Research Support Fund

Here you will learn more about

All research conducted at Memorial incurs indirect costs. These costs include administrative expenditures that are necessary to support research, but that are not always attributable to specific projects.

Indirect costs, also sometimes called overhead, are real charges incurred and borne by the institution that are necessary for the conduct of scholarly research. They can include: 

  • use, maintenance and upgrading of building space, utilities and libraries;
  • technical support of labs, offices and other facilities;
  • management and administration of research, procurement and finance, regulatory requirements and research compliance (i.e. research ethics, biohazards certification, animal care etc.);
  • hazardous waste disposal;
  • occupational safety, campus security; and
  • liability insurance.

Research Support Fund

The Research Support Fund assists Canadian post-secondary institutions with the costs associated with managing their research enterprise, helping them to maintain a world-class research environment. Grants can be used to:

  • maintain modern labs and equipment;
  • provide access to up-to-date knowledge resources;
  • provide research management and administrative support;
  • meet regulatory and ethical standards; or
  • transfer knowledge from academia to private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

The Research Support Fund program replaced the Indirect Costs Program (ICP), at the start of the 2015-16 fiscal year. The ICP was introduced by the Government of Canada in 2003 to assist Canadian universities and colleges with an annual grant to pay for a portion of their indirect costs of research.

The Research Support Fund provides assistance in the following five expenditure categories:

  1. Research facilities;
  2. Research resources;
  3. Management and administration of an institution's research enterprise;
  4. Regulatory requirements and accreditation; and
  5. Intellectual property.

The Research Support Fund is offered through the Government of Canada. More information is available online.

The amount of Memorial’s Research Support Fund allocation is calculated based on the amount of funding awarded in the previous fiscal year by federal granting agencies. Memorial allocates its annual grant based on a formula and distributes the funding to departments, facilities and affiliated organizations where the eligible costs are incurred.

List of affiliated institutions

  • Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services

List of sub-affiliated institutions

  • Health Sciences Centre
  • Janeway Child Health Centre/Children's Rehabilitation Centre
  • Leonard A. Miller Centre
  • St. Clare's Mercy Hospital
  • Walter Templeman Health Care Centre (Bell Island)
  • Waterford Hospital

Research Support Fund Communications Strategy 

In May 2015, Memorial University prepared a communications strategy to support and acknowledge the funding provided through the Government of Canada’s Research Support Fund during the grant period.

The strategy, updated in May 2024, outlines the university's approach to bring awareness to the value and impact of the program within the research community and within the Canadian research environment. The focus is on identifying, supporting and celebrating excellence in research at Memorial University, in particular, research supported through the Research Support Fund. Marketing and communications efforts will reflect the innovative nature of research and its impacts on the wider community. 

In 2023-2024, the Research Support Fund broadly supported a range of research activities within academic and research support units, such as the following:

Performance indicators and target outcomes (for current fiscal year) 

Click here to view the 2024-25 Institutional Performance Objectives [pdf]


Overview of allocation of grant funds at Memorial   

Memorial's 2024-2025 Research Support Fund allocation can be downloaded here

Memorial's 2023-2024 Research Support Fund Outcomes Report Summary can be downloaded here

Memorial's 2022-2023 Research Support Fund Outcomes Report Summary can be downloaded here

Memorial's 2021-2022 Research Support Fund Outcomes Report Summary can be downloaded here

Memorial's 2020-2021 Research Support Fund Outcomes Report Summary can be downloaded here

Memorial's 2019-2020 Research Support Fund Outcomes Report Summary can be downloaded here

  • An archive of allocation of grant funds is available here.

Incremental Project Grants

The Incremental Project Grants (IPG) funding opportunity is a stream of the Research Support Fund (RSF) that provides further support for the indirect costs of research, in addition to the RSF grant.

The IPG provides eligible institutions with additional support for projects that focus on a set of priorities that cut across the RSF’s five existing categories of eligible expenses. The initial four IPG priority areas are:

  • innovation and commercialization activities;
  • facilities renewal, including deferred maintenance;
  • information resources, including digital resources, open access and databases; and
  • equity, diversity and faculty renewal (in the context of equity, diversity and inclusion).

The objective of the IPG stream aligns with the RSF’s objective to reinforce the federal research investment by helping Canadian postsecondary institutions ensure their federally funded research projects are conducted in world-class facilities with the best equipment and administrative support available. More information about IPG is available online.

Incremental Project Grant Allocation for 2024-25 

Incremental Project Grants report 2023-24

Incremental Project Grants report 2022-23

Incremental Project Grants report 2021-22

Incremental Project Grants report 2020-21

Incremental Project Grants report 2019-20

Incremental Project Grants report for 2018-19

Research Security

In Budget 2022, the Government of Canada introduced new funding through the Research Support Fund (RSF) to further support the activities related to the indirect costs of research security and to support the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships.

Research security is categorized as a fifth priority area of the IPGs. These investments are aligned with the RSF’s objectives to help Canadian postsecondary institutions ensure their federally funded research projects are conducted in world-class facilities with the best equipment and administrative support available. More information about Research Security is available online.

Research Security Grant Allocation for 2024-25 

Research Security Grant report 2023-24

Research Security Grant report 2022-23