From a concerned source, here’s the text of emails the presidents of the three academic granting councils sent out to stakeholders last Thursday…while a certain lanky visitor to Ottawa was providing handy cover. I don’t think the cuts detailed here are catastrophic, in and of themselves, but I am not expert and I look forward to hearing from informed readers.

First, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, or SSHRC:

Dear Colleague:

We are writing to summarize the results for SSHRC of the recent
federal budget.

1) In Budget 2009, the Government of Canada allocated $17.5 million
over three years to SSHRC for Canada Graduate Scholarships to fund an
additional 400 master’s and 100 doctoral scholarships “focused on
business-related degrees.” Subsequent to this Budget decision by the
Government of Canada, our responsibility here at SSHRC is the
administration of these additional scholarships in keeping with our
mandate to support excellence in research and research training in the
social sciences and humanities.

As demonstrated over SSHRC’s thirty-year history, students pursuing
research-based graduate degrees across the social sciences and
humanities significantly enrich understanding of topics important to
our society. Moreover, SSHRC award-winners from all research degree
programs go on to benefit all sectors, including the business world.
Directly, and indirectly, the results continue to make significant
contributions to addressing the world’s most pressing challenges, as
illustrated in the current financial crisis by the central role of
business historians focused on the 1930s; philosophers focused on
business ethics; political scientists focused on regulatory
frameworks; economists focused on stimulus strategies; management
researchers focused on corporate operations; sociologists focused on
labour markets; literary scholars focused on the new digital economy;
musicologists focused on the creative industries; and so on.

At the origins of such diverse contributions is SSHRC’s hallmark
commitment to excellence; every student who receives a SSHRC award has
been selected through a rigorous expert adjudication process involving
top scholars in the social sciences and humanities. It is with this
principle of adhering to the highest levels of international
excellence that SSHRC fulfills its mandate and thereby enables the
“best and brightest” to contribute so significantly to Canada and the
world.

2) The Budget also included the results of Strategic Review, a process
which requires all government departments and agencies, on a four-year
cycle, to review all program spending, and to assess how and whether
these programs are aligned with core mandates, and how they are
effective, efficient and meet the priorities of Canadians. SSHRC was
one of 16 organizations, along with NSERC and CIHR, that participated
in the process this past year. The outcome of Strategic Review for
SSHRC is as follows:

a) SSHRC funding is reduced for health-related research that is
eligible under the mandate of CIHR. Out of approximately $20 million
currently invested by SSHRC in health research, a reduction of $5.59
million will be phased in over three years: approximately $1.05
million in fiscal year 2009-10, $2.65 million in fiscal year 2010-11
and $1.89 million in fiscal year 2011-12. SSHRC will continue to fund
research and training for which the intended outcomes add to our
understanding and knowledge in the social sciences and humanities. A
set of guiding principles has been developed to assist applicants in
determining whether their applications are suitable for SSHRC
consideration. These guidelines will be made publicly available as
soon as possible. In the meantime, SSHRC has begun working with CIHR
to ensure a coordinated approach to the implementation of this decision.

Continue…