The federal government today launched the new Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern, which will impact researchers making new applications for funding through the federal granting agencies (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) and CFI.

The policy outlines Sensitive Technology Research Areas and Named Research Organizations (NRO). The NRO list is composed of research organizations and institutions that pose the highest risk to Canada’s national security due to their direct, or indirect connections with military, national defence, and state security entities.

Starting in early 2024, research grant and funding applications submitted by a university or affiliated research institution to the federal granting councils and the Canada Foundation for Innovation involving research that advances a sensitive technology research area will not be funded if any of the researchers involved in activities supported by the grant are affiliated with, or in receipt of funding or in-kind support from, an NRO.

This policy will be implemented through an attestation by researchers that have a named role (for example, applicants, co-applicants, and collaborators) as part of the grant / funding application process for research projects advancing sensitive technology research areas.

We are awaiting further details from the granting agencies about how these new requirements will be integrated into applications, and will share additional information as it becomes available.

• Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern
• Sensitive Technology Research Areas
• Named Research Organizations
• Frequently Asked Questions

We appreciate that this new federal policy may create uncertainty as well as additional requirements and responsibilities for our research community. UBC continues to enhance support through our research security team, which will provide guidance around definitions and interpretations of the new policy. The team, funded through the federal Research Support Fund, will provide broader information and training around matters relating to research security and developing research relationships and grant applications in alignment with policies, best practices, guidelines and requirements. The team will also monitor risks and guide researchers on evolving threats.

Researchers with any questions are encouraged to connect with Akshay Singh, Director, Research Security, at research.security@ubc.ca

UBC remains dedicated to enabling an open and collaborative research environment, while being committed to providing support to its research community to effectively safeguard research and sensitive information

For more information on safeguarding your research and to subscribe to receive updates and information on new training opportunities and resources, visit our Safeguarding your Research page.

The Office of the Vice-Principal Research and Innovation is pleased to welcome a new member to our team in support of our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.

Hanna Paul has joined VPRI in the role of Indigenous Research Facilitator to help further support faculty researchers conducting Indigenous-led research. Services for researchers at UBC Okanagan include one-on-one facilitation, research design support and grant proposal support for Indigenous-led projects.

In her role, she will help convey associated best practices to centralize Indigenous collaborators’ priorities and protocols with guidance from tri-agency, UBC and OCAP policies and welcomes collaboration opportunities with other units on campus that align with the strategic priorities of her position.

Hanna is Métis and Beaver First Nation on her father’s side and Ukrainian and French on her mother’s side from Northern Alberta. Her Métis family names are Paul, Lizotte, Lambert and Lafleur. She is a UBC Okanagan Master of Arts alumna with a specialization in anthropology, Indigenous studies and interdisciplinary studies. Expertise in community-engaged research led to her recognition as Master’s Student Researcher of the Year in May, 2023.

Learn more about collaboration possibilities and Indigenizing research resources at ORS Research Facilitation.

UBCO Announces New Principal’s Research Chairholders

UBC Okanagan is pleased to announce the newest cohort of appointments under the Principal’s Research Chairs (PRC) program.

Deans submitted nominations for the PRC call in July 2022, which were jointly reviewed by the Provost and Vice-President Academic and the Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation.  We are pleased to announce that five UBCO faculty have been designated Principal’s Research Chairholders by the Principal and Deputy-Vice Chancellor.

2022 Principal’s Research Chairholders

Tier 1   Leadership, Learning, and Wellbeing  Professor Sabre Cherkowski | Okanagan School of Education | Retention Stream | effective July 2022

Tier 1  Critical Disability Studies Professor Rachelle Hole | Faculty of Health and Social Development Retention Stream | effective July 2022

Tier 1   Sustainable and Smart Manufacturing Professor Abbas Milani School of Engineering Retention Stream | effective July 2022

Tier 1  Trans-Pacific Digital Platform Studies Professor Kyong Yoon | Faculty of Creative & Critical Studies |Retention Stream | effective July 2022

Tier 2  Sensors and Microelectronics Associate Professor Mohammad Hossein Zarifi | School of Engineering | Retention Stream | effective July 2022

These new appointments are evidence of the importance and quality of research on our campus. We anticipate that the research findings and creative scholarly activities of these outstanding researchers will translate into tangible benefits to our region and global society.

2022 PRC Recruitment Allocations:

An additional PRC position has been allocated to enable new recruitments.

Tier 1  Computational Biology | Recipient TBD | Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science | Attraction Stream | by June 2023

About the PRC Program:

The Principal’s Research Chairs (PRC) program provides internal funding support for top-tier researchers engaged in outstanding research or creative scholarship.

Supported by the UBC Okanagan Excellence Fund, the goals of the PRC program are to:

• Enable recruitment of outstanding new faculty
• Retain top researchers
• Promote research intensification
• Generate international recognition of research achievements

The requirements of the PRC program are aligned with the Tier 1 and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) program criteria and recipients of the award are appointed to a renewable five-year term.

VIEW CHAIRHOLDERS

Should you have questions regarding the Principal’s Research Chairs (PRC) or Canada Research Chairs (CRC) programs, please contact Nicole Bennett.

Best regards,

Rehan Sadiq
Provost and Vice-President Academic pro tem, UBC Okanagan

Philip Barker
Vice-Principal and Associate Vice-President, Research and Innovation

two new research clusters funded

Two new Clusters of Research Excellence were awarded Eminence funding in the 2021 competition that closed on September 16^th, 2021.

Two existing clusters also received a second round of funding based on special criteria, including progress achieved towards cluster goals and potential for financial sustainability.

The Office of the Vice-Principal, Reseach and Innovation has funded 19 interdisciplinary research teams focused on solving key challenges facing society since the Eminence Program launched in 2017.

2021 Clusters of Research Excellence:

Urban Indigenous Wellbeing
Responding to urban Indigenous community needs through a holistic approach to spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health.

Cluster leads: Donna Kurtz and Gabrielle Legault; 7 cluster team members

Plastic Recycling
Addressing plastic waste from diverse technological, environmental, management, social and policy-making perspectives.

Cluster lead: Mohammad Arjmand; 5 cluster team members

2021 Funding Renewals:

1. Green Infrastructure (Green Construction Research and Training Centre) Cluster lead: Shahria Alam; 8 cluster team members
2. Indigenous-Led Impact Assessment Cluster lead: Kevin Hanna; 7 cluster team members

Special thanks to the committee who adjudicated the 2021 Eminence Fund competition.

2022 Competition:

Letters of intent for the next cycle of funding will be accepted starting in August 2022 with award notification in November 2022.  Please contact Nicole Bennett with any questions.

Best regards,

Dr. Phil Barker
Vice-Principal and Associate Vice-President, Research and Innovation
University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus

Celebrating Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarly Activity

Dear colleagues,

I am delighted to announce this year’s faculty and student Researcher of the Year award recipients. Each has made significant contributions to research and creative scholarly activity at UBC Okanagan. Please join me in congratulating this year’s outstanding awardees.

2022 Faculty Researchers of the Year

Jennifer Davis | Faculty of Management

Health award

Jennifer Davis is a Canada Research Chair in Applied Health Economics. Her research focuses on improving the health of older Canadians at risk for falls or cognitive decline. Jennifer assesses the economic value of dementia and mobility intervention and prevention efforts through partnerships with clinicians. Her international collaborations have resulted in policy change and significant advancements in applying health economic evidence to lifestyle interventions.

Kyle Larson | Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science

NATURAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING award

Kyle Larson is an innovator of analytical techniques for tectonics research. Kyle’s novel methods have led to fundamental discoveries about how major mountain belts form, including a solution to a decades-old geological controversy surrounding the origin of the Himalaya. As Director of the Fipke Laboratory for Trace Element Research (FiLTER), Kyle has helped develop paradigm-shifting methods for rapid dating of geological material.

Margaret MacIntyre Latta | Okanagan School of Education

social sciences and humanities award

Margaret Macintyre Latta is a prominent researcher transforming traditional approaches to education. A champion of interdisciplinary and community-based research, her focus is to advance curriculum as a shared participatory learning experience that inspires reconciliation. Her practice-engaged research with Indigenous, school district and community partners supports educators in decolonizing their curriculum and teaching practices.

2022 Student Researcher of the Year

Rhyann McKay

Graduate Studies (PhD) award

As a PhD candidate, Rhyann McKay conducted leading-edge research in partnership with provincial spinal cord injury (SCI) organizations across Canada to co-develop behaviour change interventions for support providers to enhance wellbeing and self-care. Rhyann is currently a health system impact fellow at the University of Alberta, evaluating the implementation of acute care intervention.

award celebration

We will be hosting a special celebration to honour our 2022 Researcher of the Year award recipients. This is a unique opportunity for our campus community to come together and celebrate our research achievements from the past year. We hope you can attend.

EVENT DETAILS

Date:         Friday, May 6^th, 2022
Location:  Innovation Centre | 460 Doyle Ave
Time:        2:00 – 4:00 pm | Award presentations followed by a rooftop reception
RSVP:        Register to attend the celebration. All are welcome.

Sincerely,

Phil Barker
Vice-Principal and Associate Vice-President, Research and Innovation
University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA BACKS TRAILBLAZING CANADIAN RESEARCHERS

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry announced today a combined investment of more than $550 million for more than 5,500 researchers through the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) 2020 Transformation Competition, the Canada Research Chairs and Tri-Agency scholarships and fellowships.

New Research Data Centre opens at UBC Okanagan as part of a national network of 30 university-based research facilities.

Managed by Statistics Canada, in partnership with UBC, the Research Data Centre (RDC) will offer accredited researchers secure access to microdata gathered through the Census program, population, social, and health surveys. The wide variety of data available includes a Canadian cancer registry, statistics on mental health, financial security, and public health. Accessible information is relevant to many disciplines and will enable Okanagan faculty and students to advance their research without lengthy travel to Vancouver.

Assistant professor Andrea Craig joined UBCO last July in the Department of Economics, Philosophy, and Political Science. She has been travelling to the Lower Mainland almost every month to access the RDC on the UBC Vancouver campus.  Her research focus is on where people choose to live and how they commute for use in urban planning.

Craig will not miss travelling from the Okanagan to Vancouver during the winter months and is looking forward to getting permanently settled in Kelowna. Local RDC access will enable her to focus on research, teaching, and attracting new talent.

“I’m excited to settle in Kelowna and form connections with colleagues. Now that we have access to great data, I can recruit grad students to do their dissertation or thesis.”

The UBC Okanagan RDC is supported by an on-site assistant who manages the operational details and provides administrative services, and a remote analyst who supports data users.

RDC analyst and UBC alumna Wendy Kei is based at the UBC Vancouver campus and provides personalized support to UBCO researchers through MS Teams and virtual meetings. Kei understands the importance of good data. She used census results to attain her PhD in Economics, and helps RDC users navigate data science and answer research questions using statistical insights. Kei has been in her RDC analyst role for five years and describes assisting researchers on their data quests  a richly rewarding experience.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world, the only way to close that gap is with reliable information. Having access to accurate data through the RDC is important for people to make wise and unbiased decisions, and research is at the heart of that”.

Associate professor Ross Hickey describes how he uses confidential microdata to assess the effects of income tax policy on charitible giving. He also shares how the new RDC has benefited the campus in the recruitment and retention of new faculty and graduate students.

The secure RDC facility at UBCO is located on the second floor of the Charles E. Fipke Centre for Innovative Research.

A strict vetting process is required to gain access through Statistics Canada including fingerprinting, credit checks, and an oath of secrecy not to disclose any identifiable information to protect the privacy and confidentiality of respondents. Applications for data access can be initiated through the Statistics Canada website. Once approved, researchers can book their sessions through an online portal.

Questions about the UBC Okanagan RDC can be sent to Academic Director Andrea Craig.

Learn more

Dear Colleagues,

On July 12, 2021, the federal government released new National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships.  The federal government is introducing these guidelines to ensure the Canadian research ecosystem is “as open as possible and as secure as necessary”.

The Guidelines integrate national security considerations into the development, evaluation and federal funding of research partnerships.  These guidelines will apply to “federal research partnership funding starting with all applications to the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council’s (NSERC) Alliance Grants involving a private sector organization partner”.

Researchers applying to this program are required to complete a risk assessment form for projects involving private sector organization partners, and any identified risks will require an accompanying risk mitigation plan. Information about the new guidelines and guidance for UBC applicants to NSERC Alliance grants can be found at https://uilo.ubc.ca/alliance-risk-assessments.

As we learn more about these new requirements, we will continue to develop appropriate support and processes. We appreciate your patience as we collaborate to best support you in responding to these new requirements. UBC remains committed to international engagement and global research partnerships.

Please direct any questions or concerns about the new Guideline to research.innovation@ubc.ca.

Sincerely,

Gail and Phil

“* All quotes from: https://science.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_98256.html”

Dear colleagues,

To support the identification, development, planning and implementation of new shared research facilities at UBC Okanagan, we are launching a call for proposals to help identify core infrastructure that could be housed within the new Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Innovation (ICI) building.

Facilities that may be appropriate elsewhere on campus will also be considered.

The term “shared research facility” is inclusive of all infrastructure that supports research or knowledge creation activities in any discipline.

Deans are invited to submit proposals on behalf of researchers and scholars in all research or knowledge creation fields. Full details are available here.

Program terms  Proposal template

Please contact Christine Humphries with any questions.

Sincerely,

Philip Barker
Vice-Principal and Associate Vice-President, Research & Innovation

The Offices of Research Ethics on the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses have updated their guidance in anticipation that authorization to resume in-person behavioural research will be fully implemented in the coming months.

Although the safety of research participants continues to be a factor in how research ethics applications are reviewed, the Behavioural Research Ethics Boards (BREBs) have eased their requirements in alignment with updates issued by the Provincial Health Officer (PHO).

The BREB will be reviewing ethics applications taking into consideration the conditions in the research region including:

1– Vaccination rates
2– Rates of COVID-19 infection
3– Rates of hospitalizations due to COVID-19

Both the Safe Research Guidelines and the Safe Research Plan template have been updated.

In instances where a Safe Research Plan is no longer required, researchers will still need to describe their safe research protocols for both new and resuming research. The BREBs will not approve activities that do not adhere to the minimum standards imposed by the public health order for the community where research is taking place. Researchers should continue to consider ways they can reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission within research teams and with participants.

PRINCIPLES FOR THE RESUMPTION OF IN-PERSON RESEARCH:

1– All in-person research that can be done safely may proceed.
2– Researchers may not undertake research activities that will unnecessarily increase the risk to participants of contracting COVID-19.
3– Researchers will provide details of their safe research plan to the degree required (see the scenarios below) based on the risk status of the region where in-person research is proposed and the nature of the research methods being employed.

An amendment is required to resume all previously approved in-person research that has been on-hold or to convert online studies to in-person research.

Supplementary Research and COVID-19 forms are no longer required as part of the research ethics review process.

The BREBs will review ethics applications and related safety protocols in view of the specific research context and the risks entailed for both research participants and researchers. For full details on the implications of immunization, or to learn how your specific research may be affected:

View the webpage

If you are unsure which section or scenario applies to your research, please contact: Lisa Shearer.