The Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS), which is housed within the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Research Support Fund, including:
- determining the eligibility of Canadian postsecondary institutions to apply to the fund;
- administering the financial and reporting aspects of the fund;
- assessing the fund’s performance; and
- conducting evaluations and management audits (through SSHRC’s Corporate Performance and Evaluation Division).
Reporting structure
TIPS reports to the management committee of the program, which in turn reports to the program’s steering committee. The steering committee reports to the minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and, ultimately, the Parliament of Canada.
Management committee
The management committee is responsible for providing advice concerning the operational management of the Research Support Fund. It is composed of the associate vice-president of TIPS and representatives, at the vice-president level, of the five partner organizations: the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), SSHRC, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and Health Canada.
Steering committee
A steering committee oversees the management of the RSF at a strategic level. This committee is made up of the presidents of the three federal granting agencies (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC), the president of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the deputy minister for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (or designated replacement) and the deputy minister for Health Canada (or designated replacement).
The current steering committee members are:
Ted Hewitt (Chair)
President, SSHRC
Alejandro Adem
President, NSERC
Simon Kennedy
Deputy Minister, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Stephen Lucas
Deputy Minister, Health Canada
Roseann O’Reilly Runte
President and CEO, CFI
Michael Strong
President, CIHR