Appendix: RFP Frequently Asked Questions

Answer: CERIS, the Joint SSHRC-CIC Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement (Toronto), is the creation of several ministries and departments in the Federal Government, all of which have questions to be answered as a basis for informing the policies they are responsible for drafting and implementing. Principal among them is Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the originator of the ideas of Centres of Excellence for research; the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, one of the other partners, is the actual grantor of the Centre and its funding. Other funders are Health Canada, Human Resources Canada, Heritage Canada, Status of Women, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Solicitor General's Office, and Statistics Canada.

Answer: The University of Toronto, York University, and Ryerson Polytechnic University are the founding university partners. There are also three community members: the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, the United Way of Greater Toronto, and the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants.

Answer: The target area for CERIS is the Greater Toronto Area (GTA); the geographical areas that comprise the GTA include Metropolitan Toronto and the surrounding regions of Halton, Peel, York, and Durham.

Answer: This Centre is one of four such centres, so the total investment of the federal partners is $8 million dollars across the six years of allocation. The funding is not intended to be the only such contribution to the research, but is intended to stimulate interest in such research on the part of university researchers and other funders across the country, in collaboration with partners in other countries, which have also committed to similar work abroad. It is hoped that additional funds will be attracted to the on-going work of the centres. In addition, some of the funds allocated ($340,000 per year) have to go to running the Centre. A total of $200,000 will be taken from CERIS’ research budget for the 1999-2000 fiscal year and allocated to successful research proposals submitted to CERIS’ 2000 RFP Funding Competition.

Answer: When we asked that, we were told that the government wanted the centres to be wholly independent, free-standing research centres. This required their being independently administered. A significant portion of the administrative costs, however, is being borne by the universities, which pay the salaries of the three faculty members who are assigned to participate in the administration, as well as the salaries of university researchers.

Answer: No participating institution can have its costs met; the funding, by SSHRC guidelines, must go exclusively to the cost of the research itself, and the cost of maintaining the Centres.

Answer: Precisely because (among other reasons like their research competence) the universities are better funded and thus able to bear the overhead costs of such centres, SSHRC asked them to submit the bids for the centres. Thus the universities are ineligible to recoup Centre-linked costs; they finance out of their own budgets the replacements for courses formerly taught by directors and other professors, Centre overhead, etc. Only the direct costs of running the Centre and its projects may be charged to the grant received through SSHRC.

Answer: There are several steps we have taken to make this possible. The first is formally to structure their participation into the Centre through membership of the Social Planning Council, the United Way, and OCASI on the Management Board of the Centre. The second is to ensure a broader input through the creation of a Partnership Advisory Council, with representation from local planning organizations; local and regional municipalities; networks of agencies and multi-service agencies serving immigrants; educators; and regional representatives of the provincial and federal governments. And the third is to guarantee that there will be participation of local community groups on the individual research projects by allocating a minimum of 10% of the research dollars for community-based, as opposed to university-based, researchers. A careful reading of the SSHRC rules reveals that SOME community participation in the Centre can be eligible. Specifically, where community partners are coming to participate in formal Board and Council or Committee meetings, their "travel and subsistence" costs are allowed.

Answer: The Centre, and its funders, understand that real community input is essential for the success of the research goals in the following ways:

• we need to learn from the experience of those involved in providing direct services to immigrants and refugees in determining research priorities;

• we have to incorporate the knowledge and expertise of previous and current community-based research initiatives, and of individuals within the immigrant and refugee communities, into our research plans; and

• feedback from our community partners will be essential in evaluating the policy implications of the research carried out.

Answer: By "collaborative partnerships" CERIS means that both university research partners and their community research partners will have well-defined roles in the proposed research projects. It does not mean that a community organization writes a letter of support and then has no further input into the project. An example of a good collaborative partnership may involve academics from two different universities who are interested in a research project involving a specific group of immigrant children, the school board that educates those children, and perhaps a parents' or community group. The academics, school board representatives, and community representatives would be involved in various aspects of the proposed work: defining research questions, collecting data, disseminating results. Or it may involve an inter-agency network that recruits academics from universities to assist in identifying which of the various projects it is considering are likely to have the most successful outcomes. The agency's role may be to define what is meant by "successful outcomes", to recruit participants, and publish results in their newsletter; the university's role may be to design and implement the research, analyse the data, and write the final report. All of this may be done in on-going or sequential collaboration, depending on the mutual wishes of the partners.

Answer: The competition is wholly open to lead researchers from other Canadian universities, and to collaborative researchers from other partners. What is required are (1) that the research itself have a significant GTA component so as to fulfil the mandate of CERIS, and (2) that the lead researcher's university signs off on the proposal at the appropriate levels, in order to indicate its responsibility for the administration of the research funds that will be sent via its Office of Research Administration/Services.

Answer: The RFP funds disbursed to successful research projects via the annual RFP Research Funding Competition are CERIS' own research monies. CERIS receives funding support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) as well as eight federal departments including Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Health Canada, Human Resources, Heritage Canada, Status of Women Canada, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the Solicitor General's Office. Statistics Canada assists with data support. The total amount of research monies to be disbursed via the 2000 RFP Funding Competition is $200,000.

Answer: CERIS, as one of four Centres of Excellence for research on immigration and settlement issues and along with similar research units in 19 other countries, is part of a larger international research initiative called "The Metropolis Project." The purpose of this project is to help foster comparative research on this topic within major urban centres from both a national and international perspective in an attempt to determine "best practices" regarding immigration and settlement.

Answer: CERIS is part of the Metropolis Project described earlier. As such, its mandate is to foster and support policy-relevant applied research in the areas of immigration and settlement.

Answer: The lead researcher of an RFP research project must hold an academic appointment at a Canadian university and be eligible for Principal Investigator status at that university.

Answer: Yes, as long as s/he holds the academic appointment at a Canadian university and is eligible for Principal Investigator status at that university for the duration of the proposed RFP research project.

Answer: No. The academic researchers affiliated with each research team may hold an academic appointment at any Canadian university. What is more important is that the research focuses on the G.T.A. and that the individual researcher's involvement is clearly feasible.

Answer: Several reasons. The lead researcher is responsible for a) the intellectual direction of the research and implementation of the research process. These are normally strengths and experience that a university-based academic brings to the collaborative research team. The lead researcher also b) assumes administrative responsibility for the grant. See also the response to the next question.

Why must RFP monies be transferred to the lead researcher's university? Who actually "receives" and "administers" the funds?

Answer: SSHRC, the source of RFP funds requires that RFP monies go only to university-based research accounts; these can only be held by university-based academics. Furthermore, the universities absorb some of the costs associated with research accounting as a form of "in-kind" contribution to CERIS. This helps to maximize the RFP monies available for actual research activities. The respective university and department of the lead researcher receive the funds. They are administered by that university's Office of Research Services/Administration.

Answer: The signature of the departmental chair or programme head is required as part of internal university policy. The signature from the respective university's Office of Research Administration/Services confirms its acceptance of the responsibility for ensuring that a successful research project undergoes an institutional ethics review - the actual funding of a successful research project is contingent upon receipt of such human ethics approval - as well as for the actual research accounting associated with that project. It also ensures that the project's research expenditures are in keeping with approved budgetary guidelines.

Answer: No. Only successful research proposals require institutional ethics review by the university with which the lead researcher is affiliated. CERIS must receive proof of ethics approval before it will release the RFP monies awarded for transfer to the lead researcher's university research account.

Answer: CERIS’ RFP Research Funding Programme operates in accordance with SSHRC guidelines. Applicable SSHRC budgetary categories include: personnel costs, transportation and subsistence costs, professional/technical services/contracts, computer hardware and software, other non-disposable equipment, and other supplies. Note that justification should be made of any request for computer hardware commonly available to academics.

Answer: No, not necessarily. We provide this information to provide you with an indication of spending priority: clearly 80% or more of CERIS’ total RFP research monies are to be used to support university- and community-based research assistants in accordance with these minimum percentages. Whether your research project involves the participation of university and/or community-based research assistants depends to some extent on the nature of the research topic and the composition of the research team.

Answer: No. You must include the team’s plans for dissemination of research results in the description of the research project, but related expenditures should not be included as budget items. CERIS has responsibility for the dissemination of RFP research results and has additional funds available for this purpose.

Answer: The standard rates-of-pay can vary from university to university so it is best to check with your department. The basic guidelines which CERIS uses are $10 per hour plus benefits for undergraduate students, and $15 per hour plus benefits for graduate and postgraduate students. If your university’s rates-of-pay differ, this should be clearly stated and the appropriate rates provided. If the qualifications of a potential research assistant are such as to warrant a higher rate-of-pay (for example, in the case of a post-doctoral student), the rationale should be provided along with the proposed rate-of-pay. Community-based research assistants should be paid in accordance with their research qualifications. Here too a rationale should be provided in the description of the budget of your proposal submission.

Answer: No. Unlike graduate work, RFP research is fully collaborative by nature and involves a team of qualified academics and community researchers, as well as paid project research assistants many of whom are undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate university students. Participation in an RFP research project provides students with research training in the area of immigration and settlement issues as well as a source of financial resources which can be used to support them in their course of study.

Answer: University-based research assistants can be either full-time or part-time undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate students who are officially registered at a Canadian university for the duration of their involvement with the proposed research project. Those postgraduate students who are post-doctoral must have an affiliation with a university-based unit.

Answer: Yes. Students studying on foreign student visas do not need to have Canadian work permits if they are employed by a university-based unit. If such a student is hired and paid via such a unit, s/he can work as a research assistant on an RFP research project.

Answer: Post-doctoral students may participate as paid research assistants on an RFP project if: a) they hold a Post-Doctoral Fellowship equivalent in value to that offered by SSHRC and are not teaching a university or college course; b) they do not hold a Post-Doctoral Fellowship and are teaching two university or college courses or less; or c) they do not hold a Post-Doctoral Fellowship, are not teaching university or college courses, and do not have full-time paid employment. All other post-doctoral "students" would participate as full (unpaid) research collaborators.

Answer: Community-based research assistants are individuals identified by the research team whose experience, research qualifications, and skills are important to the successful undertaking of the proposed research topic. The relevant skills depend largely on the nature of the research project itself but could include relevant language skills, position of trust within a particular new immigrant or refugee community, interviewing experience, etc Any additional employment activities engaged in by a community-based research assistant may not overlap or interfere with project-based research activities in any way. Training such community-based research assistants, to provide or enhance research skills, may be part of the work of the project.

Answer: No, not necessarily, although it is best to provide as much concrete information as possible. However, you may not yet have approached or selected potential research assistants. Whether you have identified the actual research assistants or not, do be sure to clearly identify the number, type (i.e. university and/or community) and level (ie. undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate) of research assistants who would be involved in the proposed research project, as well as their duties.

Answer: CERIS holds RFP orientation sessions as well as other events (lectures, research seminars, special events) through which you may link up with other researchers interested in immigration and settlement issues. The Centre is also in the process of developing an extensive database of researchers and organizations working in this area. You may also simply ask the assistance of the Academic Coordinator, Winston Husbands, or the Administrative Coordinator, Ted Richmond. All of this is in addition to the resources and professional networks provided via the respective universities or organisations of project team members.

Answer: CERIS holds a series of RFP Information Sessions before each submission deadline at which this topic is discussed. The actual content and format of the research proposal is detailed in the annual RFP document itself. Ideally the preparation of the proposal submission is a fully collaborative process which involves all members of the proposed research team.

Answer: All applicants are asked to identify the CERIS research theme and/or domain most relevant to their proposed research project. Their proposal submission is then forwarded to the Adjudication Committee for that particular research area for evaluation. Each committee adjudicator has as his or her independent task to evaluate, comment upon, and rank the individual proposals submitted to that committee. The Committee then meets in order to discuss the various proposals and determine a joint ranking of proposals for that particular research domain. The results of each Adjudication Committee’s deliberations and proposal rankings are then conveyed to a seven-member Composite Adjudication Committee. It is the task of the Composite Adjudication Committee to determine the final ranking of all proposal submissions which have been both "Approved and Recommended for Funding" across the various domains and makes recommendations regarding the allocation of the available funds, based on the recommendations of the Adjudication Committees. The final list of successful RFP project proposals and funding allocations are then presented by the Chair of the Composite Adjudication Committee to CERIS’ Management Board, which is responsible for the final allocation of RFP grants.

Answer: Each five-member Adjudication Committee consists of two university-based adjudicators and two community-based adjudicators, plus the Chair of the Committee who is either CERIS’ Director, an Associate Director, a member of CERIS’ Management Board, a previous RFP grant awardee, or another recognized expert in that particular area. The number of adjudication committees depends on the volume of applications submitted to each research domain. Potential academic adjudicators with expertise in the respective domains are identified by CERIS’ Executive Committee while potential community-based adjudicators are identified by CERIS’ Partnership Advisory Council. The final composition of the various Adjudication Committees must be approved by CERIS’ Management Board before the adjudication process can begin. The seven-member Composite Adjudication Committee is composed of two representatives from each Adjudication Committee (its Chair and a community-based adjudicator) plus the Chair of CERIS’ Management Board.

Answer: The criteria used by the Adjudication Committees in their evaluations may be grouped into three major categories. Under Scientific Merit they include: suitability of theoretical framework, originality and contribution to knowledge, evidence of mastery of the literature, appropriateness of the research method, and expertise of the research team. Under Support of CERIS’ Mandate they include: relevance to immigration and settlement policy, evidence of university-community, interdisciplinary and inter-university collaborative partnerships where appropriate, and provision of training opportunities. Under Format they include: completeness of required information, appropriateness of the budget, and commitment to dissemination of research results.

Answer: The exact date specific to each annual competition will be provided in the letter acknowledging receipt of an RFP research proposal sent to each lead researcher after the submission deadline. All lead researchers will receive their notification of adjudication results via official letter. Descriptions of the successful RFP research projects and collaborative teams are included in the subsequent edition of CERIS’ Newsletter.

Answer: Please contact Winston Husbands (CERIS Academic Coordinator) at telephone (416) 946-3113, or e-mail <winston.husbands@utoronto.ca>