Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members, for the invitation to speak again before the standing committee, along with my colleagues Madam Lamoureux and Madam La Traverse.
I am very pleased to appear before you today in my capacity as president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, often referred to as the SSHRC.
The SSHRC is the federal research funding agency that supports post-secondary research and research training in the social sciences and humanities. It is also responsible for the administration of many prestigious multi-agency national programs focused on research funding, such as the Canada research chairs program and the Canada excellence research chairs program. Finally, it houses the secretariat of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee, or CRCC, which I am proud to currently chair.
With respect to research training and talent development programs and initiatives, the SSHRC fosters the development of talented and creative individuals in the social sciences and humanities disciplines, whether in history, geography, international relations or business and economics. These individuals will become leaders on campus and in communities and contribute to Canada's success in this 21st century characterized by globalization.
In 2021-22, SSHRC supported more than 4,900 graduate students at the master's and Ph.D. levels and post-doctoral fellows directly through scholarships and fellowships representing an investment of about $124 million. SSHRC also supported over 4,200 students and fellows indirectly through grants that were awarded to researchers at post-secondary institutions across Canada, which accounted for an additional $72 million in support.
SSHRC, like NSERC and the other agencies, is attentive to the growing calls for increased investment in research scholarships and fellowships. The fact is that, as you know well, despite being a core component of the Canadian funding landscape, award amounts have been largely stagnant for nearly 20 years and have not kept pace with inflation. The stagnating value of awards is definitely putting a burden on research trainees and fellows, making it more challenging for them to focus on their research and develop their skills. In fact, students in the social sciences and humanities in particular face added constraints in seeking indirect sources of research funding, such as through grants, as compared with their peers in the natural sciences and health disciplines, which tend to be much better funded.
That being said, given the funds available for this purpose within our system, there has always been a tension between raising the value of awards versus increasing their number, which we have effectively done over the last two decades. It's also worth noting that the federal government is not the sole source of funding for graduate students, and nor does funding from this source account for the majority of support provided to students. Provinces and universities themselves are extremely important partners in this process as well.
Perhaps now is the time to address both these realities, as we can all agree that supporting the next generation of researchers in Canada from across all disciplines has never been more critical. It is key to sustaining Canada's leadership and strength in research and to helping us respond to global threats and seize opportunities that will create a better future for all of us.
How to do this is an issue that needs to be addressed collectively, both inside and outside the granting agencies. That's why I look forward to participating in today's discussion about how we might work together to better support graduate training and research.