TSAS is an independent academic network that engages in policy-relevant research and its dissemination. TSAS receives a substantial share of its funding from the Government of Canada, through the Kanishka Project, but retains academic independence. The Executive Committee meets regularly and is led by the co-applicants of the TSAS proposal. They are responsible for decisions related to the overall nature of TSAS, budget allocation, and implementation of activities.
The Executive Committee makes decisions in consultation with an Academic Advisory Group and a larger Partnership Council that includes both academic researchers and government officials.
The Government of Canada created the Kanishka Project in 2011 to build Canadian capacity in the fields of terrorism and counterterrorism research. Kanishka funding is allocated competitively to a range of projects, including TSAS (which submitted a successful application to Kanishka). TSAS also receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and The University of British Columbia (the host institution for TSAS), The University of Waterloo, and Simon Fraser University.
Within the Government of Canada, the Kanishka Project is comprised of a high-level Steering Committee composed of senior executives in the Canadian government and a Working Group composed of policy analysts across relevant departments. The former establishes the overall direction of the Kanishka Project and its oversight, while the latter is engaged in all operational decisions and project activities.
To ensure collaboration between academic researchers and policy officials, the TSAS Partnership Council is composed of the following bodies:
- TSAS Academic Advisory Group
- The Kanishka Working Group (Government of Canada)
- TSAS Research Sub-Committee (drawn equally from the Academic Advisory Group and the Kanishka Working Group).