Reporting

We have numerous faculty who have been awarded federal funding from the Tri-Council (SSHRC, NSERC) for their research. Their success here is recognized by means of the Tri-Council’s Research Support Fund (RSF). RSF allocation is calculated based on a formula which includes the amount of funding awarded to an institution’s researchers from any of the federal research agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR) over the past three years. The RSF helps universities pay for indirect (or overhead) costs related to research including the cost of maintaining research offices, labs, and equipment, and the salaries of administration staff who support research.  

Institutions have flexibility in deciding how to use their assigned RSF provided that the funds are used for the payment of current expenditures attributed to federally sponsored research that falls within the following five categories: 

• Research facilities
• Research resources
• Management and administration of an institution’s research enterprise
• Regulatory requirements and accreditation
• Intellectual property and Knowledge mobilization

At StMU, the funding from this program is typically used to cover expenditures in the categories Research Resources and Management and Administration. That is, this allocation assists in funding the cost of research resources, survey and data analysis software and licenses. It also contributes to the course buy out of the Director of Research (a faculty member) who provides oversight on all research-related matters including assistance and support to researchers.  

In compliance with Tri-council policy, institutions receiving $25,000 or more in RSF funding are required to publicly report on the allocation of this funding every year (based on their notional amount) and provide reports from previous years. The former and latter can be found below: