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Carleton drops out of Canada’s research top 20

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Carleton is no longer one of the top 20 best research institutions in Canada, according to the Research Infosource Inc. rankings released Nov. 1.

The university dropped from 20th to 22nd in the rankings, which were published by the Toronto-based company. Carleton also ranked eighth provincially, down from fifth last year, with the University of Toronto leading the way.

Carleton’s slip in the rankings is “due to the 3.2 per cent of research income loss” in 2009-10, which is the fiscal year the 2011 rankings are based on, according to Ron Freedman, CEO of Research Infosource Inc.

According to the publication, Carleton brought in $70 million in research income in 2009-10 — slightly lower from the $72 million they gained the previous year.

However, “the numbers are nothing particularly notable,” Freedman said. “What’s important is the long-term trends.”  

Carleton has “absolutely risen over the years,” he said, although in terms of dollars alone, Carleton’s numbers are the same as they were in 2005.

“Research funding is often tied to large projects, so when a project is completed, the impact can be noticeable,” said Ian Calvert, Carleton’s assistant vice-president (institutional research and planning) via email. 

“For example, the Ontario government has contributed significantly towards the very successful SNOLAB (Sudbury Neutrino Observatory),” he said. “It is my understanding that the funding for this project was significantly lower in 2009-10 than in the previous year.”

The list accounts for the amount of research funding, research intensity, and total number of publications from research in the universities and its publication’s impact in order to rank the top 50 Universities in Canada.

Carleton has consistently placed in the top 20 for the past eight years of annual rankings, according to Research Infosource Inc.

Freedman explained that research intensity is “a measure used to see how much on average, each full-time faculty person brings in to research in each university.”

Research income growth in Ontario rose by 2.1 per cent over the last year, compared to Quebec’s 8.1 per cent and Saskatchewan’s 9.9 per cent increase. The total university research income grew by 3.6 per cent overall this year, according to the listings.

The rankings are published annually by Research Infosource Inc. Data is compiled from the Canadian Association of University Business Officers, whose figures are reported by the institutions themselves.