Research Support Fund Program

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The indirect costs of research are defined as the costs that are not attributed directly to a university research project, but which are real costs to the university. This includes the provision of office and laboratory space and their on-going operation and maintenance; insurance; library resources; the provision of research-related professional services such as project documentation, accounting and audit supervision, payroll, personnel and purchasing services; the support of research ethics, animal care, health and safety, and radiation, biohazards and environmental safety; and the provision of intellectual property protection and technology transfer services.

The Government of Canada invests in research excellence in the areas of health sciences, engineering, natural sciences, social sciences and humanities through its three granting agencies: the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). 

The Research Support Fund (RSF), formerly the Indirect Costs Program, supports this research investment by helping Canadian postsecondary institutions, and their affiliated research hospitals and institutes, fund a portion of the indirect costs associated with this research.   The program funds are intended to support the indirect costs of research in the areas of research facilities, research resources, management and administration, regulatory requirements and accreditation, and intellectual property.

The Incremental Project Grant (IPG) funding is a relatively new stream of the RSF program. IPG provides further support for the indirect costs of research with a focus on priorities that cut across the five categories of eligible expenses.

The Research Security (RS) funding is a new stream of the RSF program. RS provides support to activities related to the indirect costs of research security.

UNB’s allocation

The RSF allocation is based on the amount of funding received by UNB and our researchers from the three federal research-granting agencies: NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR. The RSF program funding formula takes the average of the three most recent years for which data are available. The IPG and RS allocations are based on the RSF funding formula. The funds are awarded annually, and therefore institutions must re-apply every year to continue receiving funds.

2023-24 Research Support Fund Program

UNB RSF allocation - $3,351,663.00 (see chart below for breakdown)
UNB IPG allocation - $107,210.00
UNB RS allocation - $107,138.00  

Performance objectives

Reporting

Previous reports