Overview

Grants from NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR grants (the Tri-Council) which may contain unspent balances at the end of the project, are deposited into a General Research Fund (GRF) once approval is obtained from NSERC Finance. This may include funds allocated in prior fiscal years and/or funds issued in the current fiscal year. Also, proceeds from sale of equipment purchased, with funds granted by the Agency are transferred to the GRF to ensure that they will be used for research-related purposes.

The allocation and spending of these funds must be approved by the President of Fleming College.  However the President normally delegates the responsibility and authority for the administration of these funds to the Director, Applied Research and the Manager, Office of Applied Research.

Process

When appropriate, eligible funds from Tri-Council research grants will be directed towards the General Research Fund (GRF). In general, this means that upon completion of a research grant, any remaining funds will be placed into a deferred income account.  Once the transfer to the GRF has been approved by NSERC, the funding is transferred to the GRF department. The allocation and spending of these funds must be approved by the President of Fleming College.  The President normally delegates the responsibility and authority for the administration of these funds to the Director, Applied Research and the Manager, Office of Applied Research.

There are 3 scenarios that may be encountered when a research grant is ending as follows:

1. Grant is ending, project expected to be fully completed, funds are expected to be fully spent, therefore no funds allocated to GRF
2. Grant is ending, project requires an extension, therefore no funds as of yet will be allocated to GRF
3. Grant is ending, project is expected to be fully completed, however funds will be remaining, therefore will be allocated to GRF

These guidelines address Scenario #3 above as follows:

1. Once the project has ended, the Financial Reporting Officer moves the unspent amount to a deferred income account.
2. The Financial Reporting Officer submits the Finance Form 301 and at that time, requests that the unspent balance be transferred to the GRF.
3. Once NSERC has approved the transfer to the GRF, a grant funding form is completed and signed by the President.
4. Once the Financial Reporting Officer receives the completed and signed grant funding form, the unspent balance is moved from the deferred income account, to the GRF department.  If the NSERC does not approve the transfer to the GRF, the funds would be returned to the funding agency.
5. A delegation of authority form is prepared for the President to delegate authority to the Director, Applied Research and the Manager, Office of Applied Research.
6. The Research Grants Financial Officer will provide an updated balance in the GRF account to the Director, Applied Research
7. The Director, Applied Research and the Manager, Office of Applied Research, (as the delegated authorities), will determine how these funds will be spent, keeping in mind that the purpose of the fund is to enhance research capacity at the college, as applicable and may include providing small start-up grants to new researchers, bridging funding to researchers who are between applications, or providing additional funds to researchers in support of their research.
8. Once it is determined how a portion or all of these funds will be spent, the Office of Applied Research will advise the Finance office and if necessary, will request that a new research department be opened;
9. In the case where the funds will be used for an internal research competition, the Office of Applied Research will place a communication notice in the general Communication email that is distributed through the College email system as well as post a notice on the Applied Research website;
10. The funds are targeted to be spent within the fiscal year specified by NSERC when the transfer of funds to the GRF is approved.