The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario employs a multifaceted research approach with a view to developing meaningful policy recommendations and publishing reports and other publications that inform the postsecondary education community in Ontario, Canada and around the world.
The Council conducts its research under four broad themes, namely:
- Participation/Accessibility
- Educational Quality
- System Design
- Accountability
On an annual basis, the Council produces a Review and Research Plan that reports initial findings from its research activities and updates the Council’s research priorities.
Our research approach is inclusive, bringing together researchers and practitioners from across the sector through major projects, expert discussion papers, conferences, workshops and colloquia.
The Council is mindful that various organizations and individuals already have established valuable expertise in postsecondary education research. Rather than recreate the expertise that already exists, the Council issues requests for proposals (RFPs), and enters into contract agreements and partnerships with other research organizations in order to work with some of the best thinkers on issues related to higher education.
Open Call for Research Ideas and Proposals
To complement its formal RFP process, the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario also welcomes research ideas and proposals from outside the Council, provided they are aligned with the Council’s mandate and current research priorities. The Council encourages proposals from all qualified researchers in the area of postsecondary education. We extend this invitation in particular to projects that originate with, or have the support of, the province’s colleges and universities (including projects that come from administrative faculty or staff).
Where appropriate, priority will be given to projects that are multi-institutional (i.e., involve researchers or examine practices from more than one postsecondary institution). When this is not possible (for instance with case studies, experiments or pilot projects) projects should clearly define how the outcomes will inform and benefit other institutions.
Proposals must fall within one of the Council’s four priority areas, noted above.
As well as a project description and a preliminary cost estimate, all proposals should include the following information:
- A reference to similar and related work being done in the sector, especially in Ontario but also, if appropriate, in other Canadian jurisdictions and internationally;
- A short description of how the outcome of the work might be related to postsecondary public policy in Ontario; and
- A short statement regarding how the focus of the research is related to the HEQCO mandate.
Proposals should be limited to 500 words or less and may be sent to:
Ken Norrie
Vice President, Research
Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario
1 Yonge St., Suite 2402
Toronto, ON M5E 1E5
If a proposal is feasible, meets the above criteria and is aligned with the Council’s current research agenda, the Council will contact the researcher to request a full project proposal.