About the Program
The cost of research includes both direct and indirect costs. Indirect costs include maintaining the research space and libraries; cost of utilities for that space; management and administration of research, finances, regulatory requirements and compliance; and liability insurance amongst other costs. It is difficult to assign these indirect costs to specific projects since the costs are shared across projects.
The Research Support Fund (RSF) replaced the Indirect Cost Program (ICP) in April 2015. The transition of the Indirect Costs Program to the Research Support Fund is in response to the Economic Action Plan 2013, in which the government committed to examining the Indirect Costs Program, in consultation with the postsecondary sector, to ensure that the program was meeting its objective of reinforcing excellence in postsecondary research.
The Research Support Fund (RSF) is a Government of Canada funding program to assist Canadian post-secondary institutions in offsetting some of the indirect costs involved in administering the research funded by the three granting agencies:
- The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
- The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
- The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
- Research Support Fund (RSF)
The funds provided are to assist with expenses in five major categories:
- Research Facilities,
- Management & Administration,
- Research Resources,
- Regulatory Requirements and
- Intellectual Property. RSF grants are allocated annually based on a 3-year rolling average of an institution’s Tri-Agency revenue.
For more information about the program and eligible expenses, please click on the links below.
RSF at Nipissing University
The value of Nipissing University’s Indirect Costs allocation varies from year to year and is based on a percentage of the university’s total funding received from the Federal Granting Agencies; SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR. The allocation is calculated using a three-year rolling average formula. For example, the 2013-2014 allocation is calculated by using the average of the 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 Federal funding awards for Nipissing University. The funds must be used between the period of April 1 and March 31 of every year. No carryover or deferral of funds is permitted.
Impact of the Research Support Fund at Nipissing University
The Research Support Fund is important to Nipissing University as it provides base level support for research activities conducted at the university. The following are examples of how funds from the program are used:
- Support of Nipissing University’s regulatory compliance bodies such as the Animal Care Committee, Research Ethics Board and Biosafety.
- Support for research accounting services including financial audit costs, financial reporting and purchasing activities.
- Contributions to operating costs for custodial, security, maintenance, utilities and other expenses required to maintain the research wing.
- Support for grant management and administration including regulatory compliance.
- Contributions to support the Technology Transfer office for effort in bringing research to commercialization and protection of Intellectual property.
- Contributions to the management and administration of research services and facilities.
Institutional Objectives
The institutional objectives represent the expected use of the Research Support Fund for the forthcoming year. The actual expenses may vary from expectation due to the inherent variability in forecasting future expenses.
Annual Outcomes Report
Each annual outcomes report provides a final breakdown of the indirect costs covered by the Research Support Fund for that fiscal year. The external administrators of the Research Support Fund use these reports to assess Nipissing University's ongoing compliance with their funding guidelines. The five prior years are provided below.