I said in an earlier post that I’d continue to look for NSERC/CIHR specific elements of the federal budget. So here’s a bit more information.

To start, the annual budgets of both NSERC and CIHR (this is their total budget, which includes the administrative costs of operating the councils, as well as the actual funding programs they run) are being cut by $15M each year for the next two years (see pages 268 and 271 of the budget document). There is language to suggest that the cuts will come from operational expenses and reductions in funding of lower priority areas (page 73).

However, there is an additional $15M per year (ongoing) to NSERC to enhance the industry-academic research collaborations portfolio (see page 74 of the budget document). They call this the “Strategy for Partnerships and Innovation”. I think it amounts to increased funding for programs like the Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) program, and the Engage program (among others no doubt).

So, there appears to be a net reallocation within NSERC towards increased industry-partnered research activities, consistent with recommendations from the Jenkins Report, as well as the general language from government that indicate Canada is generally underperforming when it comes to commercialization of research and the level of industry sponsored R&D (page 56).

There are many other research & innovation elements of the budget. I just wanted to highlight the specific elements that directly affect NSERC for you.

Note: I realize the federal budget document is not a scientific paper, and the comments within the document should always be viewed with a critical eye!

– Blaine Chronik