On Wednesday October 18, 8:30 am - 12:30 pm, the Vice-Principal Research portfolio will host an event to update the Queen’s community about the current federal research security support infrastructure and how it impacts research activities. The in-person Town Hall will feature Vice-Principal Research Nancy Ross, as well as a special presentation from Public Safety Canada. Ricardo Smalling (Legal Counsel and Director, Research Data Privacy and Security) and Lisa Kozycz (Research Security and Compliance Advisor) will address how researchers can safeguard their research at Queen's.

The research security landscape in Canada increased in prominence in 2021 with the implementation of Safeguarding Research Guidelines by the federal government and Ontario provincial government. The early implementation of these guidelines was aimed at a narrow subset of funded research programs, and, in February 2023, expanded with directives from both the federal and provincial governments to make them applicable to all research partnerships.

In addition, the federal government has promised new guidelines, applicable to all federally funded programs including the Tri-Agencies and Canada Foundation for Innovation. The new guidelines will have implications for which foreign institutions a researcher can partner with and still be eligible for federal research funding. The Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities have also made several recent changes to their research security processes.

The town hall will bring the Queen’s research community up to date on these changes and provide an opportunity for feedback on how their implementation will impact research programs. In turn, this will support the Vice-Principal Research portfolio in designing processes and supporting infrastructure that is responsive to the needs of our community.

The town hall is open to all faculty members at Queen’s University (including those who are cross-appointed to Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Providence Care, Royal Military College, or St. Lawrence College) engaged in research, as well as research administrators. A light lunch and refreshments will be provided.

To learn more about the event and register, visit the event website.