Briefing material for SSHRC’s appearance at the Standing Committee on Science and Research

May 16, 2023, 12:00 to 1:00PM

Archived information

Archived information is provided for reference, research or record-keeping purposes. It is not subject to Government of Canada web standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Contact us to request a format other than those available.

Table of content

• Purpose
• Background
• Opening Remarks
• Responsive Lines
  • Student Award Levels
  • Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in research excellence
  • Industry Connections, Support for Rural Students, International Students
  • Economic Impact, Attracting and Retaining Talent
  • Francophone Research Talent
  • Encouraging Student Voices
  • Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System
• Annex A—SRSR Committee Membership
  • Other Members
    • Liberal Party of Canada
    • Conservative Party of Canada
    • New Democratic Party
• Annex B—SRSR Committee Study On Scholarships And Fellowships
• Annex C—SRSR Committee Study On Top Talent, Research And Innovation (May 2022)
• Annex D—Advisory Panel On The Federal Research Support System
• Annex E—Select Breakdowns Of Sshrc And Tri-Agency Support For Graduate Students And Postdoctoral Fellow
• Annex F—Summary Of Application And Award Rates For Tri-Agency And Agency-Specific Talent Funding Opportunities
• Annex G—Université Laval And EDI In The Canada Research Chairs Program
  • Key Messages
  • December 2019 deadline equity target results

Purpose

On May 16, representatives from SSHRC (Ted Hewitt, Valérie La Traverse, Sylvie Lamoureux), NSERC (Alejandro Adem, Manal Bahubeshi, Marc Fortin) and CIHR (Mike Strong, Christian Baron) will appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research (SRSR), to deliver opening remarks and answer questions in support of the committee’s study on:

• the Government of Canada’s graduate scholarship and post-doctoral fellowship programs, in particular the freezing of funding amounts, the funding system and the impact on graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

Representatives from ISED (Nipun Vats) and NRC (TBD) as well as the Chief Science Advisor (Mona Nemer) will appear during the first half of the meeting on the same day, from 11:00 to 12:00PM.

Background

The mandate of the committee includes, among other things, reviewing and reporting on all issues relating to science and research, including any reports of the Chief Science Advisor, and any other matter which the House refers to the standing committee.

On April 25th, the committee elected a new Chair, MP Lloyd Longfield, who replaces the outgoing Chair, Hon. Kirsty Duncan (see Annex A for the committee membership).

The SRSR Committee has so far agreed to undertake studies on the following topics:

Study Topic	Study Status
Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs)	Completed
Successes, challenges, and opportunities for science in Canada	Completed
Attracting and retaining top talent at Canadian post-secondary institutions	Completed
Research and scientific publication in French	In Progress
International moonshot programs	Report pending
Role and value of citizen scientists	Report pending
Commercialization of intellectual property	Report pending
Government of Canada graduate scholarship and post-doctoral fellowship programs	Began May 4th, 2023
Long-term impacts of the gender and diversity pay gap for faculty at Canadian universities	Not started
The science and research needs in Canada's Arctic	Not started
Big Science (site visits to large research infrastructure projects)	On hold

The first two meetings of the committee’s study on Government of Canada’s scholarship and fellowship programs were scheduled for May 4th and May 9th (see Annex B for a summary of the first two meetings).

On May 1st, Committee members MP Richard Cannings and MP Maxime Blanchette-Joncas hosted a joint press conference on Parliament Hill with organizers of the Support Our Science movement, the Quebec Student Union, and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations to express their support for students and fellows and ask the government to act to better support them.

The committee previously completed a study on how to attract and retain top research talent in Canada. ISED and NSERC appeared before the Committee in May 2022 for that study, and all three granting agencies contributed to the ISED-led government response to the committee’s report (see Annex C for relevant issues and recommendations).

The Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System issued a report of its findings and recommendations, several of which are related to talent (see Annex D).

Opening Remarks

Check against delivery

• Thank you, Mister Chair and committee members, for the invitation to speak again before the Standing Committee.
• I am very pleased to appear before you today as president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council—often known as S-S-H-R-C or SSHRC— the federal research funding agency that supports postsecondary research and research training in the social sciences and humanities. We are also responsible for administering many prestigious, national tri-agency research funding programs, such as the Canada Research Chairs and the Canada Excellence Research Chairs programs, and we house the Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) Secretariat. I am proud to currently serve as chair of the CRCC.
• In terms of our research training and talent development programs and initiatives, SSHRC fosters the development of talented and creative people in the social sciences and humanities disciplines—from history and geography to international relations, business and economics—who will become leaders across campuses and communities, and who will go on to contribute to Canada’s success in the globalized 21st century.
• In 2021–22, SSHRC supported more than 4,900 graduate students (masters and PhDs), and postdoctoral fellows directly through scholarships and fellowships, representing an investment of $124 million. SSHRC also supported over 4,200 students and fellows indirectly through grants that were awarded to researchers at postsecondary institutions across Canada, which accounted for $72 million in additional support.
• SSHRC is attentive to the growing calls for increased investment in research scholarships and fellowships. The fact is, as you know well, that despite being a core component of the Canadian funding landscape, award amounts have been stagnant for nearly 20 years and have not kept pace with inflation.
• The stagnating value of awards is definitely putting a burden on research trainees and fellows, making it more challenging for them to focus on their research and develop their skills. Students in the social sciences and humanities in particular face added constraints in seeking indirect sources of research funding, such as through grants, as compared to their peers in the natural sciences and health disciplines.
• That being said, given the funds available for this purpose within our system, there has always been a tension between raising the value of awards versus increasing their number, which we have effectively done. It is also worth noting that the federal government is not the sole source of funding for graduate students, nor does funding from this source account for the majority of support provided to students. Provinces and universities are important partners in this too.
• Perhaps now is the time to address both these realities, as we can all agree that supporting the next generation of researchers in Canada—from across all disciplines—has never been more crucial. It is key to sustaining Canada’s leadership and strength in research and to helping us respond to global threats and seize opportunities that will create a better future for us all.
• How we will achieve this is a matter that must be addressed collectively, both within and beyond the granting councils. Consequently, I look forward to our discussion today about how we might work together to better support graduate training and research. 
• Thank you.

519 words = approx. 4 minutes

Responsive Lines

N.B. most of the anticipatory questions and answers below were developed by NSERC and were adapted for SSHRC. In addition to being expedient, this will ensure more consistent responses across the granting agencies.

Student Award Levels

How many students and fellows does SSHRC support?

• In 2022-23, SSHRC supported more than 4,800 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows directly through scholarships and fellowships, representing $125 million.
  • Through scholarships, SSHRC directly supports about 2.8% of Canada’s masters and doctoral students in the social sciences and humanities. In 2019, the total SSH student population included 68,000 full-time Master’s students and 19,000 full-time Doctoral students in SSH.
• In 2022-23, SSHRC-funded researchers reported having previously supported 5,200 students and fellows throughout the duration of their grants^{Footnote 1}. Researchers often use their grants to engage students at various levels in their research project.
• In 2021-2022^{Footnote 2}, indirect support to students and fellows accounted for $72 million and represents approximately 43% of the funds awarded as grants to researchers. Researchers often use their grants to engage students at various levels in their research project.
• SSHRC houses the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat which administers tri-agency programs which also provide research training opportunities.
  • For example, the 11 applications that were successful in the 2022 competition of the Canada First Research Excellence Fund have identified at least $250M to support students and postdoctoral over the 7 years of the awards.
• See Annex E for select breakdowns SSHRC support for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

Should award levels be increased?

• SSHRC is aware that the value of scholarships and fellowships have been stagnant since 2003 and that their effective value has declined due to inflation during that period. We recognize also that, for some students and depending on the package of supports provided by postsecondary institutions, this has created financial hardships and is a barrier to pursuing graduate-level studies and developing research skills.
• SSHRC has heard the calls from the research community to increase the value of the scholarships and fellowships. We will continue to work closely with the other federal granting agencies (my counterparts here with me today) and with postsecondary institutions and the broader research community to explore ways in which we can better support trainees and fellows, remove barriers to access to research training and careers.
• It is important to note that the scholarships and fellowships provided by the federal granting agencies are one of several sources of funding available to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Other actors, including provinces and universities, also play a critical role and should be engaged in these important discussions to ensure that we collectively support the next generation of researchers.

Why have the granting agencies not increased the value of these awards for the past 20 years?

• SSHRC, like other granting agencies, frequently re-assesses its funding programs to strike a balance between the number and value of awards within the available funding.
• The granting agencies have conducted a strategic evaluation of their talent funding programs, including the Canada Graduate Scholarships (master’s and doctoral programs) and agency-specific doctoral awards, as well as grants to researchers with associated training objectives (e.g. SSHRC’s Insight Grants and Partnership Grants). The evaluation has assessed student access to agency support and the extent to which this funding enables students to prepare for research-intensive careers. The evaluation is in the final reporting phase. It is intended to inform the development of the Tri-Agency Training Strategy and recommendations from this evaluation will focus on supporting decisions at the tri-agency level.
• While the value of Canada Graduate Scholarships has not changed, the value of other awards has increased. For example, between 2017 and 2018, the value of SSHRC’s postdoctoral fellowship was increased from $40,500 to $45,000/year for 1-2 years.
• Also, in 2019 the federal budget invested in the granting agencies to create 500 more master’s-level scholarship awards annually and 167 more three-year doctoral scholarship awards annually through the Canada Graduate Scholarship program as well as investments to expand parental leave coverage from 6 months to 12 months for students and postdoctoral fellows who receive granting council funding. 210 of the 500 CGS M awards were for students in the SSH.
• Along with NSERC and CIHR, we also increased the duration of our doctoral scholarships from '2 or 3' years, depending on circumstances to '3 years for all'.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in research excellence

How does the stagnant value of awards impact students and fellows from marginalized groups?

• It is true that granting agency award amounts have remained virtually unchanged for twenty years. This can have a direct impact on attracting and retaining talent coming from lower income backgrounds, those with dependents, and those who are first generation post-secondary students. This includes students who take leave without pay to access new job opportunities or leave careers to get specialized high skilled research training for new careers.
• For individuals without access to extra funding support (e.g., from family – and this might include many from racialized groups and lower-income bracket families, or first generation graduate students), stagnant award levels from federal sources make it more difficult for individuals to assemble a support package that would be analogous to a living wage – posing a significant barrier to continued graduate-level training and education. We also know that, for Indigenous learners, they are more likely to pursue graduate education at later age, often carrying family and community responsibilities, and face higher costs for travel to and from their home communities.
• These outcomes are counter to the objective of tri-agency EDI initiatives that aim to foster a culture of diversity and equity and excellence in the post-secondary research ecosystem.
• Recent programs including the Indigenous Scholars Awards and Supplements Pilot Initiative, and recent funding announcements like Budget 2022’s support for Black researchers work towards reducing historic inequalities in trainee support. In addition, institutions may recommend applications from self-identified Indigenous or Black student researchers for Undergraduate Student Research Awards beyond their allocation of awards.
• Students and fellows funded through the granting agencies may be eligible to receive up to 12 months of paid parental leave. They may also be eligible to defer their award to take unpaid leave of absence related to maternity, child rearing, illness, or health-related family reasonability, provided their university permits such leaves.
• See Annex F for self-identification data on tri-agency and agency-specific talent programs.
• See Annex G for key messages related to Université Laval and EDI in the Canada Research Chair Program.

What can the government do to support students and fellows who are taking on increasing levels of debt or simply not able to continue their education due to affordability?

• In engagement with the research community, we have consistently heard several core messages calling for:
  • Increasing scholarship and fellowship award values
  • Indexing award values to inflation with automatic increases
• 52% of funds for Insight Grants and Insight Development Grants are currently used towards student and fellow funding, including for scholarship holders. Any increase to scholarship and award levels will support the research ecosystem in its entirety.
• 80.4% of SSHRC grant funds are used to fund research trainees (students and postdocs) and support staff (technicians, research assistants, etc.).

Industry Connections, Support for Rural Students, International Students

How does SSHRC support international students?

• SSHRC’s Talent program is a suite of funding opportunities that support students and postdoctoral researchers in the social sciences and humanities. The objectives of these are to develop the next generation of researchers and leaders, both within academia and across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. These awards are intended to be used as stipends (to cover living expenses), and not to cover the direct costs of research activities.
• In addition to supporting Canada’s domestic students and postdoctoral researchers, part of SSHRC’s objective is to attract doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers from abroad, who will contribute to Canada’s research-based growth and establish Canada as a global center of excellence in research and higher learning. The Vanier CGS Doctoral awards and the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships are designed in part to facilitate this.  
• SSHRC also supports Canadian graduate students who wish to pursue research experiences abroad -- accessing international scientific research, and building global linkages and international networks. This support contributes to strengthening the potential for collaboration between Canadian universities and universities outside of Canada. SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships and SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships can be held at foreign universities.

What is SSHRC doing to support students outside of urban centers?

• SSHRC and the other granting agencies provide support to colleges and polytechnics which, we know, represent that most accessible post-secondary education option for students in rural areas. Support for colleges to pursue applied research provides opportunities for student training and development. Budget 2023 announced a $108.6M investment over three years to expand the College and Community Innovation Program (delivered by NSERC on behalf of the three agencies).
• The granting agencies have also introduced various measures to better support research at small and medium-sized institutions, including those located outside of major cities, while maintaining a commitment to merit. For example, SSHRC’s Institutional Grants (SIG) provide annual block grants to help institutions fund, through their own merit review processes, small-scale research and research-related activities, which also can involve students. SIG awards are based on a progressive calculation weighted toward smaller institutions, and small institutions can also qualify for an additional supplement of up to $500,000 per year.
• Support to small institutions has also been a consideration in the design of competitively awarded grants, with the division of Insight Grants into Stream-A ($7,000 to $100,000); and Stream B ($100,001 to $400,000), with the smaller scale grants in principle allowing researchers from smaller institutions to compete successfully and to build research capacity within the institution. Similarly, Partnership Engage Grants were created to provide support for small-scale and short-term support for partnered research activities.
• Similarly, the Canada Graduate Scholarship—Master’s program uses an allocation formula to calculate the number of awards per institution per agency that ensures at least one scholarship for all eligible institutions.

What is SSHRC doing to partner with companies and give students work-integrated-learning opportunities, and connections in non-academic sectors?

• Research-based training has an impact on all sectors of the economy. As a research support ecosystem, we must prepare trainees for a wide range of possible career paths that will strengthen the connections between academia and other sectors as well as bolster the economy and the knowledge and innovation culture within Canada.
• SSHRC’s Partnership program provides financial support for research partnerships with partners in non-academic sectors that involve trainees. In 2021-22, 71% of these partnerships were between university and college-based researchers and partners from non-academic sectors.
• In addition, SSHRC’s Partnered Research Training Initiatives bring together institutions from the academic, public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors, to support the research training experience of students and postdoctoral researchers in the social sciences and humanities, while facilitating their transition to academic or non-academic workplace settings.
• Colleges also play a significant role in skill development for many Canadians and in driving innovation, particularly at the local level. Colleges’ close ties to partner organizations enable these organizations to benefit from their applied research expertise to solve business challenges and drive commercialization. Through the Tri-agency College and Community Innovation program, we support these types of applied research partnerships, which directly involve students. There is significant demand across the college ecosystem for greater support through this initiative.

Economic Impact, Attracting and Retaining Talent

What recommendations can you provide to help Canada to attract and retain the best talent?

• As the research community and the standing committee have previously recommended, increasing the value and quantity of federal awards that fund students and fellows would be important contributions to strengthening the context for research training in Canada. Alone, these measures would have limited impact, however.
• Other important measures to consider are: the advancement of equity, diversity and inclusion in research; supporting evolving career paths; harmonizing and streamlining talent programming; supporting Indigenous research and training; providing opportunities for international mobility and collaboration; engaging in strong knowledge mobilization practices; and, promoting open science.
• The granting agencies are developing a Tri-agency Training Strategy which will align several of these goals. Implementation of the strategy will be guided by an external advisory committee, to ensure it addresses the current and future needs of the students, postdoctoral fellows and postsecondary institutions, and to ensure a robust representation from trainees, past and present, familiar with the research and training environment.

How does Canada compare internationally when it comes to retaining top talent? Is funding increasing internationally?

• Duration-wise (length of awards), we are aligned with international comparators. Dollar-wise, the situation is mixed. We are aligned in some cases, and lower in many other cases. In addition, many other countries also include significant tuition relief in addition to the funding provided. The result is that we fall short, compared with other countries, in funding our most promising research trainees and fellows.

What are the main factors that prevent universities from retaining talent?

• The Council of Canadian Academies "Degrees of Success” report noted that the number of PhD graduates in Canada is growing while the number of open tenure-track positions is stagnant or declining.
• The number of people graduating with PhDs in Canada has been increasing at a fairly steady rate since 2002. In that year, according to Statistics Canada, 3,723 students graduated from PhD or equivalent programs across the country. By 2017 the number had more than doubled, reaching nearly 8,000. Yet the number of tenure-stream professors in Canada has remained relatively constant since 2009, at around 41,000 in any given year.
• Also, post-doctoral fellows need support in the transition from fellowship to faculty positions or to roles outside of academia. The talent strategy being developed by the tri-agencies considers this challenge specifically.
• Beyond university employers, it is also worth noting that, the experiential learning and training in research methodologies and knowledge mobilization students are immersed in while pursuing a PhD plays a tremendous role in building valuable skills. This talent – which is their way of thinking, their data literacy, their ability to persevere in the pursuit of complex challenges – is essential to the growth and well-being of Canada’s labour market and to foster innovation.

Francophone Research Talent

What are the granting agencies doing to support research training in French?

• The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) ensures that applications received in French are thoroughly assessed in the merit review process, just as applications in English are. SSHRC disseminates information about funding opportunity application processes in both official languages, and applicants may submit their applications in the official language of their choice.
  • SSHRC’s merit review process has the capacity to assess applications in English and French fairly. With the exception of a small number of unilingual committees created as part of larger funding opportunities, all SSHRC merit review members are recruited with the requirement that they be functionally bilingual (self-reported) and 25% of reviewers use French in their correspondence.
  • In 2022, 19.6% of scholarships and fellowships awarded through SSHRC’s Master’s and Doctoral programs (Canada Grant Scholarship [CGS] Master’s; CGS Doctoral; SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships; CGS Vanier) were for French-language applications.
• SSHRC recognizes the important role that postsecondary institutions play in the vitality of official-language minority communities. Since these institutions are often small, they benefit from progressive formulas for calculating program funding for establishments that favour smaller institutions.
  • For example, SSHRC institutional grants and chair and fellowship assignments favour this type of institution. These institutions are also eligible to receive a supplement as part of institutional grants.
  • The allocation formula for the Research Support Fund (RSF) also encourages small institutions in order to increase their research capacity. Some small institutions receive RSF funds equivalent to approximately 46% of their total funding, while most large institutions receive funds equivalent to approximately 18%.
• SSHRC investments in research on official languages, bilingualism and related issues total $24.1 million over the past five years (2016–2020).
  • These are 6 Canada Research Chairs, 246 projects, 465 researchers and 115 graduate students.

At SSHRC, do you have data indicating the application rate and success rate for French-language applications compared to English-language applications?

• Yes, we monitor these data and publish the results of our analyses annually in the Report on Competitions.
• In general, these figures have remained relatively stable for French and English applications over the last ten years, with variations depending on the program.
  • From 2011 to 2021, the application rate for French-language applications for SSHRC programs is around 16% for Talent grants, 15% for Insight grants, and 19% for Partnership grants.
  • During the same period, the award rate for French-language applications for SSHRC programs was around 17% for Talent grants, 14% for Insight grants, and 26% for Partnership grants.
• However, the relative stability of recent years is part of a trend of declining application rates in French over the past 30 years. A recent in-depth study of the data (over the 2017–2022 period) shows that:
  • The proportion of applications submitted in French is decreasing for some programs, but increasing for others.
  • The proportion of applications submitted in French is decreasing in both Francophone and bilingual institutions; this is the case both for the five years of this analysis and on a longer 30-year trend.
  • Comparative success rates vary from program to program. In bilingual institutions, applications in French have a lower success rate than those in English for the Insight program.
  • French-language applications from institutions outside Quebec have a lower success rate than those from Quebec institutions.
  • French-language applications from Francophone or bilingual Official Language Minority Community (OLMC) institutions outside Quebec have a lower success rate for the Insight program.

How does SSHRC support French-language publications?

• SSHRC funds scholarly publications directly through funding opportunities as part of Aid to Scholarly Journals and the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program.
• SSHRC closely monitors application and award rates for bilingual and English and French publications.
  • Recent evaluations of these support opportunities reveal some important things. In the case of Aid to Scholarly Journals (journals), the funding breakdown for 2021–2022 is as follows: bilingual publications: 30.33%; French publications: 31.15%; English publications: 38.52%. In the case of the Awards to Scholarly Publications (books), in 2021–2022, applications for publications in English and French were considered separately, and 64% of applications for publications in English were awarded funding, while the percentage is 67% of applications for publications in French. Moreover, 18% of total funding was awarded in response to applications for publications in French.

How does SSHRC support the mobilization of knowledge resulting from research in French?

• SSHRC recently renewed a partnership with Québec Science magazine to promote the mobilization of knowledge resulting from research in French while showcasing SSHRC-funded researchers featured in the magazine.
• SSHRC supports the Érudit platform, which provides an infrastructure for open access to scientific production in French as part of the Pan-Canadian Access to Knowledge Initiative.
  • This initiative funds Coalition Publica, a partnership between the Public Knowledge Project and the Érudit platform.
  • $1 million in annual funding was granted in 2020 for a three-year period and is currently being renewed for the next three years (2023–2026).
  • This initiative is also in line with SSHRC's strategy to promote Open Access to science.

Why can't Quebec students combine a grant from the Fonds de recherche du Québec with a grant from one of the granting agencies?

• I don't want to provide this committee with incorrect information. I would be happy to find the information requested and provide it to the committee after the meeting.

Encouraging Student Voices

Is there student representation on the granting council boards? Could this be a way to ensure they are included in decision making?

• Members of SSHRC’s governing council are appointed by the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, following a formal selection process led by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and the Privy Council Office. SSHRC does not play a direct role in this selection process.
• SSHRC’s Governing Council regularly recruits and appoints doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows to serve as external members on its Programs Committee. During the November 2022 SSHRC Governing Council meeting, members approved the membership of three new graduate student and postdoctoral fellow external members to serve on its Programs Committee for a one-year term, with possible extension. These external members attended their first Programs Committee meeting on April 27, 2023.
• Students may also be members of special advisory bodies to the agencies. For example:
  • One of the co-chairs of SSHRC’s Advisory Committee to address Anti-Black racism is a doctoral candidate. The two co-chairs of the advisory committee recently presented their findings and recommendations to the SSHRC Governing Council and engaged in an interactive discussion with Council members.
  • The Indigenous Leadership Circle in Research is composed of individuals from First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, including two Indigenous student representatives.
  • The SSHRC Advisory Committee on Accessibility and Systemic Ableism includes student representation, including a master’s student (who is one of the co-chairs), a PhD student, and a postdoctoral fellow.

Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System

In its report, the Advisory Panel recommended relocating the talent programs currently administered by the granting agencies within a new foundation to better harmonize and simplify these programs and reduce their administrative burden reported by the research community. What is your perspective on this recommendation?

• The granting agencies are working shoulder-to-shoulder to modernize and harmonize our suite of talent funding opportunities and are ready to work with the government as it considers its response to this recommendation.
• To support the CRCC priorities, the agencies are collaborating to develop a Tri-agency Training Strategy built on five emerging themes: 1) equity, diversity and inclusion; (2) evolving career paths; (3) harmonization and streamlining efforts; (4) indigenous research and training; and, (5) international mobility and globalization.
• The agencies are also in the final reporting phase for a tri-agency strategic evaluation of scholarship and training support programs. This evaluation took place over two years with an unprecedented approach that reviewed talent programming at SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR, including both direct funding (i.e., scholarships and fellowships) as well as indirect funding with explicit training objectives (for example, SSHRC Insight Grants and Partnership Grants). The evaluation assessed student access to agency support and the extent to which this funding enables students to prepare for research-intensive careers. The evaluation will inform the development of the Tri-agency Training Strategy.

Annex A—SRSR Committee Membership

Other Members

Liberal Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canada

New Democratic Party

Annex B—SRSR Committee Study On Scholarships And Fellowships

Meeting 42 - Thursday, May 4

Witnesses

• Canadian Alliance of Student Association
• Canadian Federation of Students
• Quebec Student Union
• Association du personnel de la recherche du Québec (APRQ)
• Canadian Association for Graduate Studies
• Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleuses étudiant(es) et postdoctoraux de L’Université Laval

Key topics

• A few witnesses highlighted the May 1, 2023, student walk-out protesting the lack of funding for graduate students
• Scholarships are the primary source of income for students and funding amounts are less than minimum wage
• The financial struggle of post-doctoral students is contributing to mental health problems and drug dependency
• Students are critical in supporting professors’ research work
• Student funding has not increased since 2003 and that a large increase in scholarships and grants for graduate students is needed
• Some students are choosing to leave Canada and study where financial support is superior, creating a brain drain
• Canada is faced with multiple issues as it competes in research on the international level
• Canada’s granting system is complex and difficult for students to navigate

Key issues discussed by MPs
Conservative Part of Canada

• The amount of funding and synergy required between granting councils to fix the issue of funding
• The increased living cost for students, the poverty facing graduate students and how the funding freeze has impacted students
• The large difference in funding students between Canada and the United States
• How professors are not providing increased support for students
• Foreign students are having difficulties once they arrive to study in Canada
• The impact of the brain drain on research and production in Canada
• How does Quebec support students compared to the rest of Canada
• The need to increase the value of scholarships and for universities to examine their own finances to see if funding can be provided from within

Liberal Party of Canada

• The granting system could improve by increasing harmonization on length, value and flexibility of scholarships.
• The addition of a student seat on granting councils.
• The barriers to submitting research and grant applications in French.
• The funding model should continue to fund students directly.
• How the federal, provincial and municipal governments can work together on housing support for students.
• The challenges of retaining foreign students and talents
• The need for increasing the number and value of scholarships and updating the funding model.
• Discussed the investments made for students in Budget 2023.

Bloc Québécois

• The decrease in funding for French research and proposed investments for a government funded French research scientific journal.
• The psychological health of students and how underfunding students plays into this issue.
• How graduate students are researchers and should be paid as workers, as opposed to students.

New Democratic Party of Canada

• The funding freeze and how the granting system should be updated to match the changes in society.
• The need to increase the number of scholarships and the value of those scholarships.
• Discussing the salary for post-doctoral students which are often below minimum wage.

Meeting 43 - Tuesday, May 9

Witnesses

• Canadian Association of University Teachers
• Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d'université
• Support Our Science
• Canadian Black Scientists Network
• Science and Policy Exchange

Key topics highlighted by witnesses

• Granting councils play an important role in supporting students
• The number and value of scholarships and awards need to be permanently raised and match inflation annually
• Highlighted the importance of graduate researchers in the work done at universities
• Research industry is declining due to a lack of funding and there is a low level of diversity in the field
• Graduate students play a key role in research, allow for Canadian research to compete globally, and are the supply of future professors
• Current funding levels are not enough to sustain the future of research, is contributing to a brain drain, causing a loss of research potential for Canada, and has placed the research ecosystem at a breaking point
• There is a lack of action by the government relating to new funding for graduate researchers
• Lack in funding is causing issues for graduate researchers, including mental health, housing and general financial stability
• Current system filters out individuals based on financial considerations as opposed to their ability

Key issues discussed by MPs

Conservative Party of Canada

• The impact of the brain drain on research in Canada and how the lack of funding can push researchers to private corporations which may have security concerns
• The private sector can help from an applied research perspective
• Inflation is impacting students, specifically related to housing
• Quebec policies supporting students may help create solutions in all of Canada
• Poor funding is having consequences on the mental health of students

Liberal Party of Canada

• Granting councils fund students both directly and indirectly
• A need to increase granting council budgets by $2B over five years.
• What government can do other than direct funding, such as increasing supply of affordable housing for students, grants, and institutional funding
• Highlighted the value in theoretical research
• Fairness in the distribution of scholarships and changing scholarships for high achieving students from a financial scholarship to an award with no funding.
• Graduate researchers need support and inflation is having an impact on students.
• The nature of insufficient funding for research provided in Budget 2023
• Funding research infrastructure and the need to increase research funding to compete globally

Bloc Québécois

• Drastic need to increase graduate research funding, and the resulting brain drain from low funding levels
• Identified the consequences for not increasing the number, value and length of scholarships, such as a decline in research
• Indexing the value of scholarships to inflation
• Increasing funding for graduate researchers to ensure better mental health and better research
• Value of graduate researchers in universities and their importance in the research field
• Financial restrictions in achieving graduate education and the impact on students who may have to end their education

New Democratic Party of Canada

• Granting councils play a direct role in funding for graduate researchers
• Proposed research grants to increase by 50% over 5 years
• Decline in investment in post-secondary education and the impact of inflation on students
• Brain drain and why students are moving overseas
• Canada is filtering students based on talent and not financial considerations.
• Inaction of government and the consequences

Annex C—SRSR Committee Study On Top Talent, Research And Innovation (May 2022)

The following issues were raised by witnesses as part of the committee’s prior study:

• Falling level of investments in R&D relative to other OECD countries and stagnating investments in the granting agencies
• Value of scholarships and fellowships has not changed in the past 20 years
• Drop in effective award value has led to a lower standard of living for trainees, affects their mental health and resulted in many stopping/pausing their studies
• Duration of these awards should also be increased (2 years of master’s and 4 years for doctoral)
• Decrease the amount of the elite scholarships (e.g. Vanier and the Banting), and use the funds to either increase the value or number of awards
• Greater support needed to support Indigenous trainees and trainees from other underrepresented groups
• Imbalance in the funding allocated by the granting councils to researchers and institutions in urban centers relative to those in smaller communities
• Recommended supporting experiential learning opportunities, such as internships

The committee made the following recommendations in its report for the Government of Canada to:

• Review and increase its investments in fundamental research through increases to the budgets of the three federal granting councils
• Increase the number of scholarships and fellowships to graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, increase their value by 25% to reflect increases in cost of living since their last adjustment in 2003 and index the amount to the consumer price index
• Consider other compensation mechanisms for students to attract and retain top talent, such as tuition cost coverage and increased employment opportunities for both international students on student visas and students receiving federal grants
• Amend the NSERC Act, SSHRC Act and CIHR Act to include student representatives on the governing councils of these three institutions.
• Continue, expand, and assess its efforts to break down barriers and advance equity, diversity and inclusion in the field of scientific research
• Review the criteria for securing federal research funding, and remedy any disproportionality based on regionality
• Consider ways to encourage student training through experiential learning opportunities and work placements by providing appropriate funding programs

Annex D—Advisory Panel On The Federal Research Support System

The following issues were raised by witnesses as part of the advisory panel’s consultations:

• Current support for graduate students, the researchers of tomorrow, is at a breaking point (stagnant for the past 20 years) resulting in a lower material standard of living for our trainees and fellows compared to peer countries
• When student researchers are not paid a living wage and are required to take on additional jobs, productivity of research outputs will suffer as will mental and physical health; this has a disproportionate impact on marginalized or underrepresented groups, affecting diversity in the talent pool for years downstream
• Federal government's talent programs are fragmented, resulting in inefficiencies for applicants and place a burden on students, postdoctoral fellows and early career researchers (e.g. multiple doctoral and postdoctoral  programs with similar overall objectives, but different target populations and award characteristics)
• Most students are funded via research assistantships through their professors' grants, hence the need to increase funding for the core grants of the councils
• Given the international competition for talent, Canada is at serious risk of another brain drain without reinvestment

The panel made the following recommendations in its report:

• Significantly increase investments in the granting councils, starting with an increase of at least ten percent annually for five years.
• Funding for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows should be increased to an internationally competitive level
• Create a Canadian Knowledge and Science Foundation which would deliver scholarships and fellowships and would be responsible to simplify and harmonize them
• Several recommendations to advance Equity Diversity and Inclusion, and support for Indigenous and Francophone research and talent

Annex E—Select Breakdowns Of SSHRC And Tri-Agency Support For Graduate Students And Postdoctoral Fellows

Estimated number of students in Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Community:

• 68,000 full-time Master’s students in SSH (2019)
• 19,000 full-time Doctoral students in SSH (2019)
• N.B. These numbers are estimated based on data from the 2019-2020 Statistics Canada’s Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) and University and College Academic Staff System (UCASS).

Breakdown of SSHRC scholarships and fellowships by funding opportunity

Program Name	Number of awards 2021-22	Number of awards 2022-23
CGS-M	1,515	1,368
SSHRC Doctoral Awards	1,361	1,554
CGS-D	1,531	1,451
Vanier CGS	170	165
SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships	333	313
Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships	35	31
Grand Total	4,945	4,882

Breakdown of students and fellows which SSHRC-funded researchers have reported previously supporting through their grants

Type of awardee/trainee	Count for 2021-22	Count for 2022-23
College students	20	86
Undergraduate students	1,352	1,653
Master's students	1,340	1,827
Doctoral students	1,258	1,424
Postdoctoral researchers	235	250
Grand Total	4,205	5,240

Number of scholarships and fellowships that SSHRC has awarded over the past 18 years

FY	CGS-M	CGS-D	SSHRC Doc.	SSHRC Postdoc.	TOTAL
2004-2005	985	415	579	139	2,118
2005-2006	1,250	400	575	127	2,352
2006-2007	1,182	400	574	140	2,296
2007-2008	1,194	400	649	144	2,387
2008-2009	1,338	430	675	171	2,614
2009-2010	1,228	461	557	153	2,399
2010-2011	1,500	430	500	198	2,628
2011-2012	1,300	561	524	175	2,560
2012-2013	1,300	430	525	145	2,400
2013-2014	1,300	430	545	182	2,457
2014-2015	1,294	430	580	183	2,487
2015-2016	1,285	430	575	184	2,474
2016-2017	1,280	430	475	156	2,341
2017-2018	1,268	430	430	151	2,279
2018-2019	1,295	430	430	151	2,306
2019-2020	1,501	430	508	160	2,599
2020-2021	1,512	514	540	160	2,726
2021-2022	1,509	500	528	160	2,697
TOTAL	23,521	7,951	9,769	2,879	44,120

Figure 2: CGS Master’s Total Allocation by Agency

	2014/2015	2015/2016	2016/2017	2017/2018	2018/2019	2019/2020	2020/2021	2021/2022
CIHR	400	400	401	400	401	401	540	795
NSERC	800	800	800	800	800	800	950	840
SSHRC	1300	1300	1300	1300	1300	1300	1510	1365

Figure 3: Enrollment of Full-Time Master’s or Equivalent Students in Canada by Eligiblity to Agency Funding, Excluding Professional Degrees

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Social Sciences	28.8K	28.9K	29.8K	30.6K	31.5K	33.0K
Humanities	10.5K	10.5K	10.4K	10.7K	10.7K	10.6K
NSERC	26.3K	27.5K	29.1K	31.4K	33.3K	35.9K
CIHR	19.1K	19.6K	19.9K	20.4K	20.9K	21.9K

Figure 4: Proportion of Enrolled Master’s Students Supported Through CGS M Program in Canada by the TriAgencies

	2014/2015	2015/2016	2016/2017	2017/2018	2018/2019	2019/2020
SSHRC	3.31%	3.30%	3.23%	3.15%	3.08%	2.99%
NSERC	3.04%	2.91%	2.75%	2.55%	2.40%	2.23%
CIHR	2.09%	2.04%	2.01%	1.96%	1.92%	1.83%

Annex F—Summary Of Application And Award Rates For Tri-Agency And Agency-Specific Talent Funding Opportunities (CY 2021)

Program	Women		Indigenous Peoples		Persons with disabilities		Members of visible minorities
Training Program	App. rate	Award rate	App. rate	Award rate	App. rate	Award rate	App. rate	Award rate
Canada Graduate Scholarships– Master’s*	62.0%	64.5%	2.0%	2.1%	6.1%	5.9%	25.6%	22.8%
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships*	57.9%	62.7%	3.0%	6.0%	7.2%	9.6%	32.8%	38.0%
Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships*	46.7%	44.3%	–	–	4.0%	–	32.0%	21.4%
SSHRC Doctoral Awards	64.8%	66.9%	5.6%	5.3%	8.1%	7.8%	22.0%	25.0%
SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships	53.6%	56.9%	1.4%	–	6.5%	6.9%	24.4%	16.3%
NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowships	36.3%	45.6%	–	–	3.3%	–	34.7%	24.8%
NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships (Doctoral)	42.3%	45.1%	1.8%	–	3.8%	5.4%	30.4%	29.0%
CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowships	55.9%	56.6%	–	–	2.2%	–	32.4%	30.9%
CIHR Doctoral Research Awards	67.9%	63.7%	2.8%	–	5.1%	4.1%	31.2%	36.8%

* Tri-agency funding opportunities

Annex G—Université Laval And Edi In The Canada Research Chairs Program

Key Messages

• The Government of Canada and the CRCP are committed to excellence in research and research training for the benefit of Canadians. Achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to seize opportunities and for responding to global challenges. Therefore, the Program is committed to the federal government’s policies on non-discrimination and employment equity.
• The Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) strives to be inclusive, which is exactly why the Program has taken measures to ensure its researcher pool reflects the population.
• The CRCP’s equity, diversity and inclusion targets are legally required under the 2006 Canadian Human Rights Settlement Agreement and the Federal-Court-ordered Addendum signed in 2019. The new provisions build on the Program’s current EDI measures and achieve the objective of attracting and retaining a diverse cadre of world-class researchers at Canadian postsecondary institutions to reinforce excellence in research and training.
• The Program’s equity targets are meant to address the underrepresentation of members of the four designated groups. These individuals have been underrepresented since the Program’s inception in 2000, providing evidence of systemic barriers (e.g., biases) in the research ecosystem that hinder their career progression.
• Canada Research Chairs are awarded based on excellence. Prospective chairholders undergo a rigorous review process to assess their merit and excellence.
• Men represent 50.8% (n=1981) of active Tier 1 and Tier 2 Chairs (as of September 2022), with women accounting for 47.3% and gender-fluid, non-binary and trans people accounting for 0.7%.
• White men are eligible for multiple Canada Research Chair positions across many Canadian universities. White male representation is currently 38%.
• The CRCP, which is housed within the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and also represents the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, maintains that diversity is a cornerstone of research excellence in Canada.
• As a result, the CRCP has taken measures to work with Canadian educational institutions to ensure the Program’s representation of Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized minorities and women among chairholders is reflective of Canada’s population by 2029.
• The Canadian Human Rights Commission considers equity targets and strategic hiring as best practices for addressing the historical and continuing underrepresentation of members of the four designated groups outlined in the Employment Equity Act―i.e., women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples and racialized minorities―and dismantling the systemic barriers they face.
• Université Laval did not meet its equity targets for 2019 and faced the following consequences:
  • The university will not be able to submit new nominations to the Program unless the candidates self-identify as belonging to one or more of the four designated groups (as per the legal agreement).
  • The university may still submit renewal nominations, even if the chairholders are not members of the targeted groups.
  • The university agreed to make efforts to increase faculty diversity and meet the CRCP’s requirements for improving the representation of the designated groups among Canada Research Chairs.

December 2019 deadline equity target results

• By May 2022, 88% (57/65) of institutions had met their December 2019 equity targets.
• By March 2022, 86% (56/65) of institutions had met their December 2019 equity targets.
• By December 2019, 77% (50/65) of institutions had met their December 2019 equity targets.
• When the Program’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan was launched in May 2017, 31% (20/65) of institutions had met their targets.
• The CRCP’s 2016 evaluation found that despite the actions that had been taken to date to address the underrepresentation of members of the four designated groups—women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples and racialized minorities—within the Program, the majority of institutions had still not met their equity and diversity targets.
• Universities need to develop their own action plans and annually report their progress in meeting their representation targets for the designated groups within the Program.
• Institutions that fail to meet their representation targets for the designated groups, as was the case for Université Laval, will face a number of consequences. Such institutions can submit new chairholder nominations only for applicants who self-identify as belonging to one or more of the four designated groups.
• The CRCP implemented the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan in 2017, which focuses on improving the governance, transparency and monitoring of equity and diversity within the CRCP.
• The Action Plan requires that institutions be more transparent in how they award chair positions and how they select and renew chairholders in order to uphold the Program’s commitment to addressing the historical underrepresentation of members of the four designated groups in Canada’s research community.