Rapid growth in SSHRC research grants

Research grants by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) experienced average annual growth of 18% between 1998 and 2004 while scholarships nearly doubled in the same period, according to an analysis of SSHRC's award search engine by the Observatoire des science et des technologies (OST). During the seven-year period, SSHRC's annual budget increased from $93 million to $220 million, largely due to new programs such as the Canada Research Chairs, Initiative on the New Economy and Canada Graduate Scholarship Awards. Grants jumped from $61 million to $162 million, while scholarships increased from $30 million to $58 million. Nearly half the scholarships awarded were in disciplines within the humanities. In comparison, the increase in grants by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) was much smaller, moving up from $412 million in 1998 to $489 million in 2004. Scholarships accounted for 26% of SSHRC's 2004 budget, and 17% of NSERC's budget. The full analysis can be found in OST's S&T Observation, No. 18 at www.ost.uqam.ca....