Indirect Costs of Research
Definition
While individual research awards can be used to cover the direct costs of research such as certain salaries, equipment, and supplies connected with a project, research institutions must bear the increasingly high costs of supporting their overall research activity with appropriate facilities, academic research resources, researcher salaries, management and administrative personnel, oversight of regulatory compliance and accreditation, and intellectual property management. In 2003 the Federal Government introduced the permanent Indirect Costs of Research Program (ICP) to provide grants to Canadian universities and colleges to offset the financial challenges of administering Tri-Agency funded research.
Description
ICP grants are allocated annually, based on a rolling
average of the Tri-Agency funding awarded to the institution over the previous
three years. In 2011-12 The University
of Winnipeg incurred eligible costs of $1,868,340 in support of Tri-Agency
funded research activities. The total ICP
grant awarded for that year was $869,007, off-setting roughly 47% of these eligible costs.
The program allows institutions flexibility to allocate
their annual ICP grant, at their discretion, to offset eligible costs incurred
under five categories:
- Research facilities: renovation & maintenance of research
facilities, upgrades and maintenance of research equipment and other
devices, operating costs, and technical support for labs, offices and
other facilities.
- Research resources: acquisition of library holdings, improved information resources,
library operating costs and administration, and insurance on research
equipment and vehicles.
- Management and administration of the research enterprise: support for the completion of grant
applications/research proposals, acquisition, maintenance and/or upgrade
of information systems to track grant applications, certificates and
awards, training of faculty and research personnel, human resources and
payroll, financial and audit costs, research planning and promotion, and
public relations.
- Regulatory requirements and accreditations: creation and
support of regulatory bodies, relevant training of faculty and other
research personnel, international accreditation costs, upgrades and
maintenance of research facilities to meet regulatory requirements,
technical support for animal care and handling of hazardous substances,
and the purchase of animals exclusively for training purposes (not
research).
- Intellectual property: creation, expansion or sustenance of a technology transfer office
or similar function, administration of invention patent applications,
support for technology licensing, administration of agreements and
partnerships with industry, development of incubators, support for the
creation of spin-off companies, certain public outreach activities, and
marketing of teaching materials, scientific photo libraries, data sets,
and other tools for knowledge transfer.
For more information about the program please visit the Indirect Costs Program’s website:
http://www.indirectcosts.gc.ca/home-accueil-eng.aspx
Outcomes
In June, 2011 The University of Winnipeg proudly opened the Richardson College for the Environment and Science Building, a state-of-the-art LEED-certified facility built with provincial, federal, and private funds. Without the support of the ICP grant, the University would have been severely challenged to meet the additional costs associated with the creation and maintenance of such a facility. In addition, the re-allocation of research space and equipment, as well as the requirements for regulatory compliance resulting from this change, required considerable resources, both material and administrative, which were partially met by the ICP funds. By offsetting these necessary but challenging costs, the ICP grant allowed the University to direct its limited resources to other areas of research priority, such as marginalized populations, inner-city studies, and Aboriginal health. Support given under the ICP program has helped the University of Winnipeg to create a productive, inspiring, and rewarding research environment, attracting and retaining world-class researchers.