About

VIU’s new Strategic Plan, People, Place, Potential, sets clear and inspiring goals for Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity (SRCA). The 2022–2027 SRCA Foundation Plan builds on the strong work already happening at VIU and helps keep that progress growing over the next five years. It also makes sure everything aligns with the main Strategic Plan and puts the right supports in place to reach SRCA goals.

To achieve excellence, VIU uses a “life-cycle” approach to research. This means the university supports people at every stage—from learning and skill-building to creating new ideas and sharing them with the world. This support helps students and faculty grow, work together, and create knowledge and solutions that benefit society, the economy, and the environment. These successes are celebrated both inside and outside the university.

The goal of this plan is to build a strong culture of research and learning across VIU.

Life-cycle approach to excellence in SRCA

Grow talent

• Attract talented students and staff
• Build skills for research and creative work

Connect and work together

• Create chances for people to connect
• Build partnerships with communities
• Support research centres and institutes

Create knowledge

• Provide helpful services across the university
• Support people to use their skills and ideas

Share and communicate

• Raise awareness of VIU research
• Share knowledge to increase impact

Celebrate success

• Recognize and celebrate achievements
• Track progress and keep improving

This life-cycle approach guides the goals of the plan. It shows that excellence comes from growing talent, working together, supporting new ideas, sharing results, and celebrating success. It also ensures that students, faculty, and teams can access the support they need at every stage of their work.

Vancouver Island University (VIU) is a teaching-focused university with many areas of expertise. Its research focuses on a wide range of topics that reflect both the university’s strengths and the needs of the region. These focus areas are outlined in the Strategic Research Plan.

Health, Resilience, and Well-Being
This area studies human and environmental health. The goal is to improve how people and systems adapt, so they can be stronger and healthier. Researchers work across many fields to better understand issues like changing populations, future health needs, climate change, food security, and community development.

Integrated Science, Technology, and Environment
VIU supports research centres where scientists and technologists work together to solve complex problems. Over the past decade, research has grown in areas like environmental chemistry, aquaculture, genomics, and fish research. This work is important both locally and around the world.

Resilience of Island, Coastal, and Rural Regions
VIU is located in a coastal and mostly rural region facing changes such as climate change, population shifts, and globalization. Research in this area focuses on how communities respond and adapt to these challenges. The results help guide planning and development while adding to knowledge about resilience.

Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Social Change
This area looks at how businesses, organizations, and communities change and grow. Researchers study new ideas, business models, and social changes, and how they impact society. Their work helps improve practices both inside and outside academic settings.

Culture, Heritage, and Creative Expression
This focus area explores how people express culture through art, literature, and history. Researchers study past and present cultures, analyze texts and art, and create new works. This helps build understanding of cultural identity and creative expression.

Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice
VIU is committed to respect, inclusion, and reconciliation. Research in this area focuses on fairness and equal access to opportunities for all people. It supports learning and action on important social issues affecting diverse communities.

Teaching and Learning
This area supports research on teaching practices. Faculty study how students learn and how teaching can improve. This work helps create better learning experiences and allows VIU to contribute to research on education both locally and globally.

Role of the Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity Office

The Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity (SRCA) Office works to build a strong research culture at Vancouver Island University. This means creating and sharing new ideas, innovations, and creative work. These efforts help improve society, the economy, and the environment. The SRCA team works with groups across the university to carry out the Strategic Research Plan.

The SRCA Office also makes sure VIU follows the rules in the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions. This includes:

1. Making sure there are proper spaces, tools, and systems in place to support research, research training, and other funded activities.
2. Creating and following clear policies and systems to make sure all funded work follows laws and the rules set by funding agencies.

How does SRCA support researchers?

• Planning and organizing training to help people build research skills 
• Helping researchers find funding from both inside and outside the university 
• Supporting researchers when they write proposals and apply for funding 
• Reviewing research contracts and helping to write them
• Creating and managing systems that help researchers handle their funding, such as setting up accounts, sharing award news, hiring research staff, and tracking reports 
• Helping researchers find community or industry partners 
• Supporting researchers in sharing their work and results 
• Promoting research that involves working with the community 
• Supporting university committees 
• Organizing the review process for research projects that involve people or animals 
• Raising awareness and celebrating research and creative work 
• Helping protect new ideas and inventions 
• Acting as a main contact with funding organizations 
• Helping students apply for undergraduate and graduate research awards and scholarships 
• Creating and managing systems for research scholarships and awards 
• Organizing training to improve research skills 
• Planning events to share and celebrate student research

How does SRCA support student researchers?

• Helping students apply for undergraduate and graduate research awards and scholarships 
• Creating and managing systems for research scholarships and awards 
• Organizing training and learning opportunities to build research skills 
• Planning events to share and celebrate student research 
• Working with funding agencies as the main contact person