Federal funding to assist with the indirect costs of research that was announced today is vital to the continued expansion of research activity that is relevant to northern communities.

The University of Northern British Columbia has received $584,000 to help offset the costs of conducting research.

"There are many university services and departments that support research and the Federal Indirect Costs program recognizes that there is a cost to the University for conducting research," says Max Blouw, Vice-President for Research at UNBC. "When researchers receive funding to undertake research, they often require equipment, hire research assistants, communicate research results, and access information - all of these activities create work for other university departments. This funding provides resources to assist those units."

UNBC's funding announced by the Federal Government today is supporting staff positions and communications technology that are necessary to undertaking research. The amount of funding committed by the Government is based on UNBC's research activity in recent years.

"UNBC is a very research-intensive university, with many of our faculty actively involved in questions that relate to social, economic, environmental, technological, and cultural issues of northern BC and its communities," says Dr Blouw. "Ultimately, this funding will allow UNBC to engage in even more research. That has immediate economic benefits as well as long-term impacts on our quality of life in the North."