Canada Research Chair

Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) are Canadian university research professorships created through the Canada Research Chairs Program.

Program goals

The program, established in 2000, is an integral part of a Government of Canada plan to drive Canadian research and development excellence, to create world-class centres of research and to enhance Canada's competitiveness in the global knowledge-based economy. Through the CRC program, $300 million is spent annually to attract and retain outstanding scholars and scientists.

Chairholders aim to achieve research excellence in natural sciences, engineering, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences. They improve Canadians’ depth of knowledge and quality of life, strengthen the country’s international competitiveness, and help train the next generation of highly skilled people through student supervision, teaching, and the coordination of other researchers’ work. [Offical website http://www.chairs.gc.ca ]

Types of chairs

There are two types of Canada Research Chair:
*Tier 1 Chairs - tenable for seven years and renewable indefinitely, are for outstanding researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields. For each Tier 1 Chair, the university receives $200,000 annually for seven years.

*Tier 2 Chairs - tenable for five years and renewable once, are for exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field. For each Tier 2 Chair, the university receives $100,000 annually for five years.

Chair allocations

The number of CRCs allocated to a university is proportional to the amount of research grant funding that university has received in the three years prior to the year of the allocation. Grant funding must originate from the three federal granting agencies (NSERC, CIHR, and SSHRC).

Of the total 2000 Chairs, 1880 are regular allocations, distributed as follows:
* 846 Chairs (45 per cent) for research in natural sciences and engineering;
* 658 Chairs (35 per cent) for research in health sciences;
* 376 Chairs (20 per cent) for research in social sciences and humanities.

The program sets aside a special allocation of 120 Chairs for universities that have received one per cent or less of the total funding paid out by the three federal granting agencies over the preceding three years.

Roughly 66% of Chairs are allocated to member institutions of the G13, a group of the top research-intensive universities in Canada.

Other universities participating in the CRC Program are:columns-list|4
*Acadia University
*Algoma University College
*Athabasca University
*Bishop's University
*Brandon University
*Brock University
*Cape Breton University
*Carleton University
*Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface
*Collège universitare de Hearst
*Concordia University
*École de technologie supérieure
*École des Hautes Études Commerciales
*École Polytechnique de Montréal
*Institut national de la recherche scientifique
*Lakehead University
*Laurentian University
*Malaspina University-College
*Memorial University of Newfoundland
*Mount Allison University
*Mount Saint Vincent University
*Nipissing University
*Nova Scotia Agricultural College
*Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
*Royal Military College of Canada
*Royal Roads University
*Ryerson University
*Saint Mary's University
*Simon Fraser University
*St. Francis Xavier University
*St. Thomas University
*Thompson Rivers University
*Trent University
*Trinity Western University
*Université de Moncton
*Université de Québec à Chicoutimi
*Université de Sherbrooke
*Université du Québec à Montréal
*Université du Québec à Rimouski
*Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
*Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
*Université du Québec en Outaouais
*Université Sainte-Anne
*University College of the Fraser Valley
*University of Guelph
*University of Lethbridge
*University of Manitoba
*University of New Brunswick
*University of Northern British Columbia
*University of Ontario Institute of Technology
*University of Prince Edward Island
*University of Regina
*University of Saskatchewan
*University of Victoria
*University of Windsor
*University of Winnipeg
*Wilfrid Laurier University
*York University

List of Canada Research Chairs

The Canada Research Chairs Program maintains an online database of profiles of each chairholder, which include detailed descriptions of each of their research projects. [ [http://www.chairs.gc.ca/web/chairholders/index_e.asp Online database of profiles on each chairholder] ]

The Canada Research Chairs Insignia

On March 27, 2008, the Government of Canada's Ministry of Industry, as well as the presidents of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research presented each chairholder with a Canada Research Chair insignia [ [http://www.chairs.gc.ca/web/media/releases/2008/CRC_pin.jpgPhoto of the Canada Research Chairs Insignia] ] at a national celebration of the program held at the Université du Québec en Outaouais in Gatineau, Québec. The lapel pin is made of sterling silver, symbolizes the pursuit of knowledge and research excellence and is available exclusively to chairholders. As of November 2007, there are 1,851 [ [http://www.chairs.gc.ca/web/about/statistics_e.asp Recent Statistics on the Canada Research Chairs Program] ] Canada Research Chairs. Seventy Canadian universities are participating in the program.

References