PSE R&D - Deep Dive

In addition to the Canadian Association of University Business Offices (CAUBO) data, Statistics Canada data on research and development (R&D) performed by the higher education sector provides insight on the funding sources underlying the trends.

Statistics Canada data, which draw on broader funding sources than CAUBO data, and include R&D performed by the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) in addition to universities, show $499 million worth of R&D was carried about by Nova Scotia’s higher education sector in 2021/2022. This represents an increase of 35.8 per cent compared to 2011/2012. Of that funding, $355 million (71 per cent of the total) went to R&D in natural sciences and engineering, with the remaining $143 million going to social sciences and humanities research. The value of research has risen at an average rate of 3.1 per cent since the baseline year.

Funding comes from five major sources: 1) the federal government, 2) provincial government, 3) private businesses, 4) private non-profits, and 5) the higher education sector itself. The higher education sector funds about 58% of its own R&D activity, spending $288 million in 2021/2022. This is followed by the federal government with $138 million in funding. In addition to being the largest funders, these two sectors have been the steadiest sources of spending growth over the past decade. 

Most higher education R&D activity funded by the provincial government, private business, and non-profits is in natural sciences and engineering. Together, these two groups funded $61.2 million worth of R&D in those categories, compared to $8.8 million in the social sciences and humanities.

On a per capita basis, Nova Scotia’s higher education sector performs a higher value of R&D than the national average at $486 per person. That is due to above average per capita funding provided by the higher education sector itself, as well as the federal government. The provincial government, business enterprise and private non-profits spend less per capita on education R&D activity than the national average.

CHANGES TO THE INDICATOR, BASELINE, OR TARGET:

• No changes were made to the indicator, baseline, or target.
• Contextual numbers were removed from the statement of the goal. The target was assumed to be the doubling of research funding, not the $360 million quoted for context in the Report of the Nova Scotia Commission on Building our New Economy. This was done to keep the goal consistent in case of future historical revisions to the source data.