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Infrastructure Canada has established the Peer Reviewed Research Studies Program (PRRS) to provide contributions-based funding for high quality, horizontal, policy relevant research studies on public infrastructure and related communities issues in Canada.
Funding is awarded on the basis of merit, through a competitive peer review process that will be executed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) with the assistance of Sciences and Engineering Research Canada (NSERC). SSHRC will administer the consequent contribution agreements on Infrastructure Canada’s behalf.
SSHRC is the Canadian granting agency for research and training in the social sciences and humanities, and NSERC is Canada’s national mechanism for making strategic investments in Canada’s capability in science and technology.
The primary goals of the Peer Reviewed Research Studies program are to:
- Stimulate and support independent, high quality, multidisciplinary and timely policy relevant research on public infrastructure and communities issue in Canada;
- Encourage the development and maintenance of a strong, multidisciplinary research community in this area; and
- Strengthen Canada’s existing knowledge base.
PRRS provides funding in the form of contributions to support research studies and related activities that advance one or more of the research priorities established annually by Infrastructure Canada. There are currently six priorities:
- Communities, cities and public infrastructure;
- The state of infrastructure in Canada’s communities;
- The economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of infrastructure on communities;
- Financing mechanisms for infrastructure and communities;
- Technology, innovation and transformative infrastructure; and
- Governance issues related to infrastructure and communities.
The following are examples of questions in these six priority areas that are of particular interest to Infrastructure Canada for this first call for proposals:
Cities, communities and public infrastructure
- How can the federal government better enable and facilitate planning for sustainable infrastructure and for sustainability more generally in Canada’s communities?
- What are the implications of different patterns of development and/or different development policies (e.g. urban intensification, smart growth and mixed use) for infrastructure (e.g. requirements, costs and benefits), and how does infrastructure shape cities and communities? What trade-offs are implied for public policy and for communities and those who live in them?
- How do Canadian communities currently plan for sustainability? Based on experiences in Canada and other jurisdictions, what are the key elements of a successful integrated sustainability plan?
- What other jurisdictions have developed integrated public policy for infrastructure and communities? What lessons have been learned?
- What are the implications of designing and implementing public policy based on community size compared to community location or other characteristics?
The state of infrastructure in Canada's communities
- What is the state of public infrastructure in Canada and how does it compare with other countries?
- What are the key factors to take into account in assessing the state of Canada’s infrastructure (e.g. age, location, condition, residual life, capital investment, technical and regulatory standards and community size) and why? What does the data tell us about the state of infrastructure in different sectors? In different regions and communities?
- What are the views on the state of Canada’s infrastructure from a federal, provincial/territorial and municipal government perspective and the perspectives of infrastructure practitioners, industry and citizens? To what extent do these perspectives differ? Why?
- What information and data is currently available to support policy and decision making on public infrastructure in Canada? What is required? How can gaps best be addressed based on experiences in other areas and in other jurisdictions?
- What is the current state of knowledge about asset management? What practices and systems are in use in Canada? In other jurisdictions? Have they been reviewed? By who? What conclusions have been reached and what are their implications for future public policy and practice?
- How can engineering, economic, social, cultural and environmental factors be integrated into the evaluation of the life cycle costs, benefits and impacts of infrastructure?
- How can economic, social, cultural and environmental sustainability objectives best be applied to asset management?
- What are the drivers of change that have to be established in order for public infrastructure owners and operators to adopt and use infrastructure asset management processes in planning investment and expenditures?
- How can Canadians come to a better understanding of the state of infrastructure in their communities?
The economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of infrastructure on communities
- What economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts does public infrastructure (e.g. critical, municipal, water and transportation infrastructure and housing) have on health, environmental quality, security and economic growth at the community level? What are the pathways for these impacts? What methodologies and indicators are best able to measure and interpret the impacts?
- What is the contribution of public infrastructure to Canada’s economic performance, including productivity? What are the factors that affect productivity impacts and what are these impacts? To what extent do the rates of return on investment in infrastructure vary over time and/or by type of infrastructure? Why? What are the implications for public policy?
- Based on Canadian and international experience, to what extent are investments in public infrastructure incremental and/or substitutable? What are they key factors in optimizing incrementality?
Financing mechanisms for infrastructure and communities
- What is the record on the use of different mechanisms for financing infrastructure in Canada and in other jurisdictions? To what extent is a variety of mechanisms being used? What are the winning conditions for using different mechanisms, individually or in tandem? What are the key factors affecting the use and acceptance of different mechanisms and why? What are the effects and why?
- What are the lessons-learned in Canada and other jurisdictions about mechanisms for municipal finance? To what extent is a variety of mechanisms being used? What are the winning conditions for using different mechanisms, individually or in tandem? What are the key factors affecting the use and acceptance of different mechanisms? What are the effects and why?
- How and in what circumstances can more effective use be made of private capital and public-private partnerships in meeting the collective infrastructure needs of Canadians?
Technology, innovation and transformative infrastructure
- What is the public infrastructure required to take Canada to the economy, society and environment of the future? What are the key factors impacting infrastructure needs and solutions in the mid-to long-term?
- What important infrastructure innovations (e.g. in terms of technologies, engineering, governance and management) have emerged or are emerging in Canada and other countries? What are the key factors affecting their use and adoption? To what extent are the international innovations transferable to Canada?
- To what extent are there unique technological, engineering, governance and management innovations required for capital construction and operation in smaller and remote communities, in Northern regions and in key areas affected by climate change?
Governance issues related to infrastructure and communities
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of alternative approaches and arrangements for delivering effective infrastructure projects (e.g. for mitigating cost over-runs) and for more generally meeting the infrastructure needs of communities (e.g. through priority-setting processes, regional service delivery models, enhanced accountabilities, capital investment and sustainability planning and asset management?
- What approaches can be used to enhance community participation and capacity for sustainability planning? What are their respective strengths and weaknesses?
- To what extent is community size a key variable in community capacity and the design and effectiveness of infrastructure and communities policies? Why? How does its impact compare with that of other factors?
- What are the features of successful tripartite arrangements between governments? What are the key challenges?
Research proposals will be evaluated on the basis of merit by a panel of experts established by SSHRC with the assistance of NSERC using the following criteria:
- The degree to which the proposed research responds to one or more of Infrastructure Canada’s six research priorities;
- The degree to which the proposed research will contribute to the capacity of the federal government to address infrastructure and communities issues affecting Canada or Canadian interests;
- The extent to which the proposed research will generate integrated, multidisciplinary knowledge about infrastructure and communities issues;
- The degree to which the proposed research involves collaboration with various partners such as provinces/territories, municipalities, universities, think-tanks, professional organizations, and other sources of expertise across Canada and internationally;
- The quality of the research proposal, including the objectives, methodology or approach, expected results, dissemination plan, timeframe for completion and budget;
- Evidence of the ability to plan, manage and complete the proposed research successfully;
- The quality of the plan for the dissemination of research results, including strategy and method for knowledge dissemination and transfer, target audience(s) and expected reach; and
- The extent to which resources will be provided by the recipient and other partners.
While Infrastructure Canada can make contributions of up to one hundred percent (100%) of the eligible costs of eligible research activities up to a maximum of $250,000 per project, other sources of funding are strongly encouraged and each proposal is evaluated in part on the degree to which it involves multiple participants and/or funders.
The total funding from different government sources cannot exceed one hundred percent (100%) of total eligible costs for any research study and related activity funded under the PRRS, to the maximum amount set out above.
Funding may be provided for research to be undertaken over a period of up to three years. For this first call, Infrastructure Canada wishes to fund up to 20 studies of varying duration and strongly encourages the submission of research proposals lasting for less than one year.
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