Research Support Fund
Cape Breton University is a recipient of support from the Government of Canada through the Research Support Fund (RSF). The program assists Canadian post-secondary institutions with the costs associated with managing their research enterprise, helping universities and colleges to maintain a world-class research environment. Funded by the three federal research granting agencies (CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC), RSF is essential to CBU’s research work, providing funds to support the indirect costs of research.
The term “indirect costs of research” refers to the cost institutions incur to allow scholarly research activities to take place. These might include central and departmental administrative costs which are not attributable to specific research projects, costs associated with maintaining and upgrading labs, offices, libraries, and other facilities, or costs incurred while meeting regulatory requirements and research compliance. Examples of expenses incurred by Cape Breton University in managing the funded research are: maintenance, repairs and utilities costs associated with research facilities; library periodicals, electronic resources and access copyright fees; research office staff and research finance salaries; legal, intellectual property service fees; and commercialization and industry partnership support costs.
More information on the Research Support Fund program can be found on the RSF website: https://www.rsf-fsr.gc.ca
Research Support is divided into five expenditure categories:
How much is CBU allocated?
CBU’s Research Support Fund allocation is calculated based on the amount of Tri-agency funding awarded in the three most recent years for which data are available. CBU’s allocation of research support funds for the 2023-2024 fiscal year totaled $454,225 and were expended under five categories as follows:
| Research facilities |
$62,408 |
13.7% |
| Research resources |
$50,900 |
11.2% |
| Management and administration of the institution’s research enterprise |
$289,676 |
63.8% |
| Regulatory requirements and accreditation |
$25,387 |
5.6% |
| Intellectual property and knowledge mobilization |
$25,854 |
5.7% |
Research Support Fund: Current Allocation (2024-2025)
CBU’s allocation of research support funds for 2024-2025 is $510,819, and will support the following:
| Research facilities |
$64,507 |
12.6% |
| Research resources |
$64,965 |
12.7% |
| Management and administration of the institution’s research enterprise |
$299,789 |
58.7% |
| Regulatory requirements and accreditation |
$37,254 |
7.3% |
| Intellectual property and knowledge mobilization |
$44,304 |
8.7% |
Research Support Fund Outcome Summaries:
