Universities racing to complete strategic plans to qualify for funding under new Canada Research Chairs Program

The clock is ticking for universities and colleges as they work to complete their strategic plans in time for the first round of the Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP). With a September 1 deadline, the institutions were informed late last month about the number of chairs they will be eligible to receive. The Univ of Toronto is set to capture 251 or 12.5% of the 2,000 chairs up for grabs between FY00-01 and FY04-05, while the top five universities have the potential to secure 829 or 41.5% of the program's allotment in its first five years (see chart bottom).

CRCP funding is slated to flow through the three granting councils, with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) eligible for 45% of funding, followed by the Medical Research Council (35%) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) (20%).

The first year will see $60 million available for 400 chairs, with an additional $60 million each year for the next four years until the program reaches an annual $300-million budget.

"That's the cruising level beyond year five," says Denis Croux, head of the CRCP secretariat.

The strategic plans are a key component of the CRCP, as funds will not begin to flow until the exercise is completed and approved. They are also central to obtaining funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), which will allocate $250 million or an average of $125,000 per chair for the capital component to support the new positions. The CFI funding will come largely from the recent $900 million the government provided in the last Budget (R$, March 17/00), although $60 million has been earmarked from its Phase I funding through the New Opportunities Program.

Also crucial to the program's implementation is the flexibility afforded the eligible institutions. The CRCP guide currently being circulated gives universities and colleges the ability to allocate more CFI support for chairs that require a higher level of infrastructure. And when a research chair is interdisciplinary in nature, the program also permits the institutions to allocate the chair to one of the three disciplinary groups.

The intent of the program's first two years is to allow universities to retain their own leading scholars, with the longer range goal of expanding research rosters by attracting external talent. Yet some universities are already looking forward to expanding their research base and are writing their strategic plans accordingly.

"Some institutions have decided to handicap internal candidates because that's not what they want to do with the program. They're looking to attract new talent," says Robert Davidson, director of research and policy analysis at the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. "In some fields this strategy seems to be more prevalent such as the medical area where there is a tradition of soft money."

The 20% allocation to SSHRC is seen by many as an initial indication by government of its chronic under-funding in the past. When the CRCP was first conceived, chairs were supposed to be divided up amongst the granting councils according to the amount of research funding they received. That obviously changed, since SSHRC's allocation is approximately 7% higher, affording its researchers the opportunity to secure 376 chairs, as compared to 846 for NSERC-funded disciplines and 658 for medical research.

Chairs set aside for Smaller universities

Another 120 chairs or 6% of the total will be set aside for institutions that have received an average of $100,000-200,000 from the three granting councils combined. They will not be allocated by discipline, giving smaller institutions a greater degree of flexibility in developing their research expertise.

For chairs of an interdisciplinary nature which straddle the jurisdiction of the grant-ing councils, universities will be permitted to allocate them to one of the three groups, opening up the possibility that SSHRC-related chairs may not be as plentiful as the 20% allocation suggests.

Davidson says he doesn't view the discretionary allocation of interdisciplinary chairs as a threat to SSRHC disciplines, rather another indication that flexibility has been intentionally built into the system.

"I'm not sure it will play against SSHRC at all. The flexibility is welcome," he says. "I have confidence in the 40% of faculty members (belonging to SSHRC disciplines) who will look at where the money is going and will do so attentively."

Another unique aspect of the program is the division between Tier I chairs ($200,000) and Tier II chairs ($100,000). Tier I chairs are renewable after seven years, whereas Tier II chairs are for five-year terms and can be renewable only once. After that point, the university can apply for that researcher's continuing funding under Tier I, subject to meeting the requirements for that level. The number of Tier I chairs cannot exceed the number of Tier II chairs, since the budget of the program is based on a 50/50 split ($150,000 per chair).

To evaluate chair nominations, The CRCP is assembling a College of Reviewers of more than 200 people, with four reviewers assigned to each nomination. Difficult cases requiring arbitration will be thrown over to an Interdisciplinary Adjudication Council. That body will also be responsible for monitoring the program and maintaining quality control.

The CRCP governance structure is comprised of a management committee with DG-level representatives from the granting councils, the CFI and Industry Canada. Ultimate authority lies with a steering committee, with the same organizations represented at the president and associate DM level.

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