Impact Through Innovation and Service
2015 Annual Report – Division of the Vice President, Research & Innovation
Executive Summary
U of T witnessed many significant achievements in research and innovation this year, including:
U of T is the only Canadian university to rank among the top 50 globally across all premier international field rankings. It is the highest-ranked Canadian university in 20 out of 22 such fields. U of T ranks among the top 10 most influential universities in the world on a prestigious list that includes Harvard, UC Berkeley, Oxford, Stanford, MIT and Cambridge.
Research that feeds innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization is thriving at the University of Toronto. U of T is Canada’s most innovative university and among the top 40 innovative universities in the world, according to the 2015 Reuters report.
U of T faculty continue to be successful in securing prestigious national and international grants. A $114 million research award – the largest single research award in the University’s history – from the inaugural competition of the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) – for our Medicine by Design.
Supporting the Three Priorities: re-imagining undergraduate education, leveraging our urban location, and international impact. Over 50% of papers published by U of T researchers are joint efforts with institutions outside of Canada.
Overseeing 9,000 active research funds, working with faculty members to ensure that while all compliance obligations are met, the budgets, terms and conditions continue to support and enable the realization of their research objectives.
We have also implemented some important innovations and enhancements with respect to the tools, resources and services we provide to the U of T research community, including:
Launching My Research Animal Protocols (MRAP), an online system to help facilitate and expedite the submission and approval of research protocol requests, the newest product of the Research Administration Improvement and System Enhancement (RAISE) initiative.
Delivering the first set of information workshops through the Strengthening the Administration of Research (STAR) program, an educational and outreach initiative to support researchers and staff by helping to clearly identify roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in the financial reporting and audit process, and educate business officers in various aspects of the financial management of Restricted Research Funds.