Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada 2018 - 2019

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 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.

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:

As required by the Treasury Board Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures (DTHCEE), this report provides information on the total annual expenditures for each of travel, hospitality and conferences by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019. It also provides the variance explanations for the previous fiscal year in each of these areas.
This information is updated annually and does not contain information withheld under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.
NSERC’s purpose is to help make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for the benefit of all Canadians, by supporting postsecondary students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies, promoting discovery by funding the research programs of academic researchers, and stimulating partnerships between academia and industry. Further information on the NSERC mandate and program activities can be found in NSERC’s 2018-19 Departmental Plan.
NSERC’s program delivery is centered on a peer review model. External experts from across the country and around the world contribute their time and expertise to adjudicate grant proposals as well as scholarship and fellowship applications, with the aim of funding excellence for the benefit of Canada. The vast majority of NSERC’s travel and hospitality expenses are to support this peer review process.

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2019

Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Expenditure category	Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2019 ($ thousands)	Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2018 ($ thousands)	Variance ($ thousands)
Travel
Operational activities	$2,347.00	$1,942.00	$405.00
Key stakeholders	$612.00	$460.00	$152.00
Internal governance	$48.00	$37.00	$11.00
Training	$17.00	$22.00	-$5.00
Other	$17.00	$14.00	$3.00
A. Total travel	$3,041.00	$2,475.00	$566.00
B. Hospitality	$264.00	$278.00	-$14.00
C. Conference fees	$234.00	$165.00	$69.00
Total [A+B+C]	$3,539.00	$2,918.00	$621.00
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:

Travel expenditures have increased mainly as a result of a higher number of visits to private organizations due to partnerships grants' requirements, increased participation on various expert panels related to Budget 2018's initiatives, and NSERC hosted a non-recurring event, the 2018 Prime Minister's Science Fair held in Ottawa in September 2018.

Hospitality:

Hospitality expenditures were lower in 2018-19 mainly due to several non-recurring events hosted by NSERC in 2017-18; these included two international events, the Gender Summit held in Montreal in November 2017 and the annual Global Research Council Meeting held in the Ottawa region in May 2017.

Conference fees:

The conference fees expenditures have increased mainly due to increased training of staff through expert conferences and the Agency’s increased support to various science conferences such as the International Conference on Research Infrastructure, the Canadian Science Policy Conference, the Research Money conference and the Canadian Association of Science Centres conference.