Contact Newsletter

In this issue

• Update on Community Engagement Visits
• Upcoming NSERC deadlines
• Save the Dates: First Gender Summit in North America
• Update on NSERC’s Research Portal and the Canadian Common CV (CCV)
• Announcement of the Discovery Grants, Scholarships and Fellowships
• Tackling Climate Change
• Recent Program Evaluation Results
• Latest on the Five-year Evaluation of the Discovery Grants Program
• Community Engagement Update: Future of the Canada Graduate Scholarships
• 2014 Research Tools and Instruments Program Competition
• NSERC researchers to attend the 63rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

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Update on Community Engagement Visits

NSERC is wrapping up the first of a series of community engagement visits that saw experts in grants and scholarships travel to campuses across the country to seek feedback on some key NSERC activities, programs and policies. To date, our team has visited 13 campuses and heard feedback and advice from close to 1,000 researchers, administrators and other stakeholders.

The presentation that served as the basis for discussions with the community and summaries of the feedback we received at the visits are presented on the Connect with NSERC Web page. We also continue to invite any further comments, questions or advice through connect@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

Upcoming NSERC deadlines

Save the Dates: First Gender Summit in North America

NSERC and its counterpart science and engineering funding agencies—including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Mexico’s Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT)—are uniting to support the first Gender Summit to take place in North America from November 13 to 15, 2013 in Washington, D.C.

Gender Summit 3 – North America will provide a unique forum for policy drivers, university leadership, corporations and researchers from North America and Europe to develop innovative approaches to advancing gender considerations in research and society.

For more information please visit the  2013 Gender Summit Web site.

If you have any questions, please contact NSERC at gendersummit@nserc-crsng.gc.ca or call 613-995-5521.

Update on NSERC’s Research Portal and the Canadian Common CV (CCV)

Reminder: Notification of Intent Deadlines

The Notification of Intent (NOI) submission period for Discovery Grants and Subatomic Physics Grants is currently underway using the new Research Portal and CCV. The NOI deadline is August 1, 2013, for both programs.

As in previous years, NSERC will provide final requirements and instructions for full applications in early August. Applications are due November 1, 2013, also using the Research Portal and CCV.

New Resource Centre

To assist with the transition to the new systems, the Research Portal page features a new tool to guide you through the process according to your needs. It includes links to detailed instructions and Frequently Asked Questions on the Research Portal and CCV.

For additional support, contact us.

You Asked, We Listened: Improved CCV Preview

The CCV is continuously improving based on feedback from the research community. The CCV upgrade coming this July will introduce a cleaner, more reader-friendly PDF preview. The new layout was developed in collaboration with the CCV user group, which includes researchers and peer reviewers from various disciplines across Canada.

Follow us on  Twitter for the latest CCV updates.

Webinars

NSERC recently hosted webinars on the Research Portal and the CCV to assist the research community with preparing and submitting applications for Discovery Grants and Subatomic Physics Grants.

We thank you for your participation and valuable feedback, and invite you to consult the updated Frequently Asked Questions to find answers to your most popular questions.

Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) - Master’s

The newly harmonized Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) - Master’s will use the Research Portal and CCV as of September 2013. More information will be communicated shortly.

We will advise the community well in advance of other programs migrating to the Research Portal and the CCV. In the meantime, applicants to other programs will continue to use the On-line System.

Announcement of the Discovery Grants, Scholarships and Fellowships

On May 21, the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) announced awards totalling over $413 million for the Discovery Grants, Discovery Accelerator Supplements, Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships, Postgraduate Scholarships, and the Postdoctoral Fellowships. Learn more about the recipients by reviewing the competition statistics or by visiting our World of Discoveries page.

Tackling Climate Change

More than $32 million in research funding over five years was provided to seven projects through the new Climate Change and Atmospheric Research initiative. The funding supports teams composed of university researchers, scientists and partner organizations who will work together to advance our understanding of climate and the risks related to climate change. To learn more about the announcement and the recipients, take a look at the news release for this announcement.

Recent Program Evaluation Results

NSERC regularly reviews its programs to ensure they are relevant, effective and efficient at meeting their objectives for supporting people, discovery and innovation.

The evaluation reports and management responses for the following programs are now available on the Program Evaluations page:

• Industrial Research and Development Internship (IRDI)
• College and Community Innovation (CCI) Program
• Industrial R&D Fellowships (IRDF)
• Postdoctoral Fellowships (PDF)
• Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)
• Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence (BL-NCE)
• Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR)

We would like to thank those who participated in the evaluations for their important contributions.

Latest on the Five-year Evaluation of the Discovery Grants Program

The five-year evaluation of the Discovery Grants Program is well underway and aims to assess the extent to which three key objectives are being met in light of changes made to the peer review process: promoting and maintaining a diversified base of high-quality research capability in the natural sciences and engineering in Canadian universities; fostering research excellence; and providing a stimulating environment for research training. Using the results from surveys, consultations, interviews, bibliometric data analysis and other resources, the International Review Panel had its first meeting earlier this month to review the findings. More information on the evaluation and next steps will be posted on the Connect with NSERC page in the coming weeks.

Community Engagement Update: Future of the Canada Graduate Scholarships

In March 2013, the three federal granting agencies launched a consultation on the harmonization of the Canada Graduate Scholarships Program. We worked closely with an external advisory committee to define the design elements of the harmonized program. We invite you to learn more about the consultation process and next steps by reviewing the Community Engagement Update or by contacting us at harmonization@cgs-besc.gc.ca.

2014 Research Tools and Instruments Program Competition

Based on consultation with the research community, the 2014 Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) Program competition will see institutions first carry out a selection to meet a quota of applications that will then undergo a national competition at NSERC. The selection criteria, forms, deadlines and permissible requested amount will all remain the same as in the past. In addition, NSERC has lifted the limit the participation of researchers, meaning researchers can be an applicant or co-applicant on multiple applications.

As a result of the changes to the RTI Program, many universities have requested access to the RTI application forms in advance of the regular release of early August. NSERC has been successful in advancing the release date to Friday, June 14, 2013. The RTI application forms will be available until October 25, 2013 at 8 p.m. (ET).

NSERC hopes that the advance release of the application forms will aid in the selection of applications.

For more information, review the RTI Program description or contact us at rti-oir@nserc-crsng.gc.ca

NSERC researchers to attend the 63rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

More than 600 participants from around the world attended the 63rd Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting that took place in Germany from June 30 to July 5, 2013. Participants exchanged ideas, discussed projects and built international networks around this year’s theme dedicated to chemistry. All five candidates nominated by NSERC were accepted and attended. The participants attending the meeting on behalf of NSERC are Aidan Chatwin–Davies (University of Waterloo), Patrick Clancy (University of Toronto), Simon Foreman (Stanford University), Laurence Perreault-Levasseur (University of Cambridge), and Simon Viel (The University of British Columbia).