Advancing Research and Research-Creation: New Developments

Just in time for the new year are two significant developments for Canada from the Tri-Agency.

The first is the release of the new draft Canadian Research and Development Classification; the second is a new Toolkit with an Accompanying Guide for the Responsible Conduct of Research-Creation (RCRC).

The draft Canadian Research and Development Classification is significant in that it represents the first update to the research taxonomy since the inception of the Tri-Agency. This is important for several reasons, chief among these is the fact that new disciplines have arisen in the past 40 years. OCAD University has been advocating for this change for several years. Design and design research, for example, were not locatable within the previous (extant) taxonomy, despite the more than 500 disciplines and sub-disciplines supported by SSHRC. This was a key feature of our submission to the Review of Fundamental Science. See a summary of our position here.

Key here is upcoming consultations on the implementation of this new classification taxonomy. It will be important for all scholars, but importantly those in Art, Design and Media, to provide input as to how the new standard meets (or does not) their disciplinary needs. The OCAD University Research Office will be coordinating responses.

The launch of the  Toolkit with an Accompanying Guide for the Responsible Conduct of Research-Creation (RCRC) is important as it represents a significant step forward in accounting for the conduct of research as it intersects with artistic practice. OCAD University's Senate approved our new Strategic Research Plan last November, and during the 2 years of consultations on this new document our community had extensive conversations about the issues attendant on research and art - what is referred to as research-creation. During the formation of our new Policy on Research Integrity Policy, a requirement for the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2016), the OCAD University community recognized that research in Art, Design and Media contexts resists easy classification and creates many grey areas where a policy has difficulty in addressing. This new Toolkit will go a long way to addressing these issues.