Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Canadian Institutes of Health Research 2023 - 2024
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, 2024.
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, 2024
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2024 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2023 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Operational activities |
$157.00 |
$129.00 |
$28.00 |
Key stakeholders |
$158.00 |
$73.00 |
$85.00 |
Internal governance |
$38.00 |
$43.00 |
-$5.00 |
Training |
$9.00 |
$15.00 |
-$6.00 |
Other |
$62.00 |
$37.00 |
$25.00 |
| A. Total travel | $424.00 |
$297.00 |
$127.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $50.00 |
$32.00 |
$18.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $81.00 |
$160.00 |
-$79.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $555.00 |
$489.00 |
$66.00 |
| 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 2022-23, CIHR’s travel expenditures increased in fiscal year 2023-24 (by $127,000 or 43%) mainly as a result of increased non-public servant travel incurred to facilitate a partial resumption of in-person peer review and committee meetings, which are necessary to fulfill CIHR’s core mandate. However, a large portion of peer review and committee meetings are still being managed virtually and, as such, CIHR’s 2023-24 travel expenditures are still well below pre-COVID-19 pandemic amounts.
Hospitality:
Compared to fiscal year 2022-23, CIHR’s hospitality expenditures increased in fiscal year 2023-24 (by $18,000 or 56%) mainly as a result of a partial resumption of in-person peer review and committee meetings, which are necessary to fulfill CIHR’s core mandate. However, a large portion of peer review and committee meetings are still being managed virtually and, as such, CIHR’s 2023-24 hospitality expenditures are still well below pre-COVID-19 pandemic amounts.
Conference fees:
Compared to fiscal year 2022-23, departmental conference fee expenditures decreased in fiscal year 2023-24 (by $79,000 or 49%). This decrease is mainly due to a decrease in conference sponsorship support (for example, no sponsorship support was provided for the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease World Congress as the conference did not occur during fiscal year 2023-24) and, there was an overall decrease in employee participation at the various relevant conferences.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
N/A