Good afternoon, Madam Chair, and members of the committee.
I'm here today representing the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. On behalf of NSERC President Alejandro Adem, who is abroad on work-related travel, I am pleased to provide remarks for your important study.
NSERC invests over $1.4 billion each year in natural sciences and engineering research in Canada to deliver impact locally, nationally and globally. These investments build a national knowledge base through broad-based discovery-oriented research at Canada’s universities and colleges. This research catalyzes the development of highly qualified research professionals to create talent that innovative organizations need, creating over 35,000 training opportunities annually, with over 83% of trainees going on to work in R and D.
Canada is certainly well regarded by its peers internationally for supporting research excellence. Since 2015, three NSERC-supported researchers based in Canada have won Nobel Prizes in Physics.
Beyond discovery research, NSERC investments also power industry partnerships with universities and colleges, creating a culture of academic entrepreneurialism and connections between the creators and users of discovery research.
Over 2,500 partners participate in NSERC projects each year, most from industry, and 91% report benefits from the collaboration. In 2023-24, these collaborations attracted $356 million in partner contributions. NSERC funding is awarded following competitive and independent merit reviews by Canadian and international experts. The process evaluates proposals based on the applicant’s demonstration of producing meaningful and impactful research, on the originality and proposed use of the research, and on the quality of the training and mentoring provided. As funders, we recognize the need for continual modernization to stay relevant within the research enterprise. Continuous reflection and improvement in assessing research quality and impact is a consistent theme at NSERC. For example, NSERC is a signatory to DORA, the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment.
NSERC, along with SSHRC and CIHR, are also implementing the tri-agency EDI action plan, recognizing that equity, diversity and inclusion are essential to research quality and impact.
In line with these commitments, NSERC released revised guidelines in 2022 to encourage reviewers and applicants to consider a more comprehensive range of contributions to research, training and mentoring.
NSERC asks reviewers to recognize that research contributions can take many forms: publications, datasets, public engagement or technology licensing that benefit society as a whole or enhance Canada’s research ecosystem. Different programs have different objectives, and we approach the evaluation of proposals in ways that take this into account.
Through our programs and commitment to impact, NSERC helps drive the growth of Canada's research enterprise. We continue to modernize programming and evaluation processes to deliver the greatest benefits for Canadians.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I look forward to answering any questions you may have, and I would be happy to share with you more examples of the work NSERC is doing to promote research excellence in Canada.