The Division of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI) is organized into following units which provide a range of services to U of T’s research community.
- Research Services Office (RSO)
- Innovations, Partnerships & Entrepreneurship Office (IPO)
- Research Oversight & Compliance Office (ROCO)
- Portfolio Operations & Budget under the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)
- Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (OVPRI)
The mandate of RSO is to facilitate faculty success in a broad range of domestic and international research funding programs. Working closely with faculty members, divisional academic administrators and research facilitators, RSO seeks to enhance the university’s participation across hundreds of research funding programs and to maximize the share of funding awarded to our faculty members. Their role is to:
- Identify and disseminate information on opportunities and proposal development techniques
- Provide education, outreach and proposal development services including information sharing, communication of funding opportunities, information sessions, internal peer review, sponsor advocacy and relationship management, and institutional review and endorsement
- Lead pre- and post-award administration-funded initiatives from application through to project closure, including:
- Timely administrative review, institutional endorsement and submission
- Fund establishment; expert post-award administration; sponsor liaison and advocacy (e.g. provincial, federal, international, foundations)
- Coordinate the University’s participation in major institutional strategic research competitions (e.g. Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Research Fund)
- Manage major, allocation-based programs (e.g. Canada Research Chairs) and proactively plan and implement institutional responses to special requirements (e.g. equity and diversity targets)
- Manage the Connaught Fund programs
IPO helps build successful partnerships between industry, business, government, and the U of T research community, and manages U of T’s portfolio of intellectual property. Their role is to:
- Support sponsored research, collaboration agreements, and other industry partnership agreements
- Connect industry with U of T researchers
- Negotiate, draft and sign all partnership agreements at U of T
- Manage the inventions disclosure process
- Facilitate commercialization and entrepreneurship
- Co-manage the UTEST accelerator program
- Provide a quarterly Commercialization Report that outlines all commercialization activity undertaken by IPO and inventions under the management of the inventors
- Connect and support U of T’s campus-led accelerators (CLAs) through U of T Entrepreneurship (UTE), which helps coordinate support programs for University-based entrepreneurs and recent graduates
ROCO ensures that the university fulfills its ethical, legal and financial reporting obligations associated with research, as defined by sponsors and the laws of Ontario and Canada. This includes human and animal research ethics, environmental health and safety, and financial reporting and auditing. ROCO manages research risks for the university so that researchers and learners can conduct research in a safe and appropriate environment. A major component of risk management is the creation and implementation of appropriate and stringent policies and procedures that address a wide spectrum of risks. Their role is to:
- Provide appropriate and timely review of research financial reports and coordinate external audits
- Initiate and execute external audits on the research projects whose terms and conditions dictate that an audit is required
- Approve and oversee research involving humans and animals, including monitoring of ongoing studies
- Approve and oversee all work involving biohazards, radiation, lasers and X-rays, chemical safety, and lab safety
- Oversee and manage environmental health and safety, including monitoring the local Joint Health and Safety Committees
- Provide the institutional delegate for National Institutes of Health (NIH) financial conflict of interest declarations
- Provide educational efforts and discussions across the campuses to increase awareness of research integrity and responsible research conduct
Portfolio Operations & Budget under the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) provides leadership, strategic direction, and sound management to operations and business administration within the portfolio. It also acts as a strategic change agent for the VPRI, keeping the Division at the leading edge of performance. The unit is comprised of three sub-units: Budget & Operations (human resources, finance, budget, administration, information technology, and facility operations); Systems & Web Tools; and Education & Outreach. Their role is to:
- Develop and advise on policies, procedures and processes relevant to financial, human resources, and administrative functions within VPRI
- Prepare operating budgets and provide divisional financial planning and forecasting, budget analysis, reporting, monitoring, and internal audit implementation to ensure accountable, compliant, and fiscally responsible funds management
- Lead the development of the VPRI’s annual budget process and manage the portfolio’s finances, human resource planning, health and safety, facility operations, and information technology
- Oversee the allocation, effective use, maintenance and development of space and equipment resources
- Identify need and implement consistent business processes, systems and tools to increase operational efficiency within both the portfolio and the greater U of T research community
- Develop tools to assist the U of T research community in their research administration activities
- Oversee the deployment of outreach and training initiatives focused on the research community, in consultation with the VPRI Executive team
OVPRI works with other units to advance the university’s research mandate. OVPRI does this through strategic planning, consultation, advocacy, and membership on numerous internal and external committees and boards. OVPRI supports, advances, and promotes institutional research priorities. Their role is to:
- Develop and implement the Institutional Strategic Research Plan
- Monitor the changing landscape of research and innovation funding and opportunities and advocate on behalf of the institute
- Manage U of T’s prestigious research awards and honours strategy and work with the divisions to put forward institutional nominations
- Manage cross-portfolio and cross-divisional initiatives
- Analyze and measure metrics of research and innovation as well as the annual Research Funding Reports (including tri-agency Market Share) for divisions
- Create the VPRI Annual Report
For a visual representation of the division, take a look at our organizational chart.
Find the appropriate VPRI staff member to assist you by checking our staff directory.
