Canada Research Chairs Program Institutional Equity Stipend

On this page

• Description
• Objectives
• Application process
• Institutional eligibility
• Use of funds
• Reporting
• Stipends awarded

Description

Commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

The Government of Canada and the Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) are committed to excellence in research and research training for the benefit of Canadians. Achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is also essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to seize opportunities and to respond to global challenges. Therefore, the program is committed to the federal government’s policies on non-discrimination and employment equity .

In April 2020, the governance committees of the CRCP implemented an equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) stipend of up to $50,000 for institutions that participate in the program. These funds are being provided to help institutions address the systemic barriers in their policies, processes and structures (e.g., unconscious bias, discrimination) that have led to the historic and persistent underrepresentation of women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples and racialized minorities in their allocation of chairholders of the CRCP. 

The stipend will be available to all eligible institutions until 2029-30, to support them in meeting their equity targets for the December 2029 deadline. The annual stipend will be subject to the availability of funds each year.

Objectives

These funds are expected to help successfully implement the 2019 Addendum to the 2006 Canadian Human Rights Settlement Agreement at a critical time during the 10-year window (2020-29) to meet increased equity targets. The funds also directly support the program’s objectives of attracting and retaining a diverse cadre of world-class researchers and reinforce academic research and training excellence in Canadian postsecondary institutions. Funds will also support the development and implementation of institutional EDI action plans for the program.

Application process

The completed form must be sent to: information@chairs-chaires.gc.ca by the deadline. Electronic signatures or an approval of the form sent by email by the institutional representative at the vice-president level will be accepted as signatures.

Institutional eligibility

To be eligible to submit an application, the institution must have a current allocation of chairs from the CRCP and have submitted all Statements of Account (form 300) related to the stipend. Institutions that have continued balances of unspent funds from previous years may be deemed ineligible for a new stipend. Data from the previous statements of account will be reviewed at the time of application and analyzed to confirm demonstrated progress on use of funds.

Use of funds

The stipend provides a total of $50,000 over one year to be spent on EDI initiatives that support the EDI requirements of the CRCP within the funding period in which the funds are awarded. Funds cannot be used for the direct costs of research and cannot overlap with other funding for EDI activities granted to the institution by the three federal research funding agencies.

Institutions must appropriately justify the need for funds. In cases where the justification is deemed insufficient, the program will contact the institution, which will be given an opportunity to respond. Failure to provide adequate justification may result in the application being deemed ineligible.

See policies tied to the administration of funding.

Examples of eligible funding expenses:

• EDI consultant fees (hiring of external EDI experts to guide efforts, develop tools and resources, etc.)
• Contribution to salary of equity officers
• Training in EDI (e.g., development of training or hiring of facilitator(s) to give training on unconscious bias training for recruitment committees, training on systemic barriers, micro-aggressions and antiracism, training for chairholders on implementing EDI in their research programs, etc.)
• Costs associated with collecting self-identification data on the participation of equity-seeking groups in the program (e.g., revisions to self-identification data collection forms, implementation of systems to collect data, etc.)
• Costs to revise or further develop the institution’s EDI Action Plan for the CRCP (e.g., conducting environmental scan, employment systems review, comparative review projects tied to the implementation of key objectives in the plans, etc.)
• Costs to develop an EDI communications strategy (e.g., to further promote the link between diversity and research excellence, to promote self-identification, to raise awareness of systemic barriers, etc.)

Reporting

How to report on outcomes of funding

All institutions will be required to report on the outcomes or results of the EDI stipend funding in the program’s annual Institutional Report and the Statement of Account (form 300) for the stipend.

Can the stipend term be extended?

Extensions of six to 12 months to use funds are available upon request. Any requests should be sent to information@chairs-chaires.gc.ca before the end of the award.

Stipends awarded

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2024-25