Laurier awarded $100,000 from Canadian government to bolster EDI in research

May 11, 2026

Wilfrid Laurier University will receive a $100,000 Dimensions Canada grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to build equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) accountability frameworks for researchers. The Dimensions Canada program supports postsecondary institutions in contributing to cultural change within the research ecosystem by identifying and eliminating obstacles and inequities.

Co-led by the Office of the Associate Vice-President: EDI and the Office of Research Services, the Laurier team plans to address a gap between proposed EDI initiatives and successful implementation. While research funding agencies increasingly require applicants to outline how they will consider and incorporate EDI into their proposed projects, a lack of substantive follow-up remains. Researchers are not required to report on the impact of their EDI considerations, or if they upheld them at all, which has fuelled a perception of performative commitments over substantive action.

Together with Royal Roads University, Université Laval, the University of Winnipeg, the EDI in Research Community of Practice and the Quebec Inter-University Network for EDI, Laurier will develop a set of recommendations and existing tools to uphold accountability between researchers and the collaborators, employees, institutions and stakeholders they name as beneficiaries of EDI commitments when applying for research funds. 

“The Dimensions grant will facilitate the sharing of best practices that are already used across the country through an open-access publication of guidance frameworks,” says Heena Mistry, Laurier’s director of EDI. “The information will support researchers in thinking through how they evaluate, measure and assess EDI effectiveness if their project is funded, and provide evidence-based direction for research administrators to carry out post-award administration. We are proud to lead this structural, nationwide project to advance accountability in the research ecosystem.”

“This project will build on the substantial progress Laurier made through our initial Dimensions grant, which supported the establishment of our Office of the Associate Vice-President: EDI and the development of an EDI Data Strategy and Strategic Plan for EDI,” says Jonathan Newman, vice-president: research. “Indigeneity, decolonization, equity, diversity and inclusion are research priorities at Laurier, and we are grateful to NSERC for investing in our efforts to create a more inclusive research culture at our university and beyond.”