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:
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR);
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC);
- 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.
Research Support Fund at Aurora Research Institute
Aurora Research Institute receives funds from the Research Support Fund to cover the indirect costs of research. Indirect costs are expenses that are real, ongoing, operating expenses not directly associated with any one research project. This includes libraries, electricity, administrative expenses, facilities maintenance, and buildings.
Institutions have the flexibility to decide how to use their grant in the following categories:
- Research facilities
- Research resources
- Management and administration of an institution’s research enterprise
- Regulatory requirements and accreditation
- Intellectual property and knowledge mobilization
Aurora College has used these funds to support research resources of the library at the Western Arctic Research Centre.
From 2017 to 2023, the research support funds that Aurora College received were used to support research administration and research administration systems.
Research Support Fund Grant Amounts 2017-2023
Year |
Total Amount Received |
Aurora College |
Hotıì ts’eeda |
Institute for Circumpolar Health Research |
2022/23 |
$937,311 |
$200,079 |
$709,767 |
$27,465 |
2021/22 |
$851,150 |
$125,080 |
$718,630 |
$7,440 |
2020/21 |
$593,051 |
$76,717 |
$516,334 |
- |
2019/20 |
$321,043 |
$43,109 |
$277,934 |
- |
2018/19 |
$48,440 |
$48,440 |
- |
- |
2017/18 |
$31,466 |
$31,466 |
- |
- |
Research Support Fund Grant Amounts 2023/24
Year |
Total Amount Received |
Aurora College |
Hotıì ts’eeda |
Institute for Circumpolar Health Research |
2023/24 |
$962,900 |
$225,494 |
$687,309 |
$50,097 |
Aurora College proposes to spend 80% on management and administration and 20% on knowledge mobilization activities in 2023/24.
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 salary for research administration staffInvestment into research administration software |
Full-time Research Administration StaffResearch Administration software |
Full time research administrator on staffSoftware eases burden of research administrationImproved reporting and tracking of research programs |
Office of Research Service provide high quality support for staff researchers to lesson time burden of research administrationExpanded institutional reporting capabilities |
|
Intellectual property and knowledge mobilization |
Knowledge Mobilization projects |
Promote research led by NWT academic and Indigenous scholars to a broader audience |
Execution of KM projects that address performance objective |
Increased discoverability of Northern science and Indigenous knowledge |
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 salary for research administration staffInvestment into research administration software |
Full-time Research Administration StaffResearch Administration software |
Full time research administrator on staffSoftware eases burden of research administrationImproved reporting and tracking of research programs |
Office of Research Service provide high quality support for staff researchers to lesson time burden of research administrationExpanded 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 KM projects that address performance objective |
Increased discoverability of Northern science and Indigenous knowledge |
Increased sharing of information for northern research programs |
From 2017 - 2023, the research support funds that Aurora College received were used to support research administration and research administration systems.
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 salary for research administration staffInvestment into research administration software |
Full-time Research Administration StaffResearch Administration software |
Full time research administrator on staffSoftware eases burden of research administrationImproved reporting and tracking of research programs |
Office of Research Service provide high quality support for staff researchers to lesson time burden of research administrationExpanded institutional reporting capabilities |
Full-time research administration staff supporting researchersROMEO Process Pathways Research Administration Software in place |
Intellectual property and knowledge mobilization |
Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) projects |
Promote research led by NWT academic and Indigenous scholars to a broader audience |
Execution of KMb 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 salary for research administration staff at Aurora Research InstituteInvestment into research administration software at Aurora Research Institute |
Full-time Research Administration StaffResearch Administration software |
Full time research administrator on staffSoftware eases burden of research administrationImproved reporting and tracking of research programs |
Office of Research Service provide high quality support for staff researchers to lesson time burden of research administrationExpanded institutional reporting capabilities |
FT Research Administration Staff supporting researchersROMEO Process Pathways Research Administration Software in place |
Research Security
Recently, Aurora College carried out an exhaustive review of its Information Systems Technology (IST) and has subsequently devised a comprehensive Technology Strategy and Roadmap. This initiative also encompasses the audit and review of institutional security measures and data management protocols.
For the fiscal year of 2023-2024, the college is set to receive a budget allocation of $1,094, specifically earmarked for bolstering its research security initiatives.
Research Security Performance Objectives for 2023-2024
Project Title |
Output |
Performance Objective |
Performance Indicator |
Target Outcome |
Aurora College Technology Strategy and Roadmap |
$1,094 received from RSF invested in the review of institutional IT structures |
Improve data security at the institution. |
Identify security risks and vulnerabilities |
Complete institutional audit and develop a roadmap for improvements. |
Affiliated Institutions
In 2018, Aurora College formalized an agreement with Hotıì ts’eeda, 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.
