When a researcher receives a grant to further their work, those funds go directly to the project. But if there isn’t supporting infrastructure in place at the institution, the research can’t happen.
That’s where the Research Support Fund comes in. These funds help Canadian post-secondary institutions with the costs that go with managing their research projects. Grants can be used for things like maintenance of labs and equipment to administrative support.
“The Research Support Fund is the backbone that helps researchers be successful,” said Lauren Bosc, Director, Research Services. “It supports the indirect costs of research that often get overlooked, but are vital for the research to happen.”
Over $450 million is invested each year across Canada through the Research Support Fund to support researchers, collaboration, and breakthrough science.
WinnSpace
WinnSpace is one example of the Research Support Fund in action. Established in 2004, it’s an open access digital archive housing over 1,600 publicly accessible items that are findable, free, and preserved for future generations. But WinnSpace is more than just an archive. It’s a virtual host for any form of scholarly research or publication that meets its criteria. That means it’s a home for a diversity of materials from journal articles to video abstracts.
“The preservation function of WinnSpace has grown increasingly critical as sections of the scholarly record regularly disappear,” said Brianne Selman, Scholarly Communications and Copyright Librarian. “Publishers go out of business, websites get restructured, and in some cases, political pressures lead to content removal. WinnSpace provides insurance against these threats by maintaining stable, persistent copies.”
The Research Support Fund has helped with platform improvements such as software updates for better usability, expanded statistics access for authors, and improved display capabilities for non-text file types and interactive media. Future development plans include more sophisticated curation features for large digital projects, reflecting the increasingly complex nature of digital scholarship.
Research support and administrative services
UWinnipeg’s research funding in the past decade has tripled, which means more staff are needed to support the completion of research funding applications, train faculty and research personnel in new grant requirements, support the planning of research, promote the results, and implement the important equity, diversity, and inclusion objectives of the institution. The Research Office grew in 2024-25 to meet these research administrative needs, as well as a reimagination of current roles, all helped by The Research Support Fund.
“The needs of researchers continue to grow and change,” said Bosc. “The Research Office has had to adapt to respond to that.”
Reimagined roles include Bosc’s director role, and expanded scope for each of the five Program Officers, which has allowed UWinnipeg to respond to external requirements related to research security, the complexity of research contracts and awards, and the developing area of artificial intelligence in the context of research. A Department Assistant was also added to support staff and faculty across all areas in an administrative capacity. This helps the Program Officers focus on their portfolios and better support researchers.
The 2024-25 allocation of the Research Support Fund to UWinnipeg totaled $2,019,383. Funds went to intellectual property and knowledge translation; research resources; research facilities; regulatory requirements and accreditation; and management and administration of the institution’s research enterprise. These costs underpin UWinnipeg’s federally funded research activities. While not apparent on the surface, they are the foundation of all research.
