bleeker
Chair, Canadian Consortium for Research
executiveoffice@cpa.ca or 613-237-2144 ext. 323

CCR_BudgetResponses_Feb2014_Final.pdf

CCR Breakfast with Canada’s Funding Agencies

The CCR hosted its second annual breakfast with Canada’s funding agencies on December 4th, 2013.

In attendance at the breakfast were:

Mr. Pierre Charest, Associate Vice-President, Corporate Planning and Policy, NSERC
Dr. Jane Aubin, Chief Scientific Officer/Vice-President of Research, CIHR
Dr. Rob Annan, Vice President, Research and Policy, MITACS
Dr. Ted Hewitt, Executive Vice-President, SSHRC
Dr. Gilles Patry, CEO and President, Canadian Foundation for Innovation