University research income shrinks for first time in over a decade

Toronto, ON – For the first time in 14 years, combined university research income failed to grow last year. Research Infosource provided the information today in its annual ranking report, Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities. Research income at the top 50 research universities shrank by -1.6% in fiscal 2014, compared to a modest gain of 1.1% in fiscal 2013. Combined research income fell to $6.67 billion from $6.78 billion. Research intensity – income per faculty – fell by -1.4% to $173,500 from $175,900.

Research income at University of Toronto, in 1^st place on the Top 50 Research Universities List, fell -6.2%, to $1.04 billion in fiscal 2014 from $1.11 billion the previous year. Université de Montréal moved up one position to 2^nd place in the ranking with a 4.0% gain in research income to $548.8 million, while University of British Columbia slipped to 3^rd spot from 2^nd with a -3.5% fall in research income, to $547.0 million. A number of institutions bucked the overall trend with strong gains in research income in fiscal 2014: Ryerson University (25.9%), Université de Moncton (25.2%), University of Saskatchewan (23.6%), University of Northern British Columbia (21.9%) and Brock University (14.7%) led the pack. Overall, research income rose at 27 institutions and fell at 23.

“Last year’s drop in research income brings to an end a decade and a half of constantly increasing resources for Canada’s leading research institutions,” said Ron Freedman, CEO of Research Infosource Inc. “The disappointing fiscal 2014 result was driven by declines in funding from the federal government (-2.6%), provincial governments (-6.7%), individuals (-20.0%) and corporations (-2.3%). In other words, nearly all key sources of funding dropped.”

Three institutions are designated as Research Universities of the Year 2015 in their respective categories: University of Toronto (Medical/Doctoral), University of Waterloo (Comprehensive) and Lakehead University (Undergraduate). These institutions stood out on a balanced scorecard of research input and output/impact measures.

In the category of research partnerships, as measured by corporate and non-profit research grants or contracts received during the period fiscal 2010-2014, top winners were:

– Total corporate research income: McMaster University, University of Guelph, and Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.

– Total non-profit research income: University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and Lakehead University.

– Corporate research income as percent of total university research income: McMaster University, University of Regina, and Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.

– Non-profit research income as percent of total university research income: University of Toronto, Simon Fraser University, and Université de Moncton.

Complete information and detailed lists are available at http://www.researchinfosource.com/top50_univ.php