Students play a critical role in the development of research in Canada. They are involved in every facet of discovery, supporting large research teams, initiating their own projects, and being one of the largest consumers of research. The Canadian government has long understood students’ importance in this area, and has fostered and supported their drive to discover through grant funding and infrastructure development.
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) sees clear opportunities to further acknowledge the student perspective in Canada’s approach to the fundamental sciences. The federal government is one of the primary sources of research funding in the country and the practices, procedures, and expectations of its application process directly influence students, their supervisors and institutions. While the latter two groups have direct say in how this process occurs, students have been left without feedback or representation.
On September 30th, CASA provided the federal government with students’ recommendations for how to improve fundamental science research in Canada.
CASA recommends:
- The federal government move to require a student sit on the granting board of the tri-agencies (SSHRC, CIHR, NSERC);
- The federal government review and update its tri-council agency evaluation protocol for funding applications; and
- The federal government support complete research costs, at a cost of $286.5 million per year.
