Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 65.89
Liaison Jonathan Rausseo
Submission Date Nov. 25, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Ottawa
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Sylvain Charboneau
VP Research
Office of the Vice-President Research
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
Yes

A brief description of the student sustainability research program:

There are several research institutes and bodies at uOttawa that support students from various disciplines in sustainability research:

The Centre for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability is the University of Ottawa's forum for research, teaching, discussion and advocacy related to environmental law. The Centre aims to:
"Promote policy-relevant environmental law research and teaching.
Encourage collaboration amongst faculty and students on research, teaching and community outreach relating to environmental law..."

The Institute of the Environment (IE) is the University’s hub for environmental sustainability-related research, teaching and other activities. The cross-cutting nature of environmental problems means that there is a critical need for innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and research. Our institute is well positioned to bring together different academic fields and stakeholders, all playing a vital role in understanding environmental problems and developing solutions.

The Institute for Science, Society and Policy is a cross-faculty Institute at the University of Ottawa exploring the links between science, society and policy. Our network includes professors, researchers, practitioners and students from multiple faculties and disciplines both inside and outside uOttawa.

The University also has an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) which is a scholarship meant to stimulate undergraduate students’ interest in research and encourage senior students from all faculties to do graduate studies and pursue a research career. Students have done projects related to sustainability through this program.


Does the institution have a program to encourage academic staff from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
Yes

A brief description of the faculty sustainability research program:

Clean Innovation Research Fund (CIRF)
In 2016, the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors, in response to a Finance and Treasury Committee report on addressing global warming, committed uOttawa to creating a Clean Innovation Research Fund (CIRF), under the purview of the vice-president, research.
In turn, External Relations (ER) committed to raising $1.5M by 2020, with the Office of the VP Research committing to contribute an additional $1.5M, for a total of $3M.
The fund supports research, as well as teaching and graduate scholarships. External Relations has exceeded this fundraising goal, with donors contributing $2.1M to date for initiatives related to climate change.


Has the institution published written policies and procedures that give positive recognition to interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research during faculty promotion and/or tenure decisions?:
Yes

A copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
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The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:

https://www.uottawa.ca/administration-and-governance/policy-86-cross-appointment-academic-staff

Policy 86- Cross-Appointment of Academic Staff: This policy defines the purpose and the conditions of the cross-appointment of a member of the academic staff. A cross-appointment reflects the active and substantial involvement of a professor in the teaching, research, development of academic programs, or supervision of graduate students, in more than one department. A cross-appointment gives a professor a distinctive status which goes beyond the provision of service courses to several departments or faculties.

Interdisciplinary Research Group Funding Opportunity (IRGFO)
The Interdisciplinary Research Group Funding Opportunity (IRGFO) funds uOttawa researchers to develop large interdisciplinary research teams.


Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research:

The University of Ottawa's Library provides research guides on a wide range of disciplines including many that touch on sustainability such as environmental studies, international development, environmental law, corporate social responsibility, indigenous environmental knowledge, and environmental science. The library engages librarians and specialists to aid in research who are specialized in various areas that intersect sustainability. The Library also purchases and provides access to a large amount of research on sustainability through our various multidisciplinary and specialized databases including CABI Environmental Impact and the Environmental Studies and Policy Collection.


Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainability research is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Library information provided by Jeanette Hatherill, Scholarly Communication Librarian


Library information provided by Jeanette Hatherill, Scholarly Communication Librarian

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.