research

A new report by the Centre for Study of Canadian and International Higher Education (CIHE) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) has revealed important new information on contract faculty in Ontario. Written by Glen Jones and Cynthia Field, A survey of sessional faculty in Ontario publicly funded universities makes an important contribution to understanding who contract faculty are and, more importantly, what they want. The report surveyed contract faculty at 12 […]

The 2016 Federal Budget was released on March 22, 2016. It contains significant new funding for Canada’s research councils and university research generally. University revenues are most affected by provincial investments and policies, but this federal budget is largely good news for Ontario institutions. Like its Ontario counterpart released earlier this year, the Trudeau government’s […]

In her annual report, Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk has recommended that the government develop a strategy to address barriers to the commercialization of research at the province’s universities. The report, released on December 2, 2015, points out that the Ministry of Research and Innovation does not track total investments in research across ministries and […]

Across Canada and in Ontario, business and provincial government investment in research is falling, and universities are picking up the slack. The latest data on research and development (R&D) from Statistics Canada indicate that aggregate research expenditures in Canada will fall this year. Once forecast GDP inflation (1.3 per cent) is taken into account, the decline […]

Faculty unionization has a positive impact on students and universities, according to a new American study . The Impact of Unionization on University Performance: A Cross-Sectional Time Series Analysis, written by Mark Cassell, shows that unionization leads to a more efficient and effective institution, while promoting student success. The paper’s primary findings include: Unionized institutions show lower costs and […]

The latest Federal Scientific Activities report from Statistics Canada indicates that Canada’s federal government expenditures on science and technology for 2013-14 will decline 3.3 per cent from the previous year. The reduction will not only harm government agencies like Statistics Canada and the National Research Council, but will also reduce funding to research “performers” like universities. If inflation forecasts […]

A decade ago, Mike Lazaridis highlighted the role of university research in developing the talent needed for success in the wider world of R&D. This is no less true today. Unfortunately, Canada continues to lag in university attainment rates, particularly in advanced degrees. Given the importance of producing research talent, it is no accident that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development […]

The Conference Board of Canada recently reported on this country’s innovation record, with Canada ranking thirteenth of the sixteen countries considered. While Canada got a grade of “B” for public spending on research and development (R&D), Canadian business got a “D” for its efforts and ranked second from last. The report observes that Canadian business expenditures on (R&D) […]

Funding for basic research is the cornerstone of knowledge creation and innovation. Unfortunately, the federal government is doubling down on commercialization and letting basic research languish. At Canadian universities, the largest chunk of public funding earmarked for university research comes from the federal government. In 2011-12, federal grants and contracts accounted for three-quarters of public research […]

Barry Smit, one of We Teach Ontario’s featured profs, has been named to the Order of Ontario . This honour recognizes Ontarians who have made exceptional contributions to “the arts, law, science, medicine, history, politics, philanthropy and the environment.” Here is Barry’s We Teach Ontario video: Students in Barry’s courses are connected to this research in powerful ways. His graduate students […]

Teaching and research are at the heart of Ontario’s universities and together produce extraordinary results for students and their communities. We Teach Ontario , a new OCUFA initiative, celebrates how professors use research to enrich their students’ learning and strengthen the province. “Ontario professors and academic librarians know how powerful the connection between teaching and research can be […]

The latest provincial-level data on Research and Development (R&D) shows that R&D expenditures as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Ontario continue to be higher than the national average. Only Quebec spends more. Although Canadian – and Ontario and Quebec – businesses spend comparatively less than the OECD average , they still account for the largest proportion of R&D expenditures. Quebec businesses invest […]

Last week, former COU head Ian Clark published an article in the National Post calling for Ontario to adopt California-style university differentiation. Based on a larger research paper submitted to the Government of Ontario, Clark argues that Californian universities get more teaching and research for public dollars than Ontarian institutions. In a recently published response , Ken Snowdon takes this argument apart (full disclosure: OCUFA did […]