Vice President, Research & Innovation
University of British Columbia

The Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) leads UBC’s research strategy, supports researchers and scholars, and advances the university’s innovation and impact agenda.

Mandate and Strategic Alignment

VPRI’s mission is to enable and accelerate research, scholarship, and innovation across all disciplines and both campuses. The office is instrumental in delivering on the university’s strategic priority to “Discover and Innovate for Impact,” supporting fundamental research as well as real-world applications that benefit society, policy, health, and the economy.

VPRI’s work is closely aligned with UBC’s 2025–2030 strategic directions and broader institutional commitments to research excellence, innovation, government and stakeholder engagement, sustainability, Indigenous reconciliation, and equity.

Learn more here.

Research by Numbers

The different units and shared research platforms in the VPRI portfolio, located in Vancouver and the Okanagan, provide support to UBC faculty throughout the research lifecycle.

Units in the VPRI Portfolio

Indigenous Research Support Initiative: provides research support and services to Indigenous communities and university researchers collaborating on projects and ensures that these projects are based on community-led interests, reciprocal relationships and principles of mutual accountability.

Institutional Programs Office: manages the full cycle of major federal, provincial and regional research awards including those offered by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the B.C. Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) and Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD).

Innovation UBC: covers both campuses and works with UBC’s researchers to support and accelerate the translation of their research into real world impacts. Through research partnerships, technology transfer, and venture building services, UBC researchers have access to a robust ecosystem of services and support to strengthen their translation opportunities. 

Innovation Partnerships: this team provides cross-sector expertise to identify opportunities that stimulate innovation through building high-impact, mutually beneficial partnerships between UBC researchers and industry, government and non-profits.

Office of Research Ethics: ensures that research at UBC achieves the highest ethical standards, provides leadership on emerging issues in research ethics, delivers training to faculty and students and manages regulatory compliance for studies funded by the U.S. Public Health Service.

Office of Research Prizes + Awards: provides strategic guidance and nomination support for external awards and oversees UBC's internal faculty research awards program.

Office of Research Services: helps researchers find funding opportunities, obtain the institutional signature for grant applications, manages ongoing compliance requirements, sets up research accounts and spending limits, transfers research funds and register clinical trials. 

Research Finance: ensures all sponsored research funds are spent in compliance with policies, prepares and submits financial reports to funders and helps to resolve any funding issues.

Support Programs to Advance Research Capacity (SPARC): The staff at SPARC provide strategic research development services and resources designed to develop capacity, build collaborations and increase the success of UBC researchers when applying to Tri-Agency funding initiatives.

UBC Press: The University of British Columbia Press publishes high-quality works of original scholarship as Canada's leading social sciences publisher.

Research & Innovation (Okanagan): the Office of the Vice-Principal, Research & Innovation provides UBC Okanagan researchers with strategic guidance, resources and support, overseeing major strategic research initiatives, partnership development, and infrastructure investments. Units in the portfolio include the Office of Research Services, UBC STAR, Fipke Laboratory for Trace Element Research (FiLTER) and several Research Institutes.

Shared Research Platforms

Advanced Research Computing

Animal Care Services

Facility for Infectious Disease and Epidemic Research (FINDER)

Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research

Plant Care Services

Sequencing + Bioinformatics Consortium

UBC Bioimaging Facility

Upright Open MRI

Fipke Laboratory for Trace Element Research

Plant Growth Facility

Research Data Centre

More info can be found at:  https://research.ubc.ca/about-vpri/units-portfolio