First decline in 14 years

By Debbie Lawes

Stagnant tri-council funding and tight provincial budgets are having an impact on Canada's university sector, which saw its research income drop for the first time in 14 years, according to new data released by Research Infosource Inc. Canada's Top 50 Research Universities ranking found overall research income fell 1.6% to $6.67 billion in FY14 from $6.78 billion in FY13. The previous two years weren't much brighter, with the university sector reporting modest gains of just 1.1% in both FY13 and FY12 — the slowest growth since 2001.

In all, 23 of the top 50 universities reported a drop in research income, including the Univ of Toronto. Research support for the perennial top spot holder fell 6.2% to $1.04 billion — its first decline since 2008. Overall, all main sources of funding dropped: federal (-2.6%), provincial (-6.7%), individuals (-20%) and corporations (-2.3%).

Recent Statistics Canada data confirm this trend. It found federal support for higher education R&D declined 2.1% in FY14 to $3.1 billion (R$, Sept. 8/15). The picture is even bleaker when compared to constant dollars: federal spending has remained virtually unchanged since 2007 while provincial support collectively dropped 13.4%.

Queen's Univ reported one of the biggest descents, falling 21.8% to $148.5 million in FY14 — the lowest since the early 2000s. Despite slipping from #11 to #14 on the Top 50 list, the news has done little to dampen the mood at a campus still basking in the glory of Dr Arthur McDonald's Nobel Prize in physics. More good news came this fall when the landmark experiment McDonald led at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory also won the $3-million 2016 Breakthrough Prize in fundamental physics.

Dr Steven Liss, VP research at Queen's, says he's "not losing sleep" over the numbers, noting that their research intensity ($193,300/faculty member) remains high. "Let's be quite honest," he says, "this year in particular people would be happy to have Queen's reputation."

Liss says it's important to review multiple years of data, as a large peak or decline in any given year often reflects timing of major research investments or the end of a large program. In recent years, research income at Queen's has alternated from a high of $197 million in 2010 to lows of $163.3 million in 2011 and $168 million in 2012, before rebounding in 2013 to $190 million.

That's not to say more research funding isn't needed, he adds. "We're playing a lot of catch up particularly with regards to the tri-council … and still getting squeezed with respect to (supporting) young and mid-career faculty."

The hardest hit region was Atlantic Canada, where combined research income fell by 18.4%. Memorial Univ reported the largest drop (31.3%), driven in large part by a 78.1% plunge in provincial funding.

At Dalhousie Univ, research income dipped 14%, from $148.9 million to $128.1 million. Dal's VP research, Dr Martha Crago, attributes the drop, in part, to stagnant tri-council funding and squeezed provincial budgets. Nova Scotia ranks among the bottom three provinces when it comes to provincial support for R&D.

"If you don't come from a wealthy province that imperils your federal possibilities," she says. "I came (to Dal) from Quebec where you get a lot of provincial money and I know what a difference that makes in terms of the number of graduate students you can get on board."

Dal's case for more provincial funding received a boost Nov 6 with the release of the ONE Nova Scotia Coalition report which, among other things, calls on the province to eventually triple its investment in direct R&D support, bringing it in line with the $30+ national per capita average.

Another challenge, adds Crago, has been a growing requirement in grant applications for matching contributions. "For example, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's SPOR (Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research) grants now require a match," she says. "Where is matching funding coming from in poorer provinces?"

The Univ of Saskatchewan bucked the downward trend with a 23.6% increase in research income to nearly $195.3 million, bumping it from #14 to #11.

Dr Karen Chad, VP research at U of S, credits strong partnerships with industry and the province on two signature initiatives — agriculture, food and bioproducts for a sustainable future; and One Health, which focuses on the human, animal and environment interface. In 2013, for example, Innovation Saskatchewan provided U of S with $28 million in infrastructure funding for a cyclotron and specialized labs.

"You need diversification of funding and a multiplicity of partnerships, what I refer to as the four "Ps" — public, private, post-secondary partnerships. That's our modus operandi at the Univ of Saskatchewan," says Chad.

Still, Chad supports bigger budgets for the granting councils, saying it would allow universities to leverage even more support from partners. "Tri-council funding is foundational money that universities can double, triple or even quadruple."

U of S expects similarly good results for FY15, fueled by a $37.2-million Canada First Research Excellence Fund award for designing crops for global food security.

"Carrots" needed to incent change

Even at the Univ of Alberta where research income climbed 10.8%, the overall picture isn't as rosy as it seems. Dr Lorne Babiuk, VP research, says the bump follows two years of negative growth (-7.7% in FY13 and -15.6% in FY12), mainly the result of shrinking provincial support.

"We've been quite aggressive in finding other revenue sources," says Babiuk. "We're continuing to keep our heads above water … but I am pretty sure we won't have a 10% increase (in FY15)," as a result of low oil prices and a smaller Alberta budget.

Babiuk also supports more funding for the granting councils but with conditions: "if you're just going to do business as usual and give them twice as much money, I'm not sure that's a winning strategy."

For example, he says "tantalizing carrots" are needed to encourage greater interdisciplinary research on complex challenges like climate change, energy, health and water. "How do we develop a system and a culture where I'm prepared to listen to a social scientist, and a medic and an engineer on the same problem. If you have councils that are siloed, that makes it very difficult."

For the Top 50 research universities list, go to: www.researchinfosource.com.

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