Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Canadian Institutes of Health Research 2017 - 2018
As required by the Treasury Board Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures, this report provides information on travel, hospitality and conference expenditures for Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018.
Travel, hospitality and conference expenditures incurred by a federal department or agency relate to activities that support the department or agency’s mandate and the government’s priorities.
Mandate:
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)'s travel, hospitality and conference expenditures support the delivery of the following core programs and services to Canadians:
• A mandate to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system.
• CIHR is the Government of Canada's health research funding agency. Peer review committees are used to determine which candidates are eligible to receive funding in the form of grants and awards. The committees are made up of external experts from across the country and around the world who contribute their time and expertise to adjudicate grants and awards applications, with the aim of funding excellence for the benefit of Canada. The vast majority of CIHR’s travel and hospitality expenses are to support this peer review process.
• Further details on CIHR’s authority, mandate and program activities can be found in the Department Plan (http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/37798.html) and the Departmental Results Report (http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/37798.html).
Canadian Institutes of Health Research Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2018
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2018 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2017 Note 1 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Operational activities |
$3,837.00 |
- | - |
Key stakeholders |
$101.00 |
- | - |
Internal governance |
$20.00 |
- | - |
Training |
$97.00 |
- | - |
Other |
$16.00 |
- | - |
| A. Total travel | $4,071.00 |
$1,956.00 |
$2,115.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $603.00 |
$264.00 |
$339.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $53.00 |
$56.00 |
-$3.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $4,727.00 |
$2,276.00 |
$2,451.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $0.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
Compared to fiscal year 2016-17, departmental travel expenditures increased significantly by $2,115K (or 108%). The increase is mainly due to increased travel expenditures by non-public servants of $2,245K resulting from the implementation of the recommendations stemming from the July 2016 Working Meeting to discuss the CIHR peer review processes with the research community. It was then decided to discontinue virtual peer review meetings and return to the face-to-face model in conducting CIHR peer review activities. As a result, this has increased travel and hospitality costs directly attributed to the delivery of CIHR’s Project Grant competition. This increase was offset by a reduction of $130K in travel expenditures by public-servants due partly to lower senior management international travel during the transition period of CIHR’s President, and due to less staff travel required to deliver its priority driven initiatives.
Hospitality:
Compared to fiscal year 2016-17, departmental hospitality expenditures increased significantly by $339K (or 128%). Similar to the increase in non-public servant travel expenditures, the increase in hospitality is mainly due to implementation of the recommendations stemming from the July 2016 Working Meeting to discuss the CIHR peer review processes with the research community.
Conference fees:
Compared to fiscal year 2016-17, there was no significant variance in departmental conference expenditures (decrease of $3K or 5%).Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
-