St. Francis Xavier University has been awarded $400,000 ($200,000 each year for two years) to help identify and overcome systemic barriers that impede the career advancement, recruitment and retention of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups.
“This is an important initiative by the Government of Canada to strengthen equity, diversity and inclusion in the research environment at small universities across Canada,” says Dr. Richard Isnor, StFX Vice-President of Research. “We are delighted to have been successful in this competitive process.”
Twelve post-secondary institutions across Canada will receive a two-year grant. The Government of Canada is committed to tackling challenges encountered by underrepresented and disadvantaged groups in Canadian research institutions and their impacts on the whole of the research ecosystem. To that end, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Institutional Capacity-Building Grant was launched as a pilot program in 2019 to support institutions as they adapt and implement organizational and systemic change informed by evidence and meaningful engagement with affected groups.
Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced the 12 institutions sharing close to $4.8 million in funding as part of the 2020 competition of the EDI Institutional Capacity-Building grant. This pilot funding program is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). NSERC is administering it on behalf of the three federal research granting agencies.
