Research under this theme relates to the pre-history and history of Aboriginal peoples, as well as to contemporary issues and opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador, nationally and internationally.

Key research areas include education, languages, society, culture, human rights, gender, literature, religion, ethics, politics, and social and economic development; contemporary issues around resource development, land claims, climate change, health, physical activity, and community development; indigenous expressive culture; youth engagement relating to social policy, social participation and youth programs; Northern Labrador climate change, resource development, transportation, new national parks, and collaboration with the Nunatsiavut Government; and traditional knowledge of Aboriginal peoples and its relation to contemporary issues.

Research under this theme relates to people and communities, environment and resources, approaches and technologies for sustainable resource development, and land, ocean and coastal zones in arctic and northern regions.

Key research areas include northern peoples and their languages, society, culture and communities; regional, national and international governance mechanisms such as environmental regulations and the Law of the Sea; distance education, telecommunications and learning technologies and their implications for northern peoples; technologies for and management of natural resource development, transportation, safety and survival, and health care and emergency response in harsh, remote locations; the geography and ecology of northern marine, terrestrial and ice environments; climate change and its impacts, significant resource developments, and assertion of Canadian sovereignty in the north; land claims, environmental assessment, transportation, and northern and remote infrastructure; economic and regulatory models and best practices to maximize benefits from resource developments.

Research under this theme relates to building capacity of people, organizations, communities, industries, and enterprises to foster social and economic prosperity and development in rural and urban communities, neighbourhoods and regions.

Key research areas include influences affecting economic development and social well-being; the role of education, community health, and social policy and their impact on empowerment of individuals and groups in communities; land use, drinking water, waste management, transportation planning, affordable housing, and labour market development; economic diversification, new business development and improved business practices; impact of climate change, aging populations, migration and immigration on communities and regions; and rural-urban and localglobal interaction, regional cooperation and governance, and innovation in policy and service delivery.

Research related to creative production and expression; curation and interpretation; and archaeological, historical, ethnographic and archival research in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and internationally.

Key research areas include the arts; all forms of creative production and expression (drama, music and sound, visual, performance, literature); education to preserve and strengthen culture and build identity; performance pedagogy; tangible cultural heritage; intangible cultural heritage, including language and music; cultural industries; history (Newfoundland, maritime, Canadian, and European); expressive determinants of society and individual identity; contemporary and historical creative activity; the use of new media and technologies in the ongoing production of art, culture and heritage; interdisciplinary research in music, health and well-being, in music and engineering; the use of creative expression to critique understandings of culture and society.

Research related to the environment, development of natural resources (oil and gas, mining, forestry), and the interaction of people, industry, and communities with the natural world, locally, nationally and globally.

Key research areas include human interactions with climate change and environmental impacts; energy efficiency; resource economics; cultural perceptions of the environment; environmental science; wildlife, marine, land, habitat resource and waste management; plant and forestry science; environmental engineering and sustainability; cellular and molecular biology and marine sciences; energy industry economics and policy; health, safety and survival in the oil and gas industry; harsh environment engineering, ocean observation systems; petroleum reservoir characterization and exploration geophysics; sustainable and alternative energy solutions; reclamation of non-renewable resource developments; social and economic benefits of the nonextractive values of natural resources; watersheds and water quality business opportunities, public policy, legal issues and regulatory regimes.

Research related to organizational and corporate governance, public policy and the relationships amongst governments and non-government organizations. Corporate governance consists of the collection of rules, processes, and practices that determine the relationship between managers of an organization and those who have a stake in the organization's performance, including shareholders, creditors, employees, customers, and society at large. Governance, more broadly, includes how government bodies develop and implement public policy, and how governments relate to non-governmental organizations in the shared allocation of decision-making and resources for achieving public policy purposes.

Key research areas include auditing, taxation, finance, leadership and corporate social responsibility; public and collective decision making in economic policy (including policy and governance arrangements relating to specific economic sectors, as well as to cross-cutting areas such as fiscal and monetary policy and trade policy), social policy (including health, education, and social services), cultural policy, environmental policy, defence policy and other policy fields; legal studies across all policy fields; local, regional and federal systems, as well as multilateral and international governance relationships and organizations; immigration and population change; land-use and urban planning; and food security.

Research related to the theoretical foundations of information and communication technology (ICT), the design and deployment of ICT in a variety of settings, and the evaluation of the use of ICT and its impact on individuals, organizations, and society. It involves research into the study and design of systems that capture, store, transmit, process, and use information in a manner that is efficient, accurate, reliable, secure, profitable, and responsible.

Key research areas include foundational and design areas, including algorithms and complexity, data management, software engineering, computational modeling, computer networks, and intelligent computing; ICT impact, including telemedicine, distance education and e-learning technology, electronic commerce, and privacy; geographic information systems, autonomous ocean systems; managing (storing, retrieving, filtering, and processing) the vast amounts of data collected by businesses and other organizations using web-based and sensor-based data collection (data collection includes scientific, health, pharmaceutical, commercial, geographic, and social network data, remote sensing, communication networks, information technologies, and computational modeling; it spans traditional structured databases and unstructured text); electronic health service delivery in remote areas of the province (including tele-oncology, tele-psychiatry, tele-video resuscitation) and innovative interactive teaching programs for remote areas (i.e., electronic continuing medical education - MD.cme); and cultural and social impacts of ICT.

Research related to the maritime environment, the interaction of coastal people and communities with the ocean and maritime environment, and the scientific, technological and organizational requirements of industrial development in this environment, particularly relating to conditions in the North Atlantic. Fishery and aquaculture, more specifically, include fresh water and marine fish biology and environments and scientific, technological and organizational aspects of fishery and aquaculture industry development, and their related social, community, environmental and public policy characteristics.

Key research areas include cultures and societies around the North Atlantic Rim, and how they interact with the ocean and ocean industries, including economic and political agreements and relationships; technologies for natural resource development, transportation, and safety and survival in harsh, remote locations, and the geography and ecology of North Atlantic marine, terrestrial and ice environments; fundamental research in biology, ecology, environmental science, and ocean science; climate change; fisheries conservation and resource management; aquaculture and seafood development; food processing technology and processes to support industry development; research related to the people, organizations, history, economics and policies pertaining to fisheries and aquaculture; deep water and harsh environment marine and petroleum activity; and business development and marketing associated with fisheries and oceans industries.

Research related to systems and structures that contribute to more humane, equitable and just societies. Its focus is on building the capacity and enabling the civic engagement of vulnerable populations, locally, nationally and internationally, whose voices are seldom heard in addressing the barriers to their well-being and full participation in society.

Key research areas include immigration, citizenship and labour market inclusion, and poverty reduction; empowerment of individuals through education, community health approaches, access to medical care and services, and child and family welfare; interdisciplinary aspects of diversity, difference, equity and ethics; labour relations, social and working class history, gender equality and sexuality; the impact of poverty on individual and community development in urban and rural neighbourhoods and communities; homelessness, affordable housing, and poverty; citizen engagement in communities, and how education is valued (to help explain the low rate of high school graduation); mental health, aging, social development, and disabilities issues; national and international social justice issues; and corporate social responsibility.

Research related to improvement of health and well-being through building research and knowledge provincially, nationally and internationally especially for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador in areas of unique provincial need and opportunity.

Key research areas include genetics research that addresses both the need and opportunity presented by the founder population characteristics of the province (genealogy, community and population health, ethics and health policy development, as well as specific bio-molecular research and clinical care innovation); health services and health policy research as well as research related to special medical, nursing and other health professional education that respond to the province's aging, rural, northern and aboriginal populations and distinctive workforces; research related to efficient and accessible health care systems, and effective public health programs and policies and healthy and safe work places; biomedical sciences ranging from cellular and molecular processes to animal and cell modeling that respond to the province's high incidence of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease; multinational clinical trials of drug and device interventions; health promotion, public health, health policy, disease prevention and chronic disease management; and healthy aging.