Research Income at Canadian Universities Shows a Strong 6% Growth

    
    University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, Trent University Named
    Research Universities of the Year
    

TORONTO , Oct. 27 /CNW/ - Canada's Top 50 Research Universities posted strong 6% growth in their total sponsored research income in fiscal 2008, according to Canada Top 50 Research Universities List 2009 released today by Research Infosource Inc. (www.researchinfosource.com). Total research income reached $6.1 billion in fiscal 2008, up from $5.7 billion in fiscal 2007. Thirty-four institutions increased their income in 2008 and 16 reported declines. A 7% increase in funding from federal granting agencies (NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC, CFI) combined with a 10.3% jump in corporate support, a 10.5% rise in non-corporate funding and a 13.4% jump in funding from the not-for-profit/foundation sector helped offset a -22.8% decline in funding from foreign sources and a precipitous -47.3% drop in funding from endowments/investments. Provincial government funding grew by a modest 3%.

"Against the backdrop of a weakening economy, a 6% rise in research income growth came as a relief", says Ron Freedman , CEO of Research Infosource. "With government sources accounting for about 70% of all university research income, stable support from the public sector, the federal government in particular, is vital. Contrary to some recent statements, the public sector has obviously made a decision not to cut research support in an effort to protect and stabilize the post-secondary system."

The $100 Million Club

Seventeen universities, up from 16 last year, claimed membership in Research Infosource's elite $100 Million Club, reserved for institutions with $100 million or more of research income in fiscal 2008. All Club members, with the exception of University of Guelph, University of Waterloo and University of Victoria, have a medical school that attracts substantial research support. Thirteen of the 17 leaders saw their income grow in fiscal 2008 compared with 4 universities where income dropped.

    
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    Overall   Overall                   Research       Research
     Rank      Rank                      Income         Income      % Change
     2008      2007     University        2008           2007       2007-2008
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                        University
       1        1       of Toronto   $844.9 million  $854.8 million     -1.2%
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                        University
       2        2       of Alberta   $491.7 million  $461.4 million      6.6%
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                        University
                        of British
       3        4       Columbia     $470.1 million  $401.3 million     17.2%
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                        Université
       4        3       de Montréal  $468.7 million  $415.0 million     12.9%
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                        McGill
       5        5       University   $418.6 million  $375.7 million     11.4%
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                        McMaster
       6        6       University   $373.5 million  $346.3 million      7.9%
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                        Université
       7        7       Laval        $278.6 million  $268.3 million      3.8%
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                        University
       8       10       of Ottawa    $245.5 million  $229.2 million      7.1%
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                        University
       9        8       of Calgary   $236.2 million  $254.2 million     -7.1%
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                        University
                        of Western
      10        9       Ontario      $222.3 million  $238.0 million     -6.6%
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                        University
                        of
      11       13       Saskatchewan $203.5 million  $150.5 million     35.2%
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                        Queen's
      12       11       University   $192.5 million  $213.0 million     -9.6%
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                        University
      13       12       of Manitoba  $161.7 million  $154.9 million      4.4%
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                        University
      14       14       of Guelph    $142.1 million  $132.9 million      6.9%
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                        University
      15       15       of Waterloo  $135.2 million  $121.6 million     11.1%
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                        Dalhousie
      16       16       University   $124.0 million  $111.5 million     11.2%
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                        University
      17       17       of Victoria  $112.4 million  $89.3 million      25.9%
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Regional Picture

Eight provinces posted increases in research income growth in fiscal 2008. Saskatchewan, with two universities on the Top 50 list, leads the pack with a 30.3% jump in research income. Prince Edward Island , with one institution on the list is next with a 24.9% increase. British Columbia's four universities reported 17.9% growth in research income, while Nova Scotia's five universities showed an 11.7% jump in research income growth. For the first time in three years, Québec institutions posted research income growth in excess of the national average with an 8.9% rise for the thirteen universities on the Top 50 list. Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario reported modest increases below the national average. With one university on the list, Manitoba showed a 4.4% rise, Alberta's three universities posted 2.1% growth, and Ontario with 18 institutions reported a 1.2% increase. Two Atlantic provinces showed decreases in research income growth. New Brunswick's two universities reported a -1.6% drop and Newfoundland with one university posted an -8.8% decrease in research income growth in fiscal 2008.

In fiscal 2008, Ontario universities accounted for the lion's share of research income funding with 40% of the total, down from 42% in 2007. Québec's institutions accounted for 25%, up from 24% in 2007. Alberta dropped its share by 1% to 12% of the total and British Columbia gained a percentage point, going from 10% in fiscal 2007 to 11% in 2008.

Research Universities of the Year

Each year Research Infosource designates Research Universities of the Year in three categories. These leading institutions stand out on a balanced scorecard of financial input and research publication output and impact indicators. This year, kudos go to:

In the Medical/Doctoral category University of Toronto in first place, McGill University in second and University of British Columbia in third. University of Waterloo takes first place in the Comprehensive category, followed by University of Guelph in second and University of Victoria in third. In the Undergraduate category, Trent University is first, Royal Military College of Canada is second, and University of Northern British Columbia is third.

Spotlight on Research Publication Growth

This year Research Infosource shines the spotlight on universities that showed the largest growth in the number of research publications between fiscal 2002-2007. In the Medical/Doctoral category, Université de Sherbrooke grew its publication output by 61.2%, followed by University of British Columbia (58.9%) and University of Ottawa (56.7%). In the Comprehensive category University of New Brunswick is first with a 68.9% increase, Simon Fraser University is second with 61.9% growth and in third spot, University of Regina (59.4%). Ryerson University led the Undergraduate category, with a 170.9% growth in publications during the period followed by Trent University up 84.7% and Université de Moncton coming in third with 83.6%.

Gainers and Losers

Twenty-eight of the Top 50 universities posted research income growth higher than the national average of 6%. This group was led by Trent University, which had an impressive 55.5% increase in research income in fiscal 2008. University of Saskatchewan (35.2%), Université de Québec à Rimouski (32.6%), Nova Scotia Agricultural College (31%) and Université de Québec à Chicoutimi (29.4%) round out the top five. Other universities did not fare as well in fiscal 2008, with double-digit drops at 4 institutions: Royal Military College of Canada (-14.5%), Lakehead University (-12.1%), Wilfrid Laurier University (-11.6%) and Institut national de la recherche scientifique (-10.6%).

Research Intensity

The Top 50 universities posted a 4.4% increase in research intensity - research income per full-time faculty position - compared with a meagre increase of 1.5% in fiscal 2007. On average, each Canadian university attracted $165,000 of research income per full-time faculty, compared with $158,000 the year prior. Twelve universities bettered the national per-faculty income average. Leading the pack in fiscal 2008 was University of Toronto , which recorded $352,000 of research income per faculty, McMaster University came second with $312,800 , University of Alberta was next at $307,000 . McGill University with $263,200 per faculty and Université de Montréal with $248,400 round out the top five.

Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List 2009, Research Universities of the Year 2009 and Spotlight 2009 as well as a complete analysis are available on the Research Infosource website, www.researchinfosource.com. The data were obtained from Statistics Canada and the Research Infosource Canadian University R&D database. Research Infosource Inc., a division of The Impact Group, is Canada's source of R&D intelligence. Drawing from extensive databases, Research Infosource Inc. publishes Canada's Top 100 Corporate R&D Spenders List, Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List, and specialized reports.

For further information: Ron Freedman, CEO, Research Infosource Inc., [phone] ext. 31; Janet Sandor, Director of Communications, [phone] ext. 25