Office of Research
Research Creates Positive Change
The Office of Research and Academic Innovation (RAI) is the focal point for developing and supporting research activity at the University College of the North (UCN).
Since 2004 when UCN became a degree-granting institution, it has been steadily building and strengthening an environment supportive of research. Today, many of our faculty members are engaged in exciting work that expands collective understanding, challenges boundaries or poses important questions, and collaboratively engages with the communities we serve to make positive change.
Whether you are a member of UCN's research community or with another institution or organization or industry, we hope you will find the information you are looking for in this webpage.
Office of Research
UCN’s Office of Research is a part of RAI. It is here to provide assistance and get you connected! The Office of Research can help with:
- developing a research budget
- proposal writing and document editing
- linking you to training and potential funding resources
- helping you find a mentor, either within UCN or at another institution
- helping you find a business, industry or community partner that could support your research
- ensuring your research proposal is reviewed and receives ethics, environmental or other approvals that may be required
Research and Scholarly Activities
Faculty and staff members at UCN are engaged in a broad range of work related to research and scholarly activity, capacity building and service. We have many exciting projects on the go with a range of community, academic and other partners across northern Manitoba, Canada and internationally.
Research Ethics Board
UCN's Research Ethics Board (REB) reviews ethics applications for research projects involving human participants. The REB is an autonomous body reporting directly to UCN's Vice-President, Academic and Research.
In reviewing ethics applications, UCN's REB follows UCN Policy and Procedures Governing Ethical Conduct of Research Involving Humans. This policy was developed directly from the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (known as TCPS2). TCPS2 was developed jointly by the CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, the three main federal agencies that fund research in Canada. The three core principles of TCPS2 are Respect for Persons, Concern for Welfare, and Justice. TCPS2 contains an entire chapter, Chapter 9, on the Ethics of Research involving First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples of Canada.
All researchers, whether they are employed directly by UCN or external organizations but affiliated with UCN or UCN students, who intend to involve human participants in their research will have to understand and abide by UCN’s human research ethics policy.
REB Policies:
- UCN Policy and Procedures Governing Ethical Conduct of Research Involving Humans
- AC-04-02 Integrity in Research and Scholarly Activity
- AC-04-03 Conflict of Interest and Commitment in Research and Scholarly Activity
- UCN REB Terms of Reference
- UCN Tutorial on Responsible Conduct of Research
REB Forms:
- FR-REB-001 UCN Research Ethics Certification - New Application Form
- FR-REB-002 UCN REB Letter of Information/Consent Form
- FR-REB-003 UCN REB Research Ethics Certification - Renewal/Amendment Form
- FR-REB-004 UCN REB Guidelines and Application Form for Course-based Research Ethics Certification
More Information on Human Research Ethics:
- Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans – TCPS2 (2022) - (in PDF version)
- TCPS2: Course on Research Ethics - 2022 (CORE-2022) Online Tutorial and Certification
- Tri-Agency Framework 2021 Responsible Conduct of Research - (in PDF version)
- Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards (CAREB)
- UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007
- UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions 2013
- Understanding and Implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: An Introductory Handbook 2011
| REB Application Submission Deadlines and Meeting Schedule* | ||
|---|---|---|
| Month | REB Application Package Submission Deadline | REB Meeting Date |
| January | 1st Tuesday of the month | 3rd Tuesday of the month |
| February | 1st Thursday of the month | 3rd Thursday of the month |
| March | 1st Tuesday of the month | 3rd Tuesday of the month |
| April | 1st Thursday of the month | 3rd Thursday of the month |
| May | 1st Tuesday of the month | 3rd Tuesday of the month |
| June | 1st Thursday of the month | 3rd Thursday of the month |
| July | There are no REB meetings as faculty members are away on summer break. | |
| August | There are no REB meetings as faculty members are away on summer break. | |
| September | 1st Tuesday of the month | 3rd Tuesday of the month |
| October | 1st Thursday of the month | 3rd Thursday of the month |
| November | 1st Tuesday of the month | 3rd Tuesday of the month |
| December | 1st Thursday of the month | 3rd Thursday of the month |
*If the application submission deadline/meeting date falls on a holiday, the next working day is the application submission deadline/meeting date.
Any questions about UCN’s REB can be directed to:
Dr. Abayomi Oredegbe
REB Chair
aoredegbe@ucn.ca
Dr. Guru Chinnasamy
REB Coordinator
gchinnasamy@ucn.ca
Animal Care Committee
UCN’s Animal Care Committee (ACC) is responsible for reviewing proposals and protocols where animals would be used in teaching, research or testing. It also reviews proposals for other types of animal use such as keeping fish tanks or terrariums in campus offices, use of animals in ceremonial or special events, etc. Establishment of the ACC is in keeping with movements nationally and globally toward ensuring humane and ethical treatment of animals in postsecondary and other institutional settings.
The ACC is an autonomous body reporting directly to UCN’s Vice-President, Academic and Research. Its activities are guided and informed by resources available through the Canadian Council on Animal Care, the primary recognized authority on institutional animal use programs and animal care committees in Canada.
UCN has a comprehensive policy governing the use of animals. UCN has adopted COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) standards as its benchmark reference relating to species at risk for policy and all other ACC matters.
| UCN ACC Review Processes and Deadlines | |
|---|---|
| ACC Review Process Name | Deadline |
| Pedagogical Merit Review (PMR) and Animal Use Protocol (AUP) forms submission | April 30 |
| Decision on PMR and AUP forms | May 30 |
| Revised PMR and AUP forms submission | June 15 |
| Decision on revised PMR and AUP forms | June 30 |
| Post-Approval Monitoring (PAM) form submission | Within 8 weeks of field activities over but no later than December 15 |
| Decision on PAM form | January 31 |
Refer the flowchart for the detailed PMR, AUP and PAM processes and their deadlines at UCN.
UCN ACC Meeting Schedule (3 meetings per calendar year):
- Third Wednesday in January
- Third Wednesday in May
- Between June 16 and 20
ACC Policies:
ACC Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs):
- AN-02-01 SOP for Animal Use Protocol Appeal Submission, Review and Approval
- AN-02-02 SOP for Small Mammal Inventory
- AN-02-03 SOP for Live Fish Capture
- AN-02-04 SOP for Euthanasia
- AN-02-05 SOP for Assessing Appropriate Endpoints
- AN-02-06 SOP for Animal Incident Reporting
ACC Forms
- FR-ACC-001 UCN Animal Use Protocol - New Application Form (Field Studies)
- FR-ACC-002 UCN AUP Schedule1 Teaching/Display
- FR-ACC-003 UCN AUP Minor Amendment Form
- FR-ACC-004 UCN AUP Renewal-Continuation Form
- FR-ACC-005 UCN Pedagogical Merit Review - Application Form
- FR-ACC-006 UCN Pedagogical Merit Review - Reviewer Form
- FR-ACC-007 UCN Field/Wildlife Post-Approval Monitoring Form
More Information on Animal Care and Use:
Any questions about UCN's ACC can be directed to:
Gary Melko
ACC Chair
gmelko@ucn.ca
Dr. Guru Chinnasamy
ACC Coordinator
gchinnasamy@ucn.ca
Research Funding Opportunities
Internal Funding Opportunity
UCN Seed Grant Program
UCN faculty members, instructors, non-instructional staff and Elders are invited to submit applications for seed grant funding for new projects. Interdisciplinary projects between university faculties or between college programs, or between university-college researchers, projects with external partners, and/or projects that involve UCN students, Aboriginal and/or northern communities, and/or Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s Calls to Action (CTA) are highly encouraged. Proposals that have anticipated impacts and contributions to Aboriginal and/or northern communities, and other research that will be considered for funding can include but are not limited to:
- Academic research – focused inquiry to advance knowledge in a particular discipline
- Scholarly research – research into teaching and learning in a particular discipline
- Applied research – investigation of a practical problem or process, or that improves or develops a product
- Social innovation research – research directed toward the development of new ideas or the use of existing ideas to find solutions to social challenges
- Action research – an interactive method of collecting information used to explore topics of teaching, curriculum development and student behavior in the classroom
For the details on Seed Grant Competition 2025/2026, refer the documents listed below. The application submission deadline is March 3, 2025.
- UCN Seed Grant Competition 2025/2026 Call for Proposals
- UCN Tutorial on Responsible Conduct of Research
- UCN 2025/2026 Seed Grant Application Form
- UCN 2025/2026 Seed Grant Final Project Report Template
- UCN Seed Grant Application Checklist
For more information, contact
Dr. Guru Chinnasamy
Chair of Seed Grant Committee
Manager of Research
Office of Research, UCN
Email: gchinnasamy@ucn.ca
External Funding Opportunities
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
- National Research Council of Canada (NRC)
- Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI)
- Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
- Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC)
- Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)
- Prairies Economic Development Canada
- Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD)
- Global Affairs Canada
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Genome Canada
- Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
- Tech-Access Canada
- National Defense - Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS)
- MITACS
- Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN)
- Government of Canada
- Research Manitoba
- Government of Manitoba
Internal Deadlines for External Research Grant Applications
UCN Research Office follows grant submission process and internal deadlines for all external research grant competitions as listed below.
- UCN Research Office recommends faculty members/researchers to start writing the research proposal minimum 6 months before the external funding agency deadline.
- If the UCN faculty member/researcher needs the support letter from UCN Vice President Academic and Research (VPAR) for the external research grant application, he/she has to request the VPAR support letter through UCN Research Office 2 months before the external funding agency deadline.
- The UCN faculty member/researcher has to submit, in coordination with UCN Research Office, the final grant application package to the external funding agency 1 week before the external funding agency deadline.
Research Data Management Plan/Strategy
The research data management (RDM) plan is becoming a requirement of Canadian Tri-Agencies (SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR) research grant funding, and funding from many other sources. These funding agencies strongly support research data sharing, data management and open access. These agencies have set polices which will require grant funded researchers to organize and manage data produced for funded research, so that it can be shared with other researchers.
In November 2021, an RDM Advisory Committee (RDMAC) was formed by UCN to develop the RDM plan for UCN. The RDMAC developed the UCN’s draft RDM plan which was reviewed and approved by the Research, Education and Learning (REAL) Committee. The UCN’s Learning Council was informed about the RDM plan of UCN.
Strategic Research Plan
The variety and significance of the research work at UCN is impressive, and UCN’s research potential is equally as impressive. Establishing a Strategic Research Plan allows UCN to collectively and collegially envision how it will engage in research, and help to set an agenda for supporting research activity within the institution.
UCN’s Strategic Research Plan 2022/23 – 2024/25
Research Policies
UCN expects all research undertaken by faculty, non-teaching staff and students adhere to the highest possible standards of integrity and conduct.
The following policies that have been approved by UCN's Learning Council. All researchers, whether they are employed directly by UCN or external organizations, or UCN students, who are conducting research in affiliation with UCN, are expected to abide by these key documents:
- AC-04-02 Integrity in Research and Scholarly Activity
- AC-04-03 Conflict of Interest and Commitment in Research and Scholarly Activity
In addition to the two key foundational policies above, UCN has following two policies governing the ethics of involving humans in research as well as the use of animals in teaching, research and testing.
- UCN Policy and Procedures Governing Ethical Conduct of Research Involving Humans
- AN-01-01 Use of Animals in Teaching, Research and Testing
Research Partnerships and Collaborations
To enhance Canada’s research security and protection and comply with Government of Canada’s regulations, UCN expects all partnership and collaborative research undertaken by UCN faculty, researchers, staff and students follows Government of Canada’s New Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern 2024
Intellectual Property
The details of UCN's Intellectual Property policy and practice are currently under development. Inquiries may be directed to
Harvey Briggs
Director, Research and Academic Innovation
hbriggs@ucn.ca
Signing Authority
Research-related agreements can take a variety of forms and have various names, depending on their purpose. Some examples are Research Agreement, Research Contract, Non-Disclosure Agreement, Confidentiality Agreement, Material Transfer Agreement, Technical Services Agreement or Intellectual Property Agreement.
Where the UCN name, staff time, space, equipment or facilities are being committed for a research project, individual faculty members or non-teaching staff employed by or on contract with UCN do not have authority to sign such research-related agreements or contracts on behalf of UCN. Such documents require the signature of UCN's Vice-President, Academic and Research.
For further information, contact
Dr. Lynette Plett
Vice-President, Academic and Research
lplett@ucn.ca
Resources
The Researcher Guide is intended to help researchers at all stages of their research and scholarly activity by providing essential information that they must take into account, as well as ‘good to know’ information that may be useful.
In addition, you can access "How to Brew the Perfect Research Project". This booklet offers step-by-step guidance in developing and working through a research project.
Contact
Harvey Briggs
Director, Research and Academic Innovation
Office of Research and Academic Innovation (RAI)
University College of the North
hbriggs@ucn.ca
Dr. Guru Chinnasamy
Manager of Research
Office of Research
University College of the North
gchinnasamy@ucn.ca
Ishwer Dherdi
Research Facilitator
Office of Research
University College of the North
idherdi@ucn.ca
Amanpreet Kaur
Administrative Assistant
Office of Research and RAI
University College of the North
akaur@ucn.ca