Office of the Vice-President Research – Organizational Restructuring
The following is a brief update on recent structural and personnel changes across the Office of the Vice-President Research (OVPR).
Difficult decisions were required to ensure every part of the university’s operations, including the OVPR, remains financially sustainable in a time of post-secondary budgetary challenges and COVID-19. The following information summarizes the changes:
Former Units
As part of the organizational change, the OVPR has reduced and redesigned several research support units. As such, the former Research Services and Ethics Office, Strategic Research Initiatives, Innovation Enterprise, International Research, and International Partnerships units no longer exist as standalone units.
The OVPR now consists of four research support units including: Research Excellence and Innovation, Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives, Research Profile and Impact, and the International Office. Details of each of these units are listed below.
Research Excellence and Innovation
Led by Dr. Dion Martens, this unit has a two-part interrelated mandate:
Research Excellence: Supporting high-quality research activities, by helping researchers engage in strategic research partnerships, manage risk, and meet relevant ethics, legal and safety standards, and Innovation: Creating significant and sustainable value for society, industry and the environment, by helping researchers turn their discoveries into solutions the world needs.
The core functions of this unit include: animal care and research support, human ethics, industry engagement and partnerships, and legal services, as well as technology transfer and enterprise creation services.
Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives
Led by Laura Zink, this unit has a two-part interrelated mandate:
Research Acceleration: Enhancing participation and supporting faculty success in funding programs, including pre- and post-award support for individuals and major institutional competitions, and Strategic Initiatives: Leading strategic institutional initiatives to support faculty research career and research group development, as well as engagement of undergraduate students in the institution’s discovery mission.
The core functions of this unit include: research grants (both pre- and post-award supports), large-scale grant facilitation and institutional programs (CRC, CFI, CERCs), undergraduate research, and select research services and supports.
Led by Kathryn Warden, this unit continues to share and mobilize university discoveries through strategic communications, impact storytelling, and initiatives that build research profile with key national and international audiences.
The core functions of this unit include: institutional research communications strategy and storytelling, reputation and profile building, co-ordination of communications across research centres and colleges, and liaison with federal granting councils on communications protocol compliance, as well as funding announcement events and celebrations.
Led by Dr. Meghna Ramaswamy, this unit aims to advance the university’s international strategy and priorities by fostering cross-portfolio coordination on international research and partnerships.
The core functions of this unit include: oversight to the university’s International Blueprint, international research, international partnerships, and visiting delegations.