About the Vice-Principal Research Portfolio

Research represents one of the most dynamic elements of the university enterprise at Queen's. The role of the Vice-Principal Research (VPR) reflects the responsibilities associated with coordinating and promoting research, and advancing the research activities that contribute to new discoveries and creative works, scientific and technical breakthroughs, advances in the social sciences and humanities, innovation, institutional reputation, and importantly to the education and training of both undergraduate and graduate students.

Whether you are a seasoned researcher, new to Queen's, a potential partner, or just visiting, this website provides information regarding research programs and opportunities for funding and partnerships. If our office can be of assistance, or should you wish to provide feedback, please email  research@queensu.ca.

What We Do

The VPR Portfolio is committed to providing the support required to assist individual faculty members achieve excellence in research and scholarship, and ultimately maintain our profile as one of Canada's top research-intensive universities.

  • We provide support to research centres and institutes, researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs.
  • We encourage collaborative ventures with government, not-for-profits, and private sector.
  • We develop and strengthen programs in strategic areas.
  • We invest in human and physical infrastructure.
  • We ensure compliance of ethical standards.
  • We interact with politicians and policymakers to advocate for a fiscal environment that recognizes and supports university research.
  • We bring the benefits of discovery to the public through
    • training of highly qualified personnel,
    • published work, 
    • events and communications,
    • knowledge and technology transfer, and
    • commercialization.

Our Vision

We will be an essential catalyst for advancing research and knowledge mobilization, strengthening Queen’s local, national and global impact.

Values

  • Integrity/Trust
  • Inclusivity/Diversity
  • Collaborative (This includes the concepts/values of teamwork and collegiality)
  • Respect (includes the concept of broad respect for people’s time, and assumes empowerment)
  • Adaptable (includes the concepts/values of flexible, open minded, open to change)
  • Excellence (includes the values of accountable and professional)
View our 2020 Research Report

Queen’s Research Mission:

• Advance societal knowledge through discovery and discourse that is founded on equity and diversity,
• Enhance societal values, social mobility and inclusion through scholarship,
• Translate knowledge into practice and innovation, and
• Increase global engagement and presence.

2018-2023 Strategic Research Plan

In April 2018, Queen’s Senate approved the 2018-2023 Strategic Research Plan (SRP). The SRP identifies six themes  that represent core and emerging research strengths through which researchers from across disciplines will contribute to discovery, new insights, and creative works. 

Queen’s University has 175+ years of shaping Canada’s future – through innovation and impact as a leader in higher education, research and knowledge mobilization. We are a leading research-focused academic institution with a profound sense of community and purpose. At the core of our success is a commitment to research excellence, and the inextricable link that binds teaching and research through a common fundamental thread of curiosity and understanding. Indeed, the Academic Mission highlights the academic heart of our institution as follows: We regard Queen’s as a university that is both student-centred and research-intensive. Its mission is thus defined by two central activities: learning and discovery. To ensure that these two activities work together learning must proceed in the same way that research progresses: through the guided struggle with a question, a problem, a relationship, or a task.

Download the 2018-2023 Strategic Research Plan (PDF 145 KB)

Six research themes reflect core and emerging strengths:

  1. Securing Successful and Just Societies through Scholarship, Governance and Policy
  2. Fundamental Principles of Nature: from Discovery to Application and Innovation
  3. Mobilizing Creativity and Enabling Cultures
  4. Health, Wellness and the Determinants of Human Health
  5. Sustainability, Environment and Resources
  6. Interdisciplinary research in materials, computational analytics and human-machine interactions