UNB Research

The Government of Canada’s Research Support Fund provides financial support to institutions for the indirect costs of research funded by Canada’s three federal granting agencies – everything from office and laboratory space, to library resources, to financial administration, to ethics and health and safety support, and more. Essentially, these costs are intended to support the work and resources required to make research possible, while grants and other funding sources directly support research activity.

Among the multitude of tasks that support postsecondary research are those undertaken in the interest of ensuring that any research involving animals is conducted in ethical ways and in compliance with relevant regulations.

Unlike, say, many medical or agricultural research institutions, most of UNB’s research involving animals is specifically focused on fish – perhaps logical, given its coastal proximity. Even so, there is a wide range of species involved, with different experimental and care protocols. Ensuring that all these protocols are compliant and documented falls to UNB’s animal care coordinator in the Office of the Vice President Research.

RSF funding supports this position directly, and also supports our continued efforts to ensure that our administrative processes and tools both maintain the highest standards and reduce the burden on researchers and staff. As UNB moves toward its “two campuses, one university” model of harmonizing administration, our staff are also working with researchers in both Fredericton and Saint John to explore opportunities to simplify processes. Additionally, following the successful implementation of the ROMEO researcher portal, RSF support is enabling our research administration staff to acquire and implement a companion module for animal care administration.