Research Support Fund

The Research Support Fund assists Canadian postsecondary institutions and their affiliated research hospitals and institutes with the expenses associated with managing the research funded by the three federal research granting agencies (Tri-Agencies):

  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR);
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC); and
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Research Support Fund grants can be used to: maintain modern labs and equipment; provide access to up-to-date knowledge resources; provide research management and administrative support; meet regulatory and ethical standards; and transfer knowledge from academia to the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. For more information please visit the Research Support Fund website.

Affiliated Institutions 

In 2018, Aurora College formalized an agreement with Hotıì ts’eeda (HT), the Strategic Patient Oriented Research Program (SPOR) Support for Patient Oriented Research and Trials (SUPPORT) Unit for the Northwest Territories, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and hosted by the Tłįchǫ Government to administer Research Support Funds.  To learn how Hotıì ts’eeda has allocated RSF to cover the indirect operating expenses to support research projects visit: https://nwtspor.ca/about/research-support-fund-accountability

In 2020, Aurora College formalized an agreement with the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research (ICHR), an independent, non-profit organization actively engaged in research, research facilitation, training, synthesis, exchange and dissemination within the Northwest Territories.

Research Support Fund at Aurora College

Aurora College utilizes Research Support Funds to cover the indirect costs associated with research. These research funds are administered through the Aurora Research Institute, the research division of Aurora College. These indirect costs are real and ongoing operational expenses not directly linked to specific research projects. Examples include library resources, electricity, administrative functions, facilities upkeep, and building maintenance. Institutions have the flexibility to allocate these funds across five expenditure categories.

The Five Expenditure Categories include:

  1. Research facilities
  2. Research resources
  3. Management and administration of an institution’s research enterprise
  4. Regulatory requirements and accreditation
  5. Intellectual property and knowledge mobilization

Since 2017, the Research Support Funds received by Aurora College have been used to support the research administration work and research administration systems of the Research Services Office, as well as library resources at the Western Arctic Research Centre.

Research Support Fund Grant Amounts 2017-2026

Year
Total Amount Received
Aurora College
Hotıì ts’eeda
Institute for Circumpolar Health Research
2025/2026
$962,291
$273,704
$597,260
$91,327
 2024/2025
$1,006,828
$305,529
$629,905
$71,393
2023/2024
$962,900
$225,494
$687,309
$50,097
2022/2023
$937,311
$200,079
$709,767
$27,465
2021/2022
$851,150
$125,080
$718,630
$7,440
2020/2021
$593,051
$76,717
$516,334
-
2019/2020
$321,043
$43,109
$277,934
-
2018/2019
$48,440
$48,440
-
-
2017/2018
$31,466
$31,466
-
-
 

For its 2025-2026 Research Support Fund allocation, Aurora College plans to spend 1.7% on research facilities, 0.5% on research resources, 92.0% on the management and administration of its research enterprise, and 5.8% on regulatory requirements and accreditation.

2025/26 Research Support Fund Performance Objectives

Eligible Expenditure Category
Institutional Output
Institutional Performance Objective
Performance Indicator
Targeted Outcomes
Outcomes Reported at Year End
Research Facilities
Research facilities’ equipment maintenance
Support maintenance costs of research equipment at research centres
Research equipment at three research centres meets research staff, research student, and visiting researchers’ needs
Decrease the downtime of research equipment
 
Research Resources
Library software licences
Improve virtual communications around research data management
The number of staff and research partners who participate in library-supported research data management and related training sessions
Increase the number of staff and research partners participating in virtual training for data handling
 
Management and Administration of Research Enterprise
Research administration staff and research administration software licences
Retain full-time research administration staff
Maintain research administration software
Retain full-time Research Grant Coordinator
Retain full-time Research Development Facilitator
Maintain research management software to support research administration activities
Research Services Office will provide effective support for staff researchers to lesson their time burden of research administration duties
Improve institutional tracking and reporting on research programs
 
Regulatory Requirements / Accreditations
Regulatory requirements and accreditation committees
Provide salary support for Research Ethics Committee (REC) members
REC members are actively involved in virtual and in-person meetings throughout the year
REC provides regular engagement and training opportunities for its committee members
 

2024/25 Research Support Fund Performance Objectives

Eligible Expenditure Category
Institutional Output
Institutional Performance Objective
Performance Indicator 
Target Outcome
Outcomes Reported at Year End
Management and administration of research enterprise
Investment into salaries for research administration staff
Investment into research administration software
Full-time research administration staff
Research administration software
Full time research administrator on staff
Software eases burden of research administration
Improved reporting and tracking of research programs
Research Services Office provides quality support for staff researchers to lesson time burden of research administration
Expanded institutional reporting capabilities
Full-time research administration staff supporting researchers
Administration software in place
Intellectual property and knowledge mobilization
Knowledge mobilization projects 
Promote research led by NWT academic and Indigenous scholars to a broader audience
Execution of knowledge mobilization projects that address performance objective
Increased discoverability of northern science and Indigenous knowledge
Increased sharing of information for northern research programs

2023/24 Research Support Fund Performance Objectives

Eligible Expenditure Category
Institutional Output
Institutional Performance Objective
Performance Indicator 
Target Outcome
Outcomes Reported at Year End
Management and administration of research enterprise
Investment into salaries for research administration staff
Investment into research administration software
Full-time fesearch administration staff
Research administration software
Full-time research administrator on staff
Software eases burden of research administration
Improved reporting and tracking of research programs
Research Services Office provides quality support for staff researchers to lesson time burden of research administration
Expanded institutional reporting capabilities
Full-time research administration staff supporting researchers
Administration software in place
Intellectual property and knowledge mobilization
Knowledge mobilization projects 
Promote research led by NWT academic and Indigenous scholars to a broader audience
Execution of knowledge mobilization projects that address performance objective
Increased discoverability of northern science and Indigenous knowledge
Increased sharing of information for northern research programs

2022/23 Research Support Fund Performance Objectives

Eligible Expenditure Category
Institutional Output
Institutional Performance Objective
Performance Indicator 
Target Outcome
Outcomes Reported at Year End
Management and administration of research enterprise
Investment into salaries for research administration staff
Investment into research administration software
Full-time research administration staff
Research administration software
Full time research administrator on staff
Software eases burden of research administration
Improved reporting and tracking of research programs
Research Services Office provides high quality support for staff researchers to lesson time burden of research administration
Expanded institutional reporting capabilities
Full-time research administration staff supporting researchers
Administration Software in place
Intellectual property and knowledge mobilization
Knowledge mobilization projects
Promote research led by NWT academic and Indigenous scholars to a broader audience
Execution of knowledge mobilization projects that address performance objective
Increased discoverability of northern science and Indigenous knowledge
Increased sharing of information for northern research programs

2021/22 Research Support Fund Performance Objectives 

Eligible Expenditure Category
Institutional Output
Institutional Performance Objective
Performance Indicator 
Target Outcome
Outcomes Reported at Year End
Management and administration of research enterprise
Investment into salaries for research administration staff
Investment into research administration software
Full-time research administration staff
Research administration software
Full-time research administrator on staff
Software eases burden of research administration
Improved reporting and tracking of research programs
Research Services Office provides quality support for staff researchers to lesson time burden of research administration
Expanded institutional reporting capabilities
Full-time research administration staff supporting researchers
ROMEO Process Pathways research administration software in place
Intellectual property and knowledge mobilization
Knowledge mobilization projects  
Promote research led by NWT academic and Indigenous scholars to a broader audience
Execution of knowledge mobilization projects that address performance objective
Increased discoverability of northern science and Indigenous knowledge
Increased sharing of information for northern research programs

2020/21 Research Support Fund Performance Objectives 

Eligible Expenditure Category
Institutional Output
Institutional Performance Objective
Performance Indicator 
Target Outcome
Outcomes Reported at Year End
Management and administration of research enterprise
Investment into salaries for research administration staff
Investment into research administration software
Full-time research administration staff
Research administration software
Full-time research administrator on staff
Software eases burden of research administration
Improved reporting and tracking of research programs
Research Services Office provides quality support for staff researchers to lesson time burden of research administration
Expanded institutional reporting capabilities
Full-time research administration staff supporting researchers
ROMEO Process Pathways research administration software in place


Research Security 

Aurora College carried out a review of its Information Systems and Technology resources and developed a comprehensive internal Technology Strategy and Roadmap. This initiative encompassed the audit and review of institutional security measures and data management protocols. For the fiscal year of 2023-2024, the College received a budget allocation of $1,094 that supported its research security initiatives.

Research Security Performance Objectives for 2023-2024

Project Title
Output
Performance Objective
Performance Indicator
Target Outcome
Outcomes Reported at Year End
Aurora College Technology Strategy and Roadmap
Review of institutional information and technology structures
Improve data security at the institution
Identify security risks and vulnerabilities
Complete institutional audit and develop a roadmap for improvements
Improved data security at the college
Identified security risks and vulnerabilities
Trained staff to identify security risks / vulnerabilities and develop mitigation plan