Brock University has moved up the ranks in a yearly national report that tracks increases in university research funding and other research and development performance indicators.
In this year’s Research Infosource report, released Oct. 15, Brock University scores 5th place in the Top 10 Universities by Growth section, a list of 10 universities across Canada that have seen the greatest increases in research funding over the past year.
Last year, Brock ranked 9th out of 10 on that list.
Also, Brock ranks 37 on Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities List, an increase of four positions over last year.
“Brock’s research income went up by 14.7 per cent,” Ron Freedman, CEO of Research Infosource Inc., tells The Brock News.
“To put that in perspective, the national total for research income was down by about 1.6 per cent, so Brock has really outpaced the rest of the group,” he says.
Freedman credits Brock’s Vice President Research Gary Libben and his staff “for really putting research on the Brock agenda and getting everybody together on the same page.”
“Our researchers and students continue to push the boundaries of knowledge as they make discoveries that benefit our community and the world around us,” says Libben.
“As they are doing so, we vigorously pursue diverse funding sources that go beyond the traditional federal government agencies. And, we have worked to increase the number of researchers applying for federal government grants and other funding.”
Data for the Research Infosource report, titled Canada’s Innovation Leaders, was drawn from Statistics Canada during the 2014 fiscal year.
Highlights of Brock’s research funding announcements during that time include:
- two awards of more than $300,000 under the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s Insight Grant program
- an award of more than $500,000 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- two Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships
The Canada’s Innovation Leaders report tracks research and development performance in research universities, hospitals and colleges. The Toronto-based Research Infosource Inc. also puts out a yearly Canada’s Top 100 Corporate R&D Spenders List.
“Research in general – and university research in particular – form the foundation for tomorrow’s economy, new ideas, new products and in particular, newly-trained personnel,” says Research Infosource CEO Freedman.
