George Brown Polytechnic is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
About the Research Support Fund Program
We acknowledge the contributions of the Research Support Fund. The Research Support Fund assists Canadian postsecondary institutions and their affiliated research hospitals and institutes with the expenses associated with managing the research funded by the three federal research granting agencies.
A tri-agency initiative
The Research Support Fund is a tri-agency initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). It is administered by the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat, which is housed within SSHRC.
The program (formerly known as the Indirect Costs Program) was introduced in 2003 as part of the federal government’s strategy to make Canada one of the world’s top countries in research and development. It currently has a budget of nearly $400 million and serves more than 150 postsecondary institutions across the country.
What costs does the program support?
Examples of costs supported by the program are:
- Salaries for staff or students who provide administrative support for researchers and their projects;
- Training costs for workplace health and safety, as well as the development and promotion of equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives and practices;
- Costs related to the maintenance of libraries and laboratories; and
- Administrative costs associated with getting a patent for an invention.
Current Funding from the RSF
The amount awarded to George Brown Polytechnic for 2025/2026 is $59,642, all of which are allocated towards the management and administration of the institution's research enterprise.
Affiliated Institutions
George Brown currently has no affiliated institutions associated with this funding.
George Brown Polytechnic Expenditure Categories
Out of RSF’s 5 expenditure categories, George Brown Polytechnic is allocating 100% of this year’s RSF award of $81,659 towards the management and administration of the institution’s research enterprise. The funds will be spent on:
- Salaries and benefits for staff who work on grant applications and research proposals
- Salaries and benefits for staff who assist and coordinate research activities across the institution
Fiscal Year | Amount | Allocation |
|---|---|---|
2019-2020 | $5,068 | Management & administration of the George Brown's research activities |
2020-2021 | $13,493 | Management & administration of the George Brown's research activities |
2021-2022 | $35,421 | Management & administration of the George Brown's research activities |
2022-2023 | $75,163 | Management & administration of the George Brown's research activities |
2023-2024 | $83,774 | Management & administration of the George Brown's research activities |
| 2024-2025 | $81,659 | Management & administration of the George Brown's research activities |
Indirect Costs of Research
For the most part, funding for research initiatives from granting agencies are limited to direct costs for the project such as research equipment, materials and salaries of lead researchers, student researchers and technical staff directly involve in research.
Research institutions incur other incidental or hidden costs to support the research activities such as grant writing, management and administration of the grant, research facilities maintenance, knowledge transfer and metrics collection among other things. These are the indirect costs of research. The Research Support Funds helps research institutions to cover these indirect costs associated with research projects funded by the Tri-Agency (NSERC, SSHRC,CIHR).
Investment Story
The Research Support Fund (RSF) grant has contributed towards sustaining a strong research environment at George Brown by providing essential funding for key human resources within the Office of Research and Innovation. The grant, which is allocated entirely towards salary costs, supports critical roles that facilitate multi-sector alignment, engaged and cross-departmental collaboration, and efficient research operations, areas that are vital for managing the growing demands of our research activities as our portfolio evolves to maintain our institutional research and innovation goals.
As our research capacity grows, we are challenged to keep up with the quantity, variety and complexity of the George Brown's research activities as well as internal and external requests for research and innovation services and support. The RSF grant has enabled us to effectively deliver research and innovation initiatives. These funds support project management, active research planning and development, and program delivery. We maintain high-quality research operations, ensure compliance with funder requirements, support effective project management and facilitate meaningful engagement with research and innovation partners.
Sustained RSF funding significantly impacts our operational effectiveness by:
- Contributing towards human resources that are needed to manage an increasing volume of research projects and grant applications
- Supporting the development and maintenance of research partnerships with industry and community organizations
- Facilitating the coordination of student involvement in research and innovation projects, enhancing experiential learning opportunities
- Providing administrative support for managing complex project and grant writing activities and compliance requirements across our multidisciplinary portfolio
Without this funding, our ability to maintain the current level of research activity and support would be significantly diminished.