Read full guide: Leading Practices in Safeguarding Research – June 2026
Executive Summary
Canada’s research ecosystem is built on openness, international collaboration, and the global exchange of people and ideas to advance knowledge, develop talent, drive innovation and deliver impact for all Canadians. At the same time, a changing geopolitical and security environment is shaping new risks, including unauthorized knowledge transfer, intellectual property theft, cyber threats, and risks to research infrastructure, data, partnerships, and people.
Canada’s leading research universities take the importance of maintaining research security extremely seriously. In recent years, universities have acted proactively to safeguard research, including establishing clear internal policies for the secure conduct of research, strengthening due diligence on research partnerships and establishing dedicated research security offices to advise researchers on evolving threats.
This guide builds on this work to provide leading practices to help Canadian universities safeguard research while preserving the values that underpin secure research: integrity, respect, people, trust, resiliency and compliance. It recognizes that research security is a shared responsibility between universities and government partners.
The guidance is intended to support institutions and researchers in developing their own approaches to research security, building on leading practices at U15 universities. It highlights the importance of clear governance and risk frameworks, consistent and transparent due diligence, engagement with federal, provincial, and territorial governments, coordination across institutional units, cybersecurity and data protection, informed procurement, partnership assessment, communication, training, and campus security.
A central principle is that safeguarding research must be proportionate, inclusive, and evidence-informed. Risk mitigation should not undermine the openness and diversity that make Canadian universities a vibrant and collaborative place to conduct research. As research security risks and requirements continue to evolve, this document is intended to serve as an evergreen resource that will be updated regularly.