Universities enjoy banner year as governments increase research funding

Ontario’s largest university continues to occupy the number one spot for sponsored research income while Quebec’s two biggest post-secondary institutions are the most research intensive, according to new data released this week. Fuelled by unprecedented funding increases from the federal and provincial governments, the top 50 Canadian universities are solidifying their role as the nation’s basic research engine, attracting $3.4 billion in sponsored research income in 2001, up 22.7% from the previous year when they captured a total of $2.8 billion.

The data is included in a report due out next month from RE$EARCH Infosource Inc, a division of The Impact Group and a sister company to RE$EARCH MONEY. Entitled Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities, it compiles and analyzes data on sponsored research income, which includes funds paid in the form of a grant or a contract from a source external to the university.

The Univ of Toronto (U ofT) received the largest single share of sponsored research income with $470.1 million, outpacing the Univ of Montreal (U of M) which secured $349.5 million. But U of M easily outdistanced U of T when measured by research intensity, with nearly $210 in research income per full-time faculty, compared to $179 for U of T. That makes U of M the most research intensity university in Canada, closely followed by McGill ($209) which ranked third in total funding support.

“Quebec universities tend to be more research intensive,” says Ron Freedman, president of RE$EARCH Infosource. “University administrations are making it a corporate priority and are backing the projects. The province also takes a more activist role. Quebec is the only province with its own provincial granting councils.”

Overall, the research intensity of Can-ada’s university system was up 20%, from an average of $85,500 in FY00 to $103,200 in FY01.

MCMASTER STANDS OUT

Perhaps the most remarkable showing among the major research universities was McMaster Univ, which increased its sponsored research income from $106.9 million in FY00 to $184.4 million in FY01, an increase of 72.9%. Research intensity also skyrocketed over the same period, from $118 per full-time faculty to $197. The increases helped move McMaster to 7th in the Top 50.

The report breaks Canada’s universities into three categories: medical/doctoral, comprehensive and undergraduate. Not surprisingly, medical/doctoral institutions dominate the funding total. The fifteen universities (and their affiliated institutions) account for 82% of the FY01 total, up from 80% in FY00. That increase was achieved at the expense of universities in the comprehensive category, which dropped year-over-year from 15% to 13%. Undergraduate universities remained unchanged at 5%.

In terms of annual increases, the top honours goes to one of Canada’s smaller institutions, Prince Edward Island Univ. Its research funding increased 128.4% rising from just $2.3 million in FY00 to $5.2 million in FY01.

Of the 50 institutions captured in the data, 43 universities recorded an annual increase while funding for only seven declined. Included in the latter is Dalhousie Univ, which dropped 8.7% from $77.5 million to $70.8 million. The report notes that downward shifts should not automatically be construed as poor performance, but may reflect timing of the receipt of funds.

Indeed, the report projects that the stellar year enjoyed by universities in FY01may not be duplicated in FY02, as funders like the Canada Foundation for Innovation take a pause in their competitions and institutions focus on spending the new funds they have already received. Funding from the business sector may also decline this year, due to the high-tech slump.

From a geographical perspective, Ontario universities commanded the largest share of FY01 funding (40%), followed by Quebec (29%), Alberta (12%) and British Columbia (8%). Alberta easily outstrips the others when ranked by research income per university per province. With just three universities, the average income per Alberta institution is $140 million, compared to $81 million for Quebec, $80 million for Ontario and $66 million for BC.

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