Research Support Fund

Every year, the federal government invests in research excellence in the areas of health sciences, engineering, natural sciences, social sciences and humanities through its three granting agencies. The Research Support Fund reinforces this research investment by helping institutions ensure that their federally funded research projects are conducted in world-class facilities with the best equipment and administrative support available.

Direct costs: Essential expenditures that would not have been incurred had the grant not been undertaken. Accordingly, they can be directly assigned to the grant activities with a high degree of accuracy.

Indirect costs: The operational costs that underpin an institution’s research activities (i.e., heating, lighting, ethics reviews, facilities for animals used in research, management of intellectual property, environmental assessment and safety compliance). The services that give rise to indirect costs are institutionally based and are not specific to individual research grants.

Notional amount of RSF grant for 2024-2025: $40,550

Overview of how Humber proposes to allocate its grant funds under each of the five expenditure categories based on the notional amount:

• Notional Amount: $40,000
• Research facilities: $0
• Research resources: $20,277
• Management and administration of the institution's research enterprise: $20,278
• Regulatory requirements and accreditation: $0
• Intellectual property and knowledge mobilization: $0

Institutional Investment Story 2024-2025

The $40K RSF investment was divided equally between Research Resources and the Management and Administration of the Institution’s Research Enterprise. This significantly enhanced Humber’s research capacity and operations. For example, under Research Resources, the funds supported access to digital platforms, secure data systems, and planning tools (fondly referred to as “ORI Solutions”, built using PowerApps). These tools streamlined internal workflows and improved research project efficiency. The Management and Administration portion enabled staff participation in regional and national CARA conferences, helping the research office stay up to date with Tri-Agency policies, discover new funding opportunities, and build relationships with peer institutions. These efforts directly supported the development and submission of new grant applications, ultimately advancing Humber’s research income and strategic growth.