The Government of Canada has introduced new guidelines and policies to strengthen research security across Canadian universities. These measures are designed to protect Canada’s research, intellectual property, and partnerships from unauthorized access, theft, and misuse while continuing to support open, international collaboration.
Research Security Liaison
UNBC's Research Security Liaison, Melanie Wong, provides guidance on risk assessments, due diligence, and compliance with federal research-security policies, including the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC) and the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP).
Melanie is available to answer your research-security questions and assist you in navigating or implementing the STRAC Policy as it pertains to your research.
You can reach Melanie at researchsecurity@unbc.ca.
Government of Canada Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy)
This policy states that federal grant applications that involve research aiming to advance a listed Sensitive Technology Research Area will not be funded if any member of the research team is affiliated with, or is in receipt of funding or in-kind support, from a Named Research Organization that poses a risk to Canada's national security.
Information about the policy can be found at the following links:
Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy)
National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP)
These guidelines integrate national security considerations into the development, evaluation, and funding of research partnerships, to better position researchers, research organizations and government funders to undertake consistent, risk-targeted due diligence of potential risks to research security.
Information about the guidelines can be found at the following links:
National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships
Tri-agency guidance on the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP)
Other Research Security Resources
Tri-agency Guidance on Research Security This website provides guidance to members of the research community regarding the implementation of the federal granting agencies' research security measures, with links to resources including the tri-agency's guidance on the STRAC and NSGRP policies.
Safeguarding Your Research This website provides information on how to safeguard research and innovation that is the product of collaborations and partnerships between governments, businesses, and academics.
Mitigating Your Research Security Risks This website provides information that can be used for the development of risk mitigation plans, to reduce the likelihood and impacts of risks to a level that is acceptable to the researcher, their institution, the federal research funding organization, and the Government of Canada.
Research Security Training Courses This page provides access to three publicly available courses, provided by the Government of Canada, to better equip Canadian researchers with the knowledge and resources to protect their research.
Conducting Open Source Due Diligence for Safeguarding Research Partnerships This publication contains guidance on voluntary open source due diligence methods for those looking to complete the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships.
Safeguarding Research in Canada: A Guide for University Policies and Practices This guide from the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities provides guidelines for institutions to consider in developing their local best practices, given their context.
NSERC and Canada's Research Security Policies Webinar Slides This webinar was presented by NSERC's Research Security Team in February 2024.