Today, Canada’s tri-council research funding agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR; Tri-Agencies) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) simultaneously published updated guidance to support the safeguarding and integrity of sensitive Canadian research domestically and internationally.
Tri-Agency opportunities that launch as of May 1, 2024 and which look to fund grants to university and university-affiliated institutions for research that aims to advance a sensitive technology research area will require researchers to submit attestations per the new guidance, in addition to research security requirements already in place for some competitions. Furthermore, effective immediately, new proposals to specific CFI programs with private sector partners must now submit research-security risk assessments. As of May 1, proposals to most CFI programs will also require attestations. Further attestations or risk assessments may be required to be submitted throughout the grant management cycle. Resources for completing these procedures are also now available.
These new guidance documents respond to the Government of Canada’s Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (released January 2024), and the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (2021). The guidance and resources are also intended to support actions that safeguard against the theft and misappropriation of research, as well as the unauthorized transfer of ideas, research outcomes, and intellectual property.
Tri-Agency Resources
- Tri-Agency Guidance on the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC)
- Tri-Agency Guidance on the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships
- STRAC Attestation Form
CFI Resources
Government of Canada Resources
- National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships Risk Assessment Form
- Named Research Organizations
- Sensitive Technology Research Areas
- Risk Assessment Review Process
We encourage all members of the research community to familiarize themselves with this guidance, as well as the research-security policies, guidelines, and resources provided by the Government of Canada. Members of the UBC research community can contact the Research Security Team for further support and consultation at research.security@ubc.ca.
The CFI and Tri-Agencies will be hosting webinars on their research security guidance in the upcoming weeks. More information, including dates and details on how to register will be provided shortly.
To stay up to date on the latest updates and resources related to safeguarding your research at UBC, including the latest updates from the Government of Canada, Tri-Agencies and CFI, subscribe to our list-serv: https://researchsecurity.ubc.ca/subscribe-updates