Canada’s Source of R&D Intelligence
Total Research Income Hits $5 Billion for the First Time
McGill, Guelph and Trent Named Research Universities of the Year
Toronto - October 25, 2005 - In Fiscal 2004, for the first time ever, Canada's top 50 research universities posted $5.04 billion in sponsored research income, a 17.7% increase over Fiscal 2003. Sponsored research income includes both government and non-government sources. The University of Toronto remained in top position on Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List 2005, reporting $624 million in sponsored research income for Fiscal 2004, increasing 16.8% over Fiscal 2003. Increasing their research income by 58.6% over last year, gave McGill University 2nd spot this year, up from 4th with $543.5 million. Université de Montréal was #3, moving down 1 spot from last year with $446.2 million, increasing 13.1%. University of British Columbia came in 4th place this year, down from 3rd last year with $363.3 million of research income, increasing moderately by 4.1%. University of Alberta also with a significant increase of 31.9%, rounded out the top 5 with $360 million, moving up 1 place to 5th from 6th last year. In all, 15 universities were included in Research Infosource's $100 Million Club, each attracting more than $100 million in research income in Fiscal 2004, up from 14 universities last year.
"These are indeed golden times for university research in Canada. The challenge now is to turn research into benefits to the economy and society", said Ron Freedman, CEO of Research Infosource.
McGill University, University of Guelph and Trent University were named Research Universities of the Year in their respective categories by Research Infosource Inc., which today also released Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List 2005.
For Research University of the Year, in the Medical/doctoral category, McGill University came 1st with 97.3 points out of a possible 100, University of Toronto was 2nd with 91.7, and McMaster University was 3rd with 90.0 points. The University of Guelph topped the Comprehensive category with 80.7 points followed by University of Waterloo with 73.0, and University of Victoria rounded out the category with 60.0 points. In the Undergraduate category, Trent University was in 1st place with 52.7 points, Royal Military College came 2nd with 49.3 points, and University of Prince Edward Island was 3rd with 47.0 points. Half the points were awarded based on financial indicators: total sponsored research income, research income per full-time faculty position, and research income per full-time graduate student. The other half was based on the number of publications per full-time faculty.
Research intensity (sponsored research income per full-time faculty) grew by 14.6% in Fiscal 2004, reaching an average of $149,900 per faculty position. Eight institutions posted intensity levels in excess of $200,000 per faculty, up from 5 universities last year: McGill University ($381,100), University of Toronto ($263,100), Université de Montréal ($244,300), University of Alberta ($241,000), McMaster University ($233,600), Queen's University ($233,000), Université Laval ($207,500) and University of British Columbia ($200,800). The lion's share of sponsored research income at Canadian universities continued to come from Government sources, accounting for 70% in 2004. Corporate sources made up 13%, while Non-corporate sources (individuals, foundations, etc.) contributed 12% of the total. Investments and endowments made up the remainder.
Ranking universities by sponsored research income growth for Fiscal 2004, the top 5 gainers (universities that increased their sponsored research income the most) included École de technologie supérieure (115.7%), Concordia University (77.1%), Acadia University (67.6%), Université de Moncton (60.4%) and McGill University (58.6%). The 5 largest declines were at University of Northern British Columbia (-41.8%), Wilfrid Laurier University (-38.6%), Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (-16.8%), University of Saskatchewan (-7.6%) and Cape Briton University (-6.7%).
Regionally, gains in university research income between Fiscal 2003 and 2004 were made in almost all the provinces: Alberta (39.3%), New Brunswick (37.7%), Prince Edward Island (35.7%), Québec (23.0%), Nova Scotia (18.1%), Newfoundland (17.6%), Ontario (14.5%) and British Columbia (4.2%). Research income declined in Saskatchewan (-3.3%) and Manitoba (-2.7%).
Canada's Top 50 Research Universities 2005 and Research Universities of the Year 2005 and 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. An in-depth Canada's Top Research Universities Report 2005, based on 68 universities is slated for publication later this year. Research Infosource Inc., a division of The Impact Group, is Canada's source of R&D intelligence. Drawing from an extensive database, Research Infosource Inc. publishes Canada's Top 100 Corporate R&D Spenders List, Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List, and specialized reports.
Information: Ron Freedman, CEO, Research Infosource Inc. (416) 481-7070 ext. 31
Janet Sandor, Director of Communications (416) 481-7070 ext. 25