Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Mandate

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) is the government's key instrument to support university research and training in the social sciences and humanities and to chart directions for the Canadian research effort in these fields. SSHRC-supported research covers a breadth of disciplines ranging from economics, business studies, ethics, education, law, history, literature to philosophy, psychology, sociology, environmental studies, religious studies — among others. SSHRC supports basic research, targeted research on issues of national importance, the training of highly qualified personnel, and the broad dissemination of knowledge for the benefit of Canadian society. Key initiatives over the past year include the launching of SSHRC's Innovation Scenario — an action plan to maximize the contribution of SSHRC-funded research for Canadians — and new partnerships to support research and training in critical S&T areas.

How does the SSHRC use S&T to deliver on its mandate?

The entirety of SSHRC's mandate aims to sustain a strong science capacity in Canada.

Major S&T achievements in 1997-98

SSHRC is launching three new targeted research programs to build policy-relevant knowledge and expertise to respond to national challenges over the next five years:

• the challenges of a knowledge-based economy;
• social cohesion in a globalizing era; and
• the social and cultural determinants of health.

These new research areas were identified through a major consultation with the federal government, universities and a range of organizations across the country. SSHRC has concluded a range of new partnerships to strengthen research and expertise in key S&T areas.

• The Trends project — in partnership with the Policy Research Secretariat of the federal government — will generate research on eight mega-trends that will drive Canada in the next millennium (globalization, North American integration, technological change and the information revolution, the environment, demographics and ageing, value change, multiple centres of power, social differentiation). More than 20 government departments helped identify the gaps in knowledge on issues most likely to create policy challenges for Canada in the next few years. Sixty-five SSHRC-funded researchers are now working in partnership with users of research to define research agendas that will help to build the knowledge needed to develop effective policies and programs to manage change in these areas.
• Innovation Systems Research Network — in partnership with the NRC and NSERC — will promote exploration of the relationship between innovation and economic development at the local and regional levels. The network will provide a platform to build and exchange knowledge, and to chart directions for research to enhance our understanding of how innovation works, be it in the development of improved services and products, management methods or production techniques. All told, the network involves 50 leading-edge researchers and graduate students and 29 partners.
• Research and training incentives have been developed to supply the knowledge and highly qualified personnel needed in forest management (with the Canadian Forest Service) and on emerging issues relating to Canada's relationship with Asia and with Latin America (with the International Development Research Centre).
• Ongoing programs continue to provide knowledge to assist policy making in the public and private sectors and develop multidisciplinary research expertise in critical areas: managing for global competitiveness, science and technology policy in Canada, chairs in the management of technological change (SSHRC/NSERC), strategic research networks in education and training, centres of excellence on immigration issues (SSHRC/Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Health Canada, Heritage Canada, Status of Women Canada, Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation), and health services research (with Health Canada and MRC)
• SSHRC continued to play a key role in co-managing (with NSERC and MRC) the highly successful Networks of Centres of Excellence program. Thus far, the networks have involved more than 400 companies, close to 100 government departments and agencies, more than 40 hospitals, 50 universities and 63 other organizations.
• SSHRC is launching the Community University Research Alliances, an innovative program to develop knowledge and expertise geared to community development through innovative alliances between universities and local and regional action groups. These innovation centres are designed to mobilize researchers and students at universities to develop knowledge and transfer mechanisms around priority issues such as youth, violence, sustainable development, health care restructuring and local governance.
• The councils (SSHRC, MRC, NSERC) have released their Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans this year. The new policy statement addresses the duties, rights and norms of those conducting research to ensure that research subjects are treated with respect and privacy and that Canadian research is conducted in a socially and scientifically responsible manner. The new Canadian guidelines are the first in the world to incorporate all areas of science.
• SSHRC has taken steps to enhance the evaluation function and to develop the capacity to measure the impact and outcomes of SSHRC support for Canadian research and training. New evaluation tools are being developed to provide a wider range of information to the council, thereby enhancing its ability to manage its programs and to undertake strategic planning more efficiently. The council continues to conduct periodic evaluations of its programs, and to participate in the Industry Portfolio's Sub-Committee on S&T Performance Measurement and Program Evaluation.

Future strategic directions in S&T

SSHRC's Innovation Scenario, launched in 1998, proposes strategic investments in research to meet three goals:

• to close important gaps in identified areas where Canada does not have the knowledge needed to develop effective policies and programs to manage change — these include globalization, social cohesion, growth and human development;
• to respond to urgent needs for strategically focussed training to prepare Canadian youth to find employment in different sectors of our knowledge-based society and economy where the humanities and social sciences are called on to play important roles;
• to further develop and maintain a strong capacity for innovation by providing greater support for fundamental research and advanced training in the human sciences.

SSHRC will also continue to push forward on its partnership strategy to promote targeted research and training in key areas of need and to foster innovative approaches to producing and sharing the knowledge generated through research.

Finally, SSHRC will enhance its knowledge brokering role and develop new mechanisms to promote awareness and use of knowledge in the social sciences and humanities.