The Canada Research Chairs, created in 2000, is a Tri-Agency initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. It is administered by the Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat, which is housed within SSHRC.
Chairholders aim to achieve research excellence in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences. They improve our depth of knowledge and quality of life, strengthen Canada’s international competitiveness, and help train the next generation of highly skilled people through student supervision, teaching, and the coordination of other researchers’ work.
A university’s chair allocation is based on the funding received by its researchers from the three federal granting agencies—CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC—in the three most recent years for which data is available. For example, 2014 allocations are based on the research grant funding received, and the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) funds spent, in the fiscal years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14. These research revenues constitute the amount of “credits” that are entered into the calculations of chair allocations.
There are two types of Canada Research Chairs:
- Tier 1 Chairs, tenable for seven years and renewable, are for outstanding researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields. For each Tier 1 Chair, the university receives $200,000 annually for seven years. Tier 1 Chairs are renewable indefinitely.
- Tier 2 Chairs, tenable for five years and renewable once, are for exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field. For each Tier 2 Chair, the university receives $100,000 annually for five years. Tier 2 Chairs are renewable once.
Learn more about Carleton’s Canada Research Chairs here.