Canadian federal funding agencies

In 2020 Canada’s federal research funding agencies (collectively known as the Tri-agencies and comprised the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)  and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)) introduced a Reference Group for the Appropriate Review of Indigenous Research in recognition that culturally appropriate review of Indigenous research cannot be achieved without the co-leadership of Indigenous Peoples in the design of policies, processes, and criteria that affect them.

The Reference Group brings together First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals, including Knowledge Keepers, youth, and academics across career stages, to offer guidance to the agencies on ethically sound and culturally safe peer review approaches and practices for research conducted by and with Indigenous rightsholders. The Reference Group’s collective understanding of Indigenous research and Indigenous Knowledges is essential, as they advise the agencies on the following common priority areas:

• Analyzing data related to existing peer review models for Indigenous research, identifying potential improvements, and areas where the agencies can harmonize their processes;
• Developing peer review policies, frameworks, and guidelines to ensure the culturally safe review of Indigenous applications;
• Supporting the development of culturally safe learning materials and tools for reviewers (based on the recommended frameworks, guidelines, and criteria); and
• Analyzing reviewer capacity and developing strategies and frameworks that will increase the number of reviewers able to conduct ethically and culturally safe evaluations of research proposals by and/or with Indigenous communities.

The Reference Group’s work is relevant to the GRC RRA Dimensions #3, 9, 10 and 11, relating to responsible commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in research, responsible assessment of research contributions and achievements, responsible approaches to impact assessment, and responsible approaches to reviewer and panel recruitment and training. The Reference Group was established following significant policy and legislative changes, briefly outlined below, which extend beyond the research community’s conventional commitments to EDI and emanate from Canada’s constitutional obligations to Indigenous Rightsholders and associated frameworks.

The Reference Group aligns with the Tri-agency strategic plan Setting New Directions to Support Indigenous Research and Research Training in Canada (SIRC), through which the agencies aim to create inclusive research environments that honor Indigenous knowledge systems, knowledge stewardship and worldviews and that support Indigenous research, researchers, and trainees as part of Canada’s ongoing journey of reconciliation, grounded in respect for Indigenous rights, reciprocity, accountability and collaboration. By fostering meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities and organizations, and increasing the participation of Indigenous researchers and trainees in Canada’s research ecosystem, the agencies strive to support Indigenous leadership and self-determination in research. These efforts reflect a continuous commitment to reconciliation, ensuring Indigenous voices shape Canada’s research landscape now and into the future.

The impacts of colonization in Canada have caused profound and ongoing harms to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) issued 94 Calls to Action and highlighted the important role of research in advancing understanding of reconciliation. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was introduced into Canadian law in 2021 as a key step in renewing the Government of Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples, with important implications for research ethics, accountability and Indigenous knowledge stewardship. Along with other legislative and policy instruments that have research-related components, like the Indigenous Languages Act (2019) and the Inuit Nunangat Policy (2022), the UNDRIP Act contributed to creating an enabling environment for the initiatives featured in this case study.

In 2017, the Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) was created to increase cooperation and coordination among Canada’s three federal research granting agencies and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) in collaboration with other federal departments and agencies. In response to the TRC's call to establish a new relationship with Indigenous Peoples, the CRCC set a key priority to advance Indigenous research and reconciliation. 

Aligned with this priority, SSHRC organized on behalf of the federal granting agencies a national dialogue to co-develop with Indigenous communities a new, interdisciplinary Indigenous research and research training model, leading to the implementation of the Setting New Directions to Support Indigenous Research and Research Training in Canada (SIRC) strategic plan.

Consultations that informed the SIRC identified the following key issues and concerns, as well as opportunities for actions:

• Decolonizing research
• Data governance and intellectual property rights
• Research ethics and protocols
• Funding eligibility and accessibility
• Research partnerships and community-led research
• Supporting Indigenous students
• Indigenous leadership and representation

As a collaborative Tri-agency initiative, the strategy’s key directions aim to address these issues and opportunities by:

• building relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples;
• supporting the research priorities of Indigenous Peoples;
• creating greater funding accessibility to granting agency programs; and
• championing Indigenous leadership, self-determination and capacity-building in research.

This strategic plan reflects the agencies’ and the CRCC’s commitment to respond to the TRC’s call to establish a new relationship with Indigenous Peoples, one that creates a more equal society that respects the value of traditional knowledge systems and is based on mutual respect.

In doing so, SIRC builds on longstanding Indigenous-led efforts to advance culturally safe and relevant forms of knowledge production and stewardship that have resulted in foundational research protocols and initiatives, such as the First Nations principles of ownership, control, access and possession (OCAP®), the National Inuit Strategy on Research and the Principles of Ethical Métis Research. SIRC also complements and strengthens previous Tri-agency and agency-specific initiatives and guidelines, co-developed with Indigenous partners, including SSHRC’s Guidelines for the Merit Review of Indigenous Research, CIHR’s 10 commitments to strengthen Indigenous health research in Canada and the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (Chapter 9: Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada, currently under revision). 

The Reference Group and supporting Tri-agency staff jointly develop the workplan. It reflects both Tri-agency priorities and the priorities of diverse Indigenous rightsholders, and is designed to remain flexible and responsive to evolving needs and opportunities.

The Group’s current focus is to develop a unique peer review process that will be applied to the new Indigenous Innovation and Leadership in Research (IILR) Network Grants. This funding opportunity results from targeted investments by the Canadian government to support Indigenous researchers and their communities. The IILR Network Grants funding opportunity was co-developed in close collaboration with the Indigenous Leadership Circle in Research (the advisory body that provides guidance and oversight for the implementation of SIRC) and agency staff after consultation with various Indigenous groups. The Reference Group is now leading the development of an appropriate review model for this funding opportunity.

This Reference Group offered the following research assessment guidance as part of ensuring a culturally appropriate peer review process for the IILR Network Grants: 

• Developed new Indigenous specific evaluation criteria that are reflective of Indigenous priorities and culture.
  • • The group highlighted the need to rethink how research training is understood and valued, extending beyond institution-centered models of highly qualified personnel (college and university undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, technicians, artisans, tradespeople and research assistants and associates) to include learning in its many forms. This includes reciprocal and relational learning involving students, youth, community members, Knowledge Keepers, Elders, and others engaged in research and knowledge creation.  They emphasized moving away from hierarchical approaches towards learning relationships that honor Indigenous knowledge systems and support mutual benefit across communities and institutions.
    • Across all criteria, the group emphasized the importance of reframing the language from deficit-based perspectives to strength-based ones, embed in relational accountability, and prioritize Indigenous ways of knowing.   
• Developed new guidelines that complement the established conflict of interest policy, focusing on relationships among application participants and emphasizing transparency and shared accountability through the committee.
• Adopted a consensus-based assessment model, specific to an Indigenous context.
• Required the inclusion of an Elder to guide the peer review process and its reviewers.
• Required the establishment of a fully Indigenous review committee.

2015 – The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) issued its Calls to Action,  highlighting the important role of research in advancing understanding of reconciliation.
2018 – The federal government committed $3.8 million to SSHRC to support this priority through the development of a Tri-agency strategic plan identifying new ways of doing research by and with Indigenous communities.
2020 – Launch of the strategic plan Setting New Directions to Support Indigenous Research and Research Training in Canada.
2020 – Establishment of the Reference Group for the Appropriate Review of Indigenous Research, a Tri-agency advisory group composed of First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals.
2024 – Federal Budget announcement of $30M to support Indigenous researchers and their communities.
2025 – Launch of the new Indigenous Innovation and Leadership in Research Network Grants.  The Reference Group is playing a key role in developing an ethically and culturally appropriate peer review process for these grants that could be adapted for other funding opportunities.