Federal Responsibilities: Research Funding: Tri-Councils and the Canada Graduate Scholarship

The federal government is one of the primary funders of university research. Through the federal research granting councils, the government hands out hundreds of millions each year, allocated to three main areas: Canada Institutes for Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and Social Sciences and Humanities. Although there have been small increases to research funding for the granting councils in recent years, the councils have never fully recovered from the cuts of the 1990s, nor has their funding kept pace with the rising enrolment of graduate students across Canada.

Research Funding: More equitable allocation needed

The 2008 federal budget provided an additional $80 million for the granting councils: $34 million for the Canada Institutes for Health Research, $34 million for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and $12 million for the Social Sciences and Humanities. All this new funding is targeted for projects in a narrow range of fields, such as the automotive industry or food and drug safety. This will lead to a greater disparity between funding for commericalised research over that of basic research in the sciences and social sciences and humanities.

Funding for discovery grants in the social sciences and humanities lags behind the applied sciences. This harms Canada's ability to produce the research needed to provide policy options to address the social, economic, strategic, and political challenges of the future. The social sciences and humanities enhance our understanding of complex social interactions and informs policy and development decisions used throughout the world. Without a balanced public research agenda, Canada risks falling behind other countries in training people to analyse and explain the constantly shifting social and political landscape.

Recent federal budgets have targeted an increasing amount of research funding for the short-term priorities of the private sector, thus undermining basic research, which leads to long-term innovation. The 2009 budget provided funding to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for additional Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS), but directed they go to “business-related degrees”. Research funded by the natural Science and Engineering Research Council has also become increasingly directed toward government-prioritised sectors of the economy. This approach of directing research priorities undermines the independence and peer- review standards within Canada’s research community and has earned criticism from many in the scientific and research community. Research policy of this nature is short-sighted and guarantees that Canada will fail to take full advantage of Canada’s world-class researchers.

In Saskatchewan, the 2011-2012 budget allocated $11.4 million dollars to the Innovation and Science Fund, which is distributed to graduate students through the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina. Though students in Saskatchewan welcome this funding, focusing funding on science and technology driven research leaves out a large portion of graduate students in Saskatchewan who are in need of funding. The Canadian Federation of Students is calling on the Saskatchewan government to increase the funding allocation to research and innovation, distributed evenly to all sectors where research is conducted and to both basic and applied research, therefore supporting both short and long-term innovation.

Increasing obstacles: Graduate Students’ Reality

Graduate students face many obstacles that include limited funding options, an increasingly commercialised and restrictive research environment, rising tuition fees, no access to needs-based grants, and high levels of student debt from previous degrees. Nationally, this year tuition fees for graduate students increased by 6.6 percent, to over $6,400, an increase that is nearly 50 percent larger than increases in undergraduate tuition fees, and almost four times the rate of inflation.

High tuition fees and limited funding opportunities mean that students are being forced to take on significant financial burdens at a point when they are least capable of doing so. Upfront costs deter students from pursuing graduate studies and are ultimately a form of double taxation. The use of tax credits as a means of supporting graduate studies is very limited in its effect because most graduate students require resources upfront to pay tuition fees, conduct research and participate in professional development activities. A more efficient and cost-effective system is one where post-secondary education is publicly financed and those who receive higher incomes pay through a progressive tax system.

Provincial Responsibility:

Although the federal government is one of the primary funders for graduate student research, the provincial government has a key role to play as well. Currently, the Saskatchewan government provides funding for graduate student internships in both the public and private sectors in a variety of disciplines as well as funding for research in the science and technology fields, supported through the Innovation and Science Fund.

Over the last decade, graduate student enrollment has increased 37.5 per cent. However, Saskatchewan has actually seen enrollment numbers decline. Although the provincial government provides graduate students in science and technology related fields with funding through the universities, there is no dedicated program to provide funding for students in all areas of study, such as the Manitoba Graduate Scholarship or the Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

As the Canadian economy develops into a knowledge-based economy, research and innovation is more important than ever. However, in the 2008-09 budget, the Saskatchewan government reduced the amount of funding allocated to universities for research by $3.5 million and has not increased funding since. Graduate students are Saskatchewan’s current and future innovators, therefore it is the provincial government’s responsibility to invest adequately in graduate students to ensure that Saskatchewan attracts and retains the best and the brightest. Supporting research and innovation should always be a top priority for both the federal and provincial government, but in a time when Saskatchewan is booming, there is no excuse not to be investing in research and innovation.

The provinces of Manitoba and Ontario have recognized the importance of research and development for stimulating the local economy and in that recognition, have made funding for graduate students a priority. In Manitoba, the provincial government established the Manitoba Graduate Scholarship, which provides graduate students an extra $15,000 towards a Masters degree and $7,500 towards a PhD. In Ontario, Masters and PhD students can apply for scholarships that range from $5,000 to $15,000 through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. All students in all disciplines can apply for funding through the Manitoba Graduate Scholarship and Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

The Canadian Federation of Students is calling on the Saskatchewan Government to create an upfront grants program for graduate students in all disciplines.

Click here to visit the home of the National Graduate Caucus, Canada's graduate student organisation.