Thank you, Madam Chair, for inviting me to speak on today's critically important topic.
I'm here on behalf, as you said, of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, SSHRC. We are the federal funding agency that supports research and research training in disciplines related to social sciences and humanities, and advances partnerships and initiatives that help communities, businesses and governments apply research knowledge and insights to innovate and improve the lives of Canadians.
Within the social sciences and humanities specifically, SSHRC invests about $570 million annually in research and research training for students and post-doctoral fellows. This research explores all aspects of human thought and behaviour; it builds understanding of people and their past, present and future experiences to strengthen society, build prosperity and improve lives. The research we support covers a wide array of disciplines—from business, economics and law to philosophy, history and literature, among many others—and it contributes to Canada's economic cultural, social, technological and environmental well-being.
Just like Canadians, the research the SSHRC supports is extremely diverse and reflects the many interests and issues of importance to Canadians in every region, sector and community across the country.
It's important to stress that SSHRC research grants and fellowships are awarded through an independent merit review process designed to ensure the highest standards of excellence and impartiality. This process is undertaken in accordance with international standards that are globally recognized as the most transparent, in-depth and effective way to allocate public research funds.
Each year, merit review committees made up of volunteer university, college and community-based experts from Canada and around the world evaluate thousands of research proposals and make recommendations about which projects to fund.
Reviews are always assessed against the objectives of the particular funding opportunity, but generally reviewers evaluate the challenge outlined in the application, the plan to achieve excellence, and the expertise to succeed that the applicant has detailed. In addition, applicants must demonstrate the impact for Canadians that the proposed research will have.
The concept of research excellence is not static, I need to emphasize. Over its five decades, SSHRC has recognized and highlighted, often in collaboration with our fellow research funding agencies, components that define research excellence and good research practices. Such guidelines include those on the responsible conduct of research and on the merit review of indigenous research. Like many agencies worldwide, we also provide guidelines on the use of broadly recognized principles of equity, diversity and inclusion to promote research excellence through inclusion of the broadest possible array of human perspectives in research design and practice.
Further, SSHRC is involved in several international initiatives in adopting best practices in the assessment of scholarly research and seeking ways to modernize and remain at the forefront of applying rigorous scientific methods to improve the way we fund, practice, evaluate and communicate research.
As Canada faces many daunting challenges in a rapidly changing world, it’s more important than ever for us to invest in a vibrant research ecosystem that reflects the broad diversity of our country and can offer made-in-Canada solutions for us all. And SSHRC remains steadfast in its commitment to fuelling the research excellence across all disciplines needed for Canada to thrive.
Thank you again for your time. I very much look forward to answering any questions you may have.