Call for Nominations

Nomination deadline: June 7, 2013

Eligibility

Candidates should have successfully defended their doctoral thesis within the last 12 years (i.e., 2001 or later) and hold a grant from NSERC. Parental leave taken for child bearing and rearing is not counted as part of the 12-year period; however, such periods must be identified in the letter from the nominator.

Candidates may be nominated by any individual or group; however, the nominators must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada and be senior members of the Canadian science and engineering community. Self-nominations will not be accepted. The nominations must be endorsed by the executive head of the candidate's university. NSERC reserves the right to rule on the eligibility of nominees.

University officials must screen the nominations and forward up to six nominations that are demonstrably outstanding.

Individuals who are awarded a Discovery Accelerator Supplement and an E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship will be entitled to receive both awards, but not concurrently. Contact NSERC program staff for more specific information.

Selection Criteria and Evaluation

A selection committee of distinguished university, government and corporate research representatives, from a variety of disciplines, will review the nominations and recommend the successful candidates to the President of NSERC.

The nominations will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

• candidate's stature in the scientific or engineering community—both national and international;
• importance and scope of the candidate's research and its impact on the field, society and, if applicable, on industry;
• candidate's specific accomplishments within his or her field; and
• candidate's overall suitability for the award.

How to Submit a Nomination

The nomination process involves three people:

1. The nominator(s);
2. The executive head of the university; and
3. The nominee.

Since the selection committee is multidisciplinary, the nomination material should be written for non-specialists.

A. The nominator(s) write(s) a letter that:

• explains why the nominee deserves consideration for the Fellowship, with emphasis on contributions to, and impact on, the field, society and, if applicable, industry;
• explains how this award could help the nominee in his or her career development; and
• includes the nominator's contact information.

Note: For nominations in engineering or the applied sciences, nominators should consult the NSERC Guidelines for the Preparation and Review of Applications in Engineering and the Applied Sciences, and prepare the nomination accordingly.

Signatures

Nominees

Before nominees submit their documents to the nominator, they must read and agree to the terms and conditions listed on the Terms and Conditions of Applying Form.

Nominators

Before nominators submit the nomination to NSERC, they must read and agree to the following terms and conditions.

By submitting the nomination, you are certifying that:

• You have provided true, complete, accurate information in your documents, and you have represented yourself, your research and your accomplishments in a manner consistent with the norms of the relevant field.
• You have ensured that others listed on the documents have agreed to be included.
• You are not currently ineligible to apply for and/or hold funds from NSERC, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), or any other research or research funding organization worldwide for reasons of breach of policies on responsible conduct of research, such as ethics, integrity or financial management policies. If at any time you become ineligible for any of these reasons, you will advise your institutional officials and NSERC immediately, in writing.
• You have read, understood and agree to comply with the  Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research both in the submission of your documents and in carrying out the research funded by NSERC.
• If you are or have been (at any time during the past 12 months) a federal public servant, you have complied with and will continue to respect the  Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service.
• Consent has been obtained from trainees to include limited personal information about them in the documents.
• You understand the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and the Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to NSERC as they pertain to your information.
• You consent to the sharing among the three federal granting agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) and with any academic institution to which you are, or may become, affiliated, of any and all information, including personal information, in any way related to the nomination and to the grant/award.
• In the event of any change in your eligibility status, you will inform NSERC and your institutional officials immediately, in writing.

B. The executive head of the university provides a letter endorsing the nomination.

The endorsement letter should list the current teaching and administrative responsibilities of the nominee and indicate how the university will fully relieve the nominee of these responsibilities during the tenure of the award.

C. The nominee provides:

• a two-page summary of the research that would be pursued during tenure of the Fellowship;
• a completed NSERC Personal Data Form (Form 100);*
• copies of the nominee’s three most significant research contributions;
• the names and addresses (mail and e-mail) of five to seven referees. The referees should be internationally recognized experts in the nominee's field, from whom NSERC may request impartial assessments of the nominee's suitability for the Fellowship;** and
• a Terms and Conditions of Applying Form signed by the nominee.

Note: Additional letters of support will not be included in the review process.

*Nomination material should conform to NSERC presentation standards, as described in the Form 100 Instructions. When completing Form 100 to apply for a Steacie Fellowship, follow the guidelines, with the following exceptions:

• contributions do not need to be limited to those in the last six years; and
• there is no page limit. Note that the online system will not accept contributions that exceed five pages. You may attach your contributions manually to the rest of your Form 100 once you have saved it to your computer or submit your contributions as a separate document.

**Referees should not be members of the nominee's university, former professors or supervisors, or present or former collaborators or colleagues. NSERC also seeks the advice of referees other than those suggested in the nomination.

Nominations may be submitted:

Electronically via  Secure Submissions for NSERC’s Innovative Collaborations and Science Promotion Programs. It is preferable that documents be submitted in Portable Document Format (PDF).

By mail:

The E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship
NSERC
350 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1H5

By fax: 613-947-3847

Note: Original signatures are required on documents, and they can be submitted electronically or by fax.

More Information About the Awards

Fellows will be asked to confirm, by e-mail or letter, their acceptance of the award and to confirm their ability to use the full value of the award at a Canadian university or affiliated research institution. The award must be used to pay for research activities, in accordance with the rules that govern NSERC Discovery Grants. University officials must report annually on how they used the funds they received. By drawing on the funds provided through this award, or by participating in the activities supported by it, winning individuals agree to comply with the following policies and guidelines, and to any amendments to these that NSERC may adopt:

• Section 2 of the  Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research;
• The Program Guide for Professors; and
• The Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.

The start date of the Fellowship should be between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2015, and the award is normally paid in two installments of $125,000 per year. 

Fellows will be eligible to submit an application to the Research Tools and Instruments Grants Program for equipment funding related to their research funded by the Steacie Fellowship.

At the end of the Fellowship, fellows will be asked to report on the impact of the Fellowship on their research and career, and on how they may have used any supplemental support received over the course of the Fellowship.

Announcement

Successful candidates are notified in December. They are also informed of the procedures for submitting an application to the Research Tools and Instruments Grants Program for equipment funding related to their Steacie Fellowship research.

The names of the recipients will be announced in 2014.