The Research Support Fund (RSF) is restructuring its annual outcomes report, in response to a recommendation from the 10th-year program evaluation. The form will be used to collect data from RSF-funded institutions, and to report to the federal government and general public on investments made through the RSF.
The new outcomes report form builds on knowledge gained through the program’s stakeholder engagement and consultation over the last five to seven years. The report is expected to reduce the administrative burden of having to provide long narratives on RSF-related investments.
The new report is also aimed at improving the comparability of RSF data, in order to adequately report on the program’s performance over time. Consistently collecting the same program-wide data across institutions will help demonstrate the program’s effectiveness in meeting its objectives and, therefore, support the federal government’s continued investment in supporting the research environment.
Before launching the full version of the outcomes report form, the RSF would like to work with a subset of institutions to complete the revised form, using data from 2015-16 as a model, and is asking institutions who are interested in participating in this testing phase to please volunteer.
Most of the information needed to complete the 2015-16 report can be derived from financial tools and reports already available at institutions. However, the program recognizes that each institution volunteering to take part will have to determine how best to match their existing data to the program’s reporting needs.
The RSF would like to work closely with volunteering institutions to prepare their 2015-16 outcomes report using the full version. The exercise will give institutions the chance to clarify definitions, develop estimation options, and document the formulas that all RSF-funded institutions will then be able to use to complete subsequent outcomes reports.
Institutions volunteering to complete the full outcomes report form with data from 2015-16 will be able to:
- provide input to clarify questions and definitions used in the report;
- document the formulas needed to complete the report before its official launch, making reporting easier in future years;
- work in collaboration with other institutions and collect best practices; and
- facilitate reporting for future years by moving towards adopting program terminology, collecting new data, etc.
To volunteer to participate, an institution must:
- be a 2015-16 RSF recipient of a grant of $25,000 or more;
- have an interest in improving the body of data for indirect costs tracking; and
- be willing to and interested in engaging and collaborating.
If your institution is interested, please email information@rsf-fsr.gc.ca by June 30, 2016.