The relevant sponsor’s policies and those associated with research activities, such as but not limited to:

• Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions
• Guidelines and Tools to Implement Research Security
• Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans

Search for these policies on the University Secretariat’s Policy Listing:

• Gifts, Recognition, & Donations
• Carleton University Research Centres
• Conflict of Interest and Commitment
• Indirect Costs of Research Policy
• Payments to Individuals and Business Entities
• Procurement Policy
• Signing Authorities Policy
• Travel and Related Expenses

Research requires both direct and indirect investments. Operational maintenance of research infrastructure requires reinvestment on a significant scale. The indirect costs listed below are expenses that must be included in budget requests to external sponsors of research:

• Space and Utilities
• Laboratory and Office Furniture
• Library Services
• Research Financial Services
• Research Ethics, Animal Care and Biohazards
• Payroll
• Liability Insurance
• Occupational Health and Safety

Learn more by referencing Carleton’s Indirect Costs Policy (found in Policies Listings).

Due to the pandemic, “Type A” RA payments have changed and are being issued as an advanced lump sum directly deposited into the student’s student account. If the student has a balance owing in their student account, the RA payment is put towards that balance. Please have your student check their student balance, and contact Student Accounts if they have any questions.

For “Type B” RA payments – if the box titled “Payment to Include Employment Source Deductions” was checked off in the Graduate RA system, the payment would have been reduced by approximately 14% to accommodate these source deductions. Unlike “Type A” payments, “Type B” payments are put through the payroll system where the student gets paid as per the University’s payroll schedule. If your student hasn’t been paid at all, it may be because they haven’t accepted the job offer in Carleton Central.

1. When will my research account be opened?
   • You will receive an email notification from Research Financial Services that your fund has been opened. The message will contain critical information about your funding, so please read it carefully.
2. How can I find the balance?
   • Check your research fund and its balance in FAST.
   • If you have questions, please email financial.systems@carleton.ca. Training is available for the Finance Reporting application, Budget Adjustment and Forecasting (BAR), and Journal Voucher applications.

Any research funding issued in a foreign currency will be converted to Canadian dollars, and the spending power in the fund will be assigned based on the exchange rate used at the date of fund creation. Researchers are thus encouraged to build their budgets in Canadian dollars to ensure that sufficient funding exists to conduct the work.

The exchange rate is determined on the day the payment is made. Therefore, a calculation made at the time of application is likely to have a variance from that which will be processed.

For example, if 1.00 CAD = 0.78 USD, at an exchange rate of 0.7808 (using nominal rate). In this case, we recommend assuming a 1.00 CAD = 0.68 USD to ensure that sufficient funding is requested in case the exchange rate fluctuates over the course of the project.

Note: Researchers are encouraged to use the Bank of Canada rate and then apply an additional reduction (usually 10¢) to the rate of exchange.

An honorarium is a nominal payment made in recognition of a specific activity. An honorarium is not intended to pay for a service; it serves as a token of appreciation.

The amount of the honorarium is not intended to represent the fair value of the contribution made to the university: it should only be a small portion of what the service would normally cost. Honorarium payments greater than $500 are reviewed and confirmed by Financial Services to ensure the payment meets the criteria outlined above. Honorariums are not paid to individuals who are university employees.

This depends on the terms and conditions of the grant. For Tri-Council grants, NSERC and SSHRC permit the transfer of grant funds (accountable cash advances) to co-applicants and co-directors, but not to collaborators. This means that payments to collaborators must operate on a cost-recovery basis.

Further, SSHRC stipulates that “with the exception of certain travel- and subsistence-related expenses, SSHRC does not cover expenses that research collaborators incur in the conduct of research or research-related activity.” It is thus important to carefully consider whether an individual should be a co-applicant or a collaborator on your project.

NSERC only permits the transfer of grant funds to NSERC-eligible institutions (i.e., only to Canadian post-secondary institutions). All other costs would be treated on a cost-reimbursable basis.

Not all postdoctoral fellows are unionized at Carleton. Unionization depends on the funding. Your PDF is in the union if you are contributing at least half of the minimum hosting salary.

All postdoctoral fellows are eligible for benefits; however, they are not automatically enrolled in the plan. If your PDF is in the union and they opt into the benefit plan, you will be responsible for paying 70 per cent of the monthly benefit premiums. If your PDF is not in the union, then they are required to pay 100 per cent of their monthly benefit premiums.

Yes. The Collective Agreement stipulates minimum gross salary/stipend for unionized post-doctoral candidates.

Also, note that on May 1st of each year of the current collective agreement, unionized PDFs receive a 2% annual salary increase. Please ensure that you budget for this amount.

Yes, you need to meet with Graduate Studies.

For Domestic Postdoctoral Fellows (PDFs): Graduate Studies requires a minimum of 1.5 months advance notice of the PDF’s start date to ensure they are registered on time. This also ensures that their first payday is not missed.

For International PDFs: Graduate Studies requires a minimum of 3.5 months advance notice of the PDF’s start date so the PDF has time to apply for a work permit.