VPRI Self-Reflection

Authored by Dugan O’Neil as part of his VPRI review and consideration of reappointment process – fall 2025

A lot has changed at SFU (and in the world) over the last 4-5 years. When I took on the role of VPRI in the summer of 2021, we had a strong focus on supporting SFU researchers through the pandemic. Today the external context is quite different, with a weakening of our connections to the US and the resulting impetus to strengthen connections to Europe and Asia; a change in national immigration policies and the resulting impact on the university budget; and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the resulting changes in the way we do research and train students.

Throughout all of these external challenges and pressures, SFU research continues to grow and thrive. In fiscal 2021, SFU set a record for external research income at $171M. In fiscal 2025, the university shattered that record with more than $285M in external research income. We have encountered a few storms but have weathered them relatively well.

Below you will find a short self-reflection document which will cover some of the highlights of the last four-plus years. I look forward to discussing this history and the road ahead with you in the weeks to come.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic was highly disruptive to research programs across the university. While everyone was affected in some way, some programs (e.g., community-based work) were severely disrupted. While funders were sensitive to this and provided additional financial support, many researchers had to make a hard pivot to different research topics or approaches.

There was also opportunity in the pandemic. There was a need for research to inform policymaking and a tremendous urgency in studying both policy and biomedical controls for the disease. SFU researchers distinguished themselves as policy influencers and trusted public voices during the pandemic.

I want to acknowledge the tremendous amount of work performed by SFU community members to adapt to challenging circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic. While we responded well, many long-term issues were effectively put on hold. This included the creation of a new Strategic Research Plan, which was delayed for a year while our focus was elsewhere.

The Strategic Research Plan (SRP)

In 2022, we undertook the preparation of a new Strategic Research Plan (SRP). This work began with a community consultation, both university-wide and Faculty-by-Faculty. A draft SRP was then circulated to the community for comment before the document was finalized and launched in January 2023.

A different approach was taken to the SFU SRP than had been used in the past. The SRP itself is very short (four pages) and is focused on values, approaches to research, and priority research areas. It also incorporates the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) as part of its framework. This high-level document, a requirement for federal funding, is meant to last five years and to detail our institutional vision and approach to research over that period.

A separate document, known as the SRP Implementation Plan, was published alongside the SRP. This living document defines ten cross-cutting priority projects that were identified through the 2022 community consultations. Some of these projects were launched immediately, while others were launched as part of the 2024 or 2025 review cycles. The status of each project is published on the SRP Implementation Plan website. Annual progress reports and a 2025 mid-term report are also available at that site. 

The ten priority projects of the SRP Implementation Plan span a broad range of areas, issues, and timelines. Some, like the “Supporting Postdoctoral Fellows” project, had clear objectives that could, with a burst of activity, be accomplished in the first two years of the plan. Those projects are now transitioning from short-term projects into a new steady-state way of operating. Others, like the “Incorporating Indigenous Perspectives into Research Ethics” project, are complex and involve conversation with many in the SFU community before choosing the best path forward. Those projects are in progress and are expected to require continued effort for the span of the 5-year SRP.

These ten priority projects are not the sole province of the VPRI portfolio. They often involve collaboration between different units across the university to address the systemic challenges they identify. I am proud of the work done so far in the name of these ten projects and look forward to continuing the work through 2028.

Portfolio Structure and Responsibilities

Over the last four-plus years, the structure and responsibilities of the VPRI portfolio have changed significantly. For example, in 2021 the “I” in VPRI represented “International”, and in 2025 it represents “Innovation”. Some important changes include:

• The institutional responsibility for sustainability moved from the VP Finance and Administration to the VPRI portfolio. 
• SFU International moved from the VPRI portfolio to the provost’s portfolio. 
• The SFU Library moved from VPRI to the provost’s portfolio. 
• The VPRI became responsible for developing an institutional AI strategy, spanning all areas (research, education, operations, community engagement).

There have been other structural changes at the university which have also affected the role of the VPRI. For example, the role of VP People, Equity and Inclusion was created. We now collaborate closely with that portfolio on equity and inclusion issues, including anti-bias training, nominations for equity-focused awards (e.g., NSERC Robbins-Olivier Award), and other areas in which VPPEI has become a centre of expertise at the university. With sustainability as part of the VPRI portfolio, we are also partners with VPPEI and the university indigenous executive lead on embedding the values expressed in the SFU What’s Next Strategy in the daily work of the institution.

One of the major changes to the VPRI portfolio has been an increase in focus on knowledge mobilization and innovation. The VPRI title change was more than symbolic. The position of AVP Knowledge Mobilization and Innovation was created, a new Technology Licensing Office (TLO) was built, the university IP policy underwent its first update in more than 20 years and we have created a new i2I Research and Innovation Institute, funded by the NSERC Lab2Market program. In addition, CERi and the Knowledge Mobilization Hub, created more than five years ago, were put on stable footing as part of the portfolio, after having been created as temporary initiatives.

Another major change has been the expansion of the role of the VPRI as an operator of core facilities and other self-funded business units. In addition to a growing number of formally designated university core facilities, VPRI operates externally funded units such as the BC Centre for Agritech Innovation, or SFU Knowledge Link (see below). A significant fraction of the university employees attributed to the VPRI portfolio are now externally funded and are part of one of these self-funded units.

Building Platforms and Partnerships

Part of our job in VPRI is to build the support system SFU researchers need to remain on the cutting edge. This can involve the creation of new support units – like the Community Engaged Research Initiative (CERi) or the Knowledge Mobilization Hub. It can involve the creation of new university core facilities like WearTech Labs, or the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), or upgrading existing facilities like 4D Labs. We have been very active over the last few years in identifying new types of supports that help our researchers adapt to the changing research landscape and the changing expectations of our external funders.

We also build new research and collaboration platforms with external partners. These platforms create opportunities for SFU researchers to engage with new partners, new funders, and new research communities. Recent examples include:

• The Civic Innovation Lab(CIL): CIL is an independent not-for-profit corporation co-founded by SFU and the City of Burnaby in 2022. It identifies the needs of the City of Burnaby in priority areas such as climate action, mobility, smart data, equity and intersectionality, and truth and reconciliation and brings SFU expertise to bear on those issues. So far, 31 SFU leads from 15 SFU departments have engaged with 10 city departments and have created opportunities for more than 100 SFU students to engage with real-world issues facing the City of Burnaby.
• The BC Centre For Agritech Innovation (BCCAI): BCCAI is a department within SFU that has been funded by Pacific Economic Development Canada and the Province of British Columbia to grow the agriculture sector in BC through the adoption of new technologies and approaches. It has, so far, launched 35 projects partnered with industry, engaging more than 660 partners across BC.
• The Clean Hydrogen Hub: A new SFU core facility being built on the south side of our Burnaby campus, the Clean Hydrogen Hub is a platform to enable collaboration in clean energy technologies. Funded by all three levels of government as well as industry partners, it will be a demonstration site for cutting-edge Canadian technologies and an important research site for SFU.
• The Cedar Supercomputing Centre: SFU has designed and operated shared national supercomputing infrastructure for more than 20 years. Over that time, we have built unique facilities and expertise to support a wide range of computing and data-intensive research programs. We have recently deployed Canada’s most powerful public supercomputer (Fir) and have embarked on ambitious industry partnerships, which should create new opportunities for SFU researchers.
• SFU Knowledge Link: Government policymakers and other knowledge users often seek the synthesis of complex information to inform policy decisions. SFU Knowledge Link is a new service created at SFU, supported by the Ministry of Health. It provides opportunities for researchers from across BC to engage in on-demand synthesis work to inform policy decisions across a range of policy areas.

International academic partnerships represent another area that benefits our research community. Over the last 4 years we have established important partnerships with several international networks:

• We have joined the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU). Within APRU, we have been very active in several APRU priority areas including Sustainable Cities and Landscapes, Food Security and Agritech, and the Indigenous and First Nations Knowledges Network. This creates opportunities for SFU researchers to collaborate with scholars from leading institutions across the region. 
• We have recently become the only Canadian member of the Aurora Network. Aurora is an EU-funded network of 9 universities from 9 different European countries. The universities work together on research, education, and to support societal impact. As Canada emphasizes its strong connections to the European Union, SFU will be engaging with Aurora partner institutions (and others) to further opportunities for collaboration and exchange. 
• In East Africa and Central Asia, we have been working closely with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and, in particular, with Aga Khan University and the University of Central Asia. Faculty members and students from at least six Faculties have been engaged in work at the Arusha Climate and Environment Research Centre (ACER) as well as the formation of a five-university consortium in Tanzania.

Research Activity and Reputation

There has been an enormous increase in research activity at SFU over the last ten years. One indicator, research income, has increased from just under $110M in 2016 to more than $285M in 2025. The figure below illustrates this growth, along with a diversification of research funding sources. Tri-agency funding now represents less than 20% of the total. Industry and not-for-profit funding has exceeded tri-agency funding at SFU in five of these ten years. That said, in 2025 all federal sources combined still represent about 50% of external funding received.

While SFU has long had strong results (i.e.. above average success rates) in many tri-agency funding competitions, we have had less success in challenging categories that would influence our national reputation. For example, five years ago we had never received a Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC), were in the midst of a long drought in NSERC CREATE, and had received no awards from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF). We have since had some breakthroughs, hosting 3 active CERCs and 3 active CREATEs. However, we have still not broken through in CFREF or in the New Frontiers in Research Fund Transformation Stream. A goal for the next five years is to succeed in some of these high-profile national competitions that have shut us out in the past.

In addition to supporting the growth of research activity at the institution, it is the role of the VPRI to grow the international research reputation of the institution. Unfortunately, reputation is a (badly) lagging indicator. Over the last five years we have participated in two major international ranking systems that do not take reputation into account – the World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI) and the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. In both cases, we have done very well and have celebrated widely. For example, we have been the #1 university in Canada in the WURI rankings for five years in a row and are in the top 15 in the world in this ranking. It is noteworthy that WURI is a blind peer-review-based ranking system, minimizing the effect of pre-existing reputation.

Traditional ranking systems, such as the QS World University Rankings and THE World University Rankings use surveys of tens of thousands of academics around the world to judge institutional academic reputation. A lack of votes for SFU is an indication of a lack of awareness of SFU research strengths, rather than an indication that our reputation is poor. Before COVID-19, SFU did some focused pilot studies of our international reputation with promising results. In 2025 we have again turned our attention to the international perception of the institution – and to establishing an SFU international brand.