Accountability and public acknowledgment

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On this page

Overview
Research Support Fund—Summary of accountability and public acknowledgment requirements
Incremental Project Grants—Summary of accountability and public acknowledgment requirements
Research security—Summary of accountability and public acknowledgment requirements
Public acknowledgment
Setting and reporting on performance objectives, indicators and target outcomes
What are performance objectives, indicators and target outcomes?
Communications strategy
Statement of account
Research Support Fund outcomes report
Incremental Project Grants outcomes report
Research security outcomes report
Technical support
More information

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Overview

Support provided through the Research Support Fund (RSF) is an investment by Canadian taxpayers. The program is accountable for the use of grant funds. It must report to stakeholders and the Canadian public who receives support and how funds are used to meet the program’s objectives. Stakeholders include researchers, affiliates, industry partners and Canadian taxpayers. To help ensure accountability to these stakeholders, grant recipients must publicly acknowledge their grant funding and bring awareness to the value and impact of the program in the research community and the Canadian research environment.

The table below summarizes the accountability and public acknowledgment requirements and deadlines for RSF grants, Incremental Project Grants (IPGs) and research security. For RSF grants, the requirements vary, depending on the value of the grant received. Your institution must ensure that it meets the requirements during the three stages of the program’s lifecycle: grant application stage, grant period and end of grant period. For IPGs and research security, the requirements listed below are mandatory.

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Research Support Fund—Summary of accountability and public acknowledgment requirements

Tasks	Grant of $530,000 or more	Grant between $25,000 and $530,000	Grant less than $25,000	Deadline
Application stage requirements
Post on institution’s website a definition of the indirect costs of research and concrete examples of expenses incurred by the institution in managing the funded research	Required	Required	Not mandatory, but encouraged	By the application deadline
Post on institution’s website a description of the Research Support Fund program and a link to the program’s website	Required	Required	Not mandatory, but encouraged	By the application deadline
Post on institution’s website a comprehensive list of all affiliated organizations, if applicable	Required	Required	Not mandatory, but encouraged	By the application deadline
Post on institution’s website the total amount of grant and an overview of how the institution proposes to allocate its grant funds under each of the five expenditure categories for the forthcoming year (based on the notional amount provided)	Required	Required	Not mandatory, but encouraged	By the application deadline
Post on institution’s website the total amount of grant and an overview of how the institution allocated its grant funds under each of the five expenditure categories (organized by fiscal year) for the previous five years	Required	Required	Not mandatory, but encouraged	By the application deadline
Set institutional performance objectives with corresponding indicators for the forthcoming year and post them on the institution’s website, in addition to those achieved (organized by fiscal year) for the previous five years	Required	Not mandatory, but encouraged	Not mandatory, but encouraged	By the application deadline
Grant period requirement
Develop and implement the communications strategy mentioned in the funding application	Required	Required	Not mandatory, but encouraged	Ongoing
End of grant period requirements
Complete and submit a statement of account on the RSF-CRC Data Breakdown sharing site	Required	Required	Required	June 30 of the next fiscal year
Complete and submit an outcomes report via Voxco, including details on the implementation of the communications strategy	Required	Required	Not mandatory, but encouraged	June 30 of the next fiscal year
Report on institutional performance objectives on institution’s websiteFootnote *	Required	Not mandatory, but encouraged	Not mandatory, but encouraged	June 30 of the next fiscal year
Footnote * Institutions are required to keep their accountability and public acknowledgement information for the RSF (organized by fiscal year) on their website(s) for a minimum of five years. Return to footnote * referrer

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Incremental Project Grants—Summary of accountability and public acknowledgment requirements

Tasks	All IPG recipients	Deadline
Application stage requirements
Post on institution’s website a description of the IPG stream, including the priority areas	Required	By the application deadline
Post on institution’s website the total amount of grant and an overview of how the institution proposes to allocate its grant funds for each project, including the relevant priority area(s), for the forthcoming year (based on the notional amount provided)	Required	By the application deadline
Post on institution’s website the total number of grants and an overview of how the institution allocated its grant funds for each project, including the relevant priority area(s) (organized by fiscal year), for the previous five years	Required	By the application deadline
Post on institution’s website institutional performance objectives, with corresponding indicators, for the forthcoming year in addition to those achieved (organized by fiscal year) for the previous five years	Required	By the application deadline
End of grant period requirements
Complete and submit a statement of account on the RSF-CRC Data Breakdown sharing site	Required	June 30 of the next fiscal year
Complete and submit an IPG outcomes report via Voxco	Required	June 30 of the next fiscal year
Post on institution’s website institutional performance objectives and outcomes achieved for the previous yearFootnote *	Required	June 30 of the next fiscal year
Footnote * Institutions are required to keep their accountability and public acknowledgement information for the IPG (organized by fiscal year) on their website(s) for a minimum of five years. Return to footnote * referrer

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Research security—Summary of accountability and public acknowledgment requirements

Tasks	All research security funds recipients	Deadline
Application stage requirements
Post on institution’s website a description of the research security priority area	Required	By the application deadline
Post on institution’s website the total amount of funds and an overview of how the institution proposes to allocate its funds for each project for the forthcoming year (based on the notional amount provided)	Required	By the application deadline
Post on institution’s website the total amount of funds and an overview of how the institution allocated its funds for each project for the previous five years	Required	By the application deadline
Post on institution’s website institutional performance objectives, with corresponding indicators, for the forthcoming year in addition to those achieved (organized by fiscal year) for the previous five years	Required	By the application deadline
End of grant period requirements
Complete and submit a statement of account on the RSF-CRC Data Breakdown sharing site	Required	June 30 of the next fiscal year
Complete and submit a research security outcomes report via Voxco	Required	June 30 of the next fiscal year
Post on institution’s website institutional performance objectives and outcomes achieved for the previous yearFootnote *	Required	June 30 of the next fiscal year
Footnote * Institutions are required to keep their accountability and public acknowledgement information for the research security (organized by fiscal year) on their website(s) for a minimum of five years. Return to footnote * referrer

If your institution fails to meet the requirements by the deadlines indicated, it will forfeit grant funds or have its payments suspended. Failing to meet the requirements may also affect your institution’s eligibility for future RSF, IPG and research security funds. Forfeited funds may be redistributed to eligible institutions in a later grant calculation exercise.

Your institution must continue to meet the program’s accountability and public acknowledgment requirements during the grant period in order to remain eligible for the program.

Your institution is required to keep its accountability and public acknowledgment information for the RSF, IPGs and research security (organized by fiscal year) on its website(s) for a minimum of five years.

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Public acknowledgment

To maintain its eligibility for an RSF grant above the value of $25,000, your institution must identify and make public on its website(s) the following information, by the program’s application deadline:

• a definition of the indirect costs of research, along with concrete examples of the types of expenses incurred by the institution in managing the research funded by the three federal research granting agencies
• a description of the Research Support Fund program, including a link to the program’s website
• a comprehensive list of all affiliated institutions, if applicable (including primary, sub-affiliates and sub-sub-affiliates)
• an overview of how the institution allocates its grant funds under each of the five expenditure categories

To maintain its eligibility to apply for an IPG, your institution must identify and make public on its website(s) the following information, by the program’s application deadline:

• a description of the IPG stream, including the priority areas
• an overview of how the institution proposes to allocate its grant funds for each project, including the relevant priority area(s), for the forthcoming year (based on the notional amount provided)

To maintain its eligibility to apply for research security funding, your institution must identify and make public on its website(s) the following information, by the program’s application deadline:

• a description of the research security priority area
• an overview of how the institution proposes to allocate its funds for each project for the forthcoming year (based on the notional amount provided)

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Setting and reporting on performance objectives, indicators and target outcomes

If your institution is eligible to receive an RSF grant of $530,000 or more, it must identify and make public the institutional performance objectives for its grant, including corresponding performance indicators and target outcomes. This information must be posted on the institutional website by the program’s application deadline. You must provide links to the web pages in the application. Your institution must also post on its website(s), by June 30 of each year, the institution’s outcomes achieved during the previous grant year (April 1 to March 31 of each year).

If your institution is eligible to receive an IPG, you must identify and make public the institutional performance objectives for the grant, including corresponding performance indicators and target outcomes. This information must be posted on the institutional website by the program’s application deadline.

If your institution is eligible to receive research security funding, you must identify and make public the institutional performance objectives for the funds, including corresponding performance indicators and target outcomes. This information must be posted on the institutional website(s) by the program’s application deadline.

Your institution must include in its annual outcomes report a link to the web page where the required performance information has been posted.

The following provides information on institutional reporting on accountability and public acknowledgment web pages.

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What are performance objectives, indicators and target outcomes?

An institutional performance objective outlines the desired return on investment and may reflect an incremental impact (improvement to the status quo), an ongoing commitment (maintenance of the status quo) or both. The objectives should be in accordance with how the institution chooses to invest its grant in one, several or all five of the eligible expenditure categories.

A performance indicator is the tool or unit of measurement used to evaluate the success of a particular investment or activity and can be either quantitative or qualitative. It is up to each institution to decide which indicators are appropriate for each of its objectives.

A target outcome is the specific change or result to be achieved. It should be either quantitative or qualitative and based on the performance objectives formulated at the beginning of each fiscal year.

Examples of objectives, indicators and target outcomes

The table below provides examples of institutional performance objectives, indicators and target outcomes for an RSF grant.

Eligible program expenditure category	Output (investment or expense of RSF grant funds)	Performance objective	Performance indicator	Target outcome	Reported outcome
Management and administration of an institution’s research enterprise	$X invested in upgrading electronic information system for grants and awards	Increase in grant and award applications processed	Number of grant and award applications processed in fiscal year 2020-21	5% increase in grant and award applications processed in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20	Achieved: 5% increase in grant and award applications processed in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20
Research resources	$X invested in electronic subscription-based database for research resources	Maintain access to research resources for faculty	Number of texts downloaded from the database by faculty in 2020-21	Less than 5% decrease in texts downloaded in 2020-21, compared to 2019-20	Achieved: 1% increase in texts downloaded from the database, by faculty, in 2020-21, compared to 2019-20

The table below provides examples of institutional performance objectives, indicators and target outcomes for an IPG.

Project title	IPG priority area	Output (investment of IPG grant funds)	Performance objective	Performance indicator	Target outcome	Reported outcome
Innovation Support Centre	Facilities renewal	$X invested in renovation of space for new Research and Innovation Centre	Enhancing support for collaboration/ knowledge mobilization	Renovated space ready for occupancy by growing Innovation Support Centre team	Complete space renovation by end of June 2020	Achieved: Renovation completed by August 2020 (minor delays due to COVID restrictions)
	Innovation and commercialization	$X invested for two research and innovation liaisons	Maximizing the impact of research at the institution	Increase support to researchers for commercialization and knowledge mobilization / tech transfer	Increased number of patents filed and licences granted than in previous year	Achieved: Two liaison officers hired; 10% more patents filed and 5% more licences granted than in previous year
EDI Initiative	Equity, diversity and faculty renewal	$X committed to provide EDI training for the research office staff	Increasing equitable and inclusive participation in the institution’s research system	Number of research office staff receiving EDI training	At least 90% of research office staff receiving EDI training	Achieved: 100% of research office staff received training to date; additional training planned

The table below provides examples of institutional performance objectives, indicators and target outcomes for research security funding.

Project title	Output (investment of research security funds)	Performance objective	Performance indicator	Target outcome	Reported outcome
Implementation of the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships	$X invested in hiring research security staff (facilitators, officers, etc.)	Assist in coordinating research security across the institution	Aid in identifying and mitigating research security risks	Identify and mitigate risks to research security (e.g., physical, cyber, partnerships, intellectual property, people)	Achieved: Hired FTE(s) and created an office of research security to coordinate institutional efforts
	$X committed to provide research security training for the research office staff, faculty and others	Increase participation in and awareness about research security initiatives	Development of a training module on research security Number of staff receiving training	At least 90% of research office staff receiving research security training Training delivered via workshops	Achieved: 100% of research office staff received training to date; additional training planned

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Communications strategy

If your institution is eligible to receive an RSF grant of $25,000 or more, you must develop a communications strategy specifically for the RSF and actively implement it throughout the grant year. Through its communications efforts, your institution must help bring awareness to the value and impact of the RSF in the research community and the Canadian research environment, to ensure accountability to stakeholders (including researchers, affiliates, industry partners and Canadian taxpayers).

Your institution must publicly acknowledge and actively communicate program milestones and impacts to faculty and other stakeholders through various communications tools on an ongoing basis during the grant period. Your institution may meet this requirement through a variety of means, including, for example, posting stories about the impacts of its RSF grant on the institution’s website, sending email notifications to the community of stakeholders, publishing stories or updates in newsletters, organizing meetings, giving presentations, etc.

Your institution must summarize its RSF communications strategy at the application stage. In meeting the end-of-grant reporting requirements, your institution must report on how it implemented its communications strategy in its annual outcomes report.

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Statement of account

Regardless of the size of the RSF grant, IPG and/or research security funding, your institution must complete and submit a statement of account (SOA). The SOA outlines how much your institution has invested in each of the program’s five expenditure categories during the reporting period. Institutions that received funds from the RSF, IPG and/or research security should report on all funds received.

The SOA must indicate the following expenses charged to the grant:

• funds transferred to affiliated hospitals and institutions (note: research affiliates with which a parent institution has shared its grant must report annually to the parent institution)
• total outstanding commitments, which refers to expenses or services incurred before the end date of the grant but for which the invoice was not paid by March 31 of each year (note: all outstanding commitments must be paid by June 30 of each year)

Submit the statement of account

Your institution must submit its SOA on the RSF-CRC Data Breakdown sharing site. Your institution will be notified when the SOA template is available on the RSF-CRC Data Breakdown sharing site before the submission deadline.

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Research Support Fund outcomes report

Institutions receiving an RSF grant of $25,000 or more must complete and submit an RSF outcomes report on Voxco (see instructions in the “Submit the outcomes reports” section). Along with information from other sources, the RSF outcomes report feeds into the program’s performance measurement framework and into the report to the federal government and general public on investments made through the RSF.

The RSF outcomes report collects data on:

• institutions’ investment to support research during the reporting period from April 1 to March 31 of each year
• research and research-support capacity at the institutions
• volume of activities conducted to support research
• evidence that institutions are meeting the accountability requirements of the program

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Incremental Project Grants outcomes report

Institutions receiving an IPG must also complete and submit an outcomes report on Voxco. Along with information from other sources, the IPG outcomes report feeds into the program’s performance measurement framework and into the report to the federal government and general public on investments made through the IPG.

The IPG outcomes report collects data on:

• institutions’ investments to support specific projects, as outlined in the IPG application
• progress achieved on timelines and outcomes for the individual projects
• continued alignment of the institutions’ projects with their strategic vision

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Research security outcomes report

Institutions receiving research security funding must also complete and submit an outcomes report on Voxco. Along with information from other sources, the research security outcomes report feeds into the program’s performance measurement framework and into the report to the federal government and general public on investments made through the research security funding.

The research security outcomes report collects data on:

• institutions’ investments to support specific projects, as outlined in the research security application
• progress achieved on timelines and outcomes for the individual projects
• continued alignment of the institutions’ projects with their strategic vision

Submitting the outcomes reports

Your institution’s RSF senior official must complete and submit the RSF (IPG and research security, where applicable) outcomes report(s) on Voxco on behalf of the institution. The RSF senior official can use the template of the outcomes report available on your institution’s RSF-CRC Data Breakdown sharing site as a reference to gather the needed information from the institution and its affiliated organizations in order to complete the outcomes report.

Your institution’s unique Voxco link and password for the outcomes report are provided each year via your institution’s RSF-CRC Data Breakdown sharing site. Once the link is activated and the report is available, the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS) will inform your institution’s official contacts, as listed in Convergence, by email.

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