Message from the Panel

Dear Minister:

We are pleased to submit the final report of the Ontario Research Fund Expert Review Panel. Our mandate was to review the design and delivery of Ontario’s three competitive research support programs: Early Researcher Awards (ERA), Ontario Research Fund-Research Excellence (ORF-RE), and Ontario Research Fund-Research Infrastructure (ORF-RI). We were also tasked with providing advice on how the programs should adapt to new approaches and opportunities, with a focus on supports for early and mid-career researchers.

Underlying our review was a central assumption that a robust and competitive research environment is vital to the growth and development of Ontario’s advanced economy.

Our approach took into consideration our collective experience as a panel of academic researchers, the available data on outcomes and impacts, and the feedback from key stakeholders.

Our main finding, supported by the feedback from many stakeholders, is that the three flagship programs are well designed and continue to have the desired focus and the desired impact. Furthermore, over the past 15 years they have made a strong contribution to the province’s research and innovation system.

But what about the next 15 years or longer? That is the kind of timeframe that applies to building capacity in research excellence, growing the talent pool of researchers, and on using the research outcomes to make the most impact for the good of society and the economy. It follows the proverbial Canadian aphorism: we need to skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.

Ontario can rightfully claim to have a world-class research and innovation system. Our recommendations build on that success, to ensure that the level of investment over the long term is sufficient to maintain Ontario’s competitive edge into the future.

We believe that the commitment to research excellence must remain paramount. However, the three competitive research programs can be improved by making them more accessible, more open to all disciplines and better communicated to the research community. We also found a gap in information about the diversity of Ontario’s research talent pool.

Given the outstanding quality of research in Ontario, it is very important that funding levels keep pace with the rising cost of doing cutting-edge research and federal research investments, while the requirements for obtaining matching support from industry and other sources be relaxed in some cases. Making additional investments will position Ontario to better leverage the new investments by the Government of Canada.

We recommend that the “Ontario First” approach in federal co-funded projects be retained but used as a provincial strategic review process in advance of the federal adjudication where possible.

Finally, we recommend that the Ministry take all the necessary steps to streamline the application and reporting process, thereby reducing the administrative burden on applicants.

We are grateful for the opportunity to provide our advice on the future directions of Ontario’s three competitive research programs. We would be pleased to meet with you and to discuss our recommendations further.

Ontario Research Fund Expert Review Panel

  • Dr. Elizabeth Cannon, Co-Chair
  • Prof. Benjamin Geiger, Co-Chair
  • Dr. Isabelle Catelas
  • Dr. Usha George
  • Dr. Amir Khajepour
  • Dr. Ted Sargent
  • Dr. Steven Rothstein
  • Dr. Rui Wang