About ARC Commons
ARC Commons — the Academic Research Consulting Commons — is Canada's open directory of contract professionals who support academic research: grant writers, statisticians, bioinformaticians, scientific editors, and more.
Why ARC Commons exists
Contract research support has always traveled by word of mouth — a colleague's recommendation, or an institutional "approved list" that can be hard to get onto and varies from one office to the next. ARC Commons makes finding research support open and transparent: one place to find the people who can help, no matter whose network you're in.
Who it's for
ARC Commons is built for researchers at Canadian universities and research institutes — faculty and research staff looking for expert help with the work of research.
Who it's not for
It is not a general freelance marketplace. ARC Commons is specifically for academic research support. If you're hiring for industry R&D, a nonprofit program, or clinical-trial monitoring, this isn't the right directory — and our contractors come from and work within the academic research world.
How it works
Browse by the kind of support you need. Verify your institutional email — free, about 30 seconds — to see every profile and reach out directly.
How we think about quality
We don't gatekeep with a central seal of approval. Every profile is transparent, and researchers review the people they've worked with. Quality is established by the community that uses it.
Who's behind it
ARC Commons was founded by Sarah Treit, a neuroscientist and research consultant who spent years watching excellent research support stay hidden in private networks.
Institutional access coming soon — universities will be able to give all their researchers full access at once. Get in touch →