Senate Research Report - February 2023

  Research News  

Update on Research Security

Canada’s research ecosystem requires increasing vigilance with respect to research security.  The federal and Ontario provincial governments have published guidelines and associated processes to assess research security risk associated with some of their funding programs.  More recently the federal government has issued statements regarding the funding of grant applications submitted to several federal funding organizations, affecting projects where any of the researchers are affiliated with “military, national defence or state security entities of foreign state actors that pose a risk to our national security.”  The federal government further indicated that they will be “urging [universities] to follow similar guidelines for all their research partnerships, and more particularly those partnerships involving sensitive research areas.” To provide our research community with advice and support in these matters, the VPR portfolio will host virtual office hours for researchers to discuss their research plans and any potential associated research security risks.  The details of these office hours will be provided on the VPR website in the coming weeks and will also be distributed through your Associate Dean of Research.”

New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) International

The 2023 NFRF International funding call invites researchers to tackle global challenges caused by climate change. Research teams must be interdisciplinary and include collaborators eligible for funding from one of the identified international partner countries, and proposals must address at least two of the key representative risks identified in the call. 

The VPR is gathering Queen's research experts to begin collaboration and knowledge sharing ahead of the pending announcement. The first brainstorming and networking session was held on December 9, with 50 Queen's researchers attending in-person and virtually. 

Details about collaboration opportunities and funding timelines are available at queensu.ca/vpr/nfrf-int  

Postdoctoral Fund

The Vice-Principal Research Postdoctoral Fund aims to attract outstanding postdoctoral fellows (PDFs) to Queen’s University and foster greater recognition of trainees as research leaders of the future. Applications are now being accepted to fund two years of salary support for up to six (6) PDFs. Each award is valued at $50,000 per year of the funding period for a total of $100,000 per recipient.
Details of the funding program are available at queensu.ca/vpr/postdoc-fund 

SSHRC Institutional Grants

The Vice-Principal Research Portfolio (VPR) has launched the 2023 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Institutional Grants (SIG) program, which provides Queen’s faculty with funds for small-scale research and research-related activities. Applications for creative research that result in artistic work(s) are welcome. 
The VPR will facilitate a merit review process to award SIG funds up to $7,000 per year/per project. Funds are awarded to Queen’s University based on researcher success in earlier funding competitions, and support faculty career advancement and student participation in projects.   
Details on the upcoming deadlines are available at queensu.ca/vpr/SIG

Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowships (USSRF) 

New for 2023, USSRF has been expanded to support up to 100 fellowships, with four projects hosted at Bader College. Projects are available in any discipline. Interested applicants should contact potential supervisors and/or departments to learn about the application process.
Further information is available at queensu.ca/vpr/ussrf.