The Queen’s Strategic Research Plan is a foundational governing document that supports and guides the institutional research mission. 

The current iteration of the SRP will conclude at the end of 2017. Over the past five years, it has supported the research landscape at Queen’s, allowing it to focus, and be shaped by, the successes of our faculty, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students, as well as undergraduate students.

During this time, several federal award programs have contributed significantly to Queen’s research excellence, as has the Queen’s National Scholar program. Partnerships and innovation that extend beyond traditional academic boundaries have continued to grow at Queen’s, and globally, as an important part of the research ecosystem.

Over the next several months, the SRP will be reviewed and refreshed to reflect the evolution of research strengths and recent accomplishments, and to develop research priorities and future potential with respect to the direction and emphasis of the university’s research mission. The overarching design of the renewed SRP will be to:

• Reflect the diversity, breadth and depth of scholarship across the academy;
• Identify and position areas of institutional strength and excellence for further success through engagement with government, industry, and with regional, national and international partners;
• Identify specific recommendations to guide and support the research enterprise;
• Fulfill the requirements for a variety of funding programs including the federal Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) program and the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF).

A foundational principle underlying the strategic research plan is a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, as addressed by the Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion, coupled with the recommendations of the Queen’s University Truth and Reconciliation Commission Task Force. These principles are important for the successful enhancement of our research prominence through faculty renewal and emerging or established strategic themes of focus.

Interim Vice-Principal (Research) John Fisher and former Vice-Principal (Research) Steven Liss began the renewal process in January 2017 through an initial engagement with the deans, which was paralleled by early discussions with leaders of stakeholder groups and associate deans/vice deans of research. This led to a request of the deans for feedback on the current and emerging Faculty priority research areas and a snapshot of Faculty investment in research.

The recent external review of research provided a series of insightful recommendations. The process that led to the Canada Excellence Research Chair at Queen’s, the CFREF award in Particle Astrophysics, and the Strategic Mandate Agreement between the University and the province will all be informative in developing and articulating a plan that is appropriately aligned to current opportunities and needs, while identifying a framework to discuss longer-term aspirational goals.

The Senate Advisory Research Committee (SARC) has been informed of the renewal process and a small writing team will be established to support the drafting of the revised SRP.

Engagement with the community through a variety of online and in-person engagements are being planned. 

The three phases of the renewal are comprised of: 1) Planning, consultation and feedback; 2) Drafting the SRP and soliciting feedback; and 3) Revision of the SRP draft followed by a consultation phase culminating in Senate consultation.