NSERC - Science Promoters - PromoScience

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Selection criteria

The following table describes the criteria that the selection committee will use to evaluate each submission. Note that your submission must clearly demonstrate how your proposal meets each specific criterion. It is highly recommended that you address all indicators and provide all relevant requested evidence in your application. New organizations/pilot programs must include strong evidence of the feasibility and anticipated impact of the activities through support letters and/or data from similar successful programs.

In your application, use the criteria and indicators as headings and subheadings to structure your proposal.

NSERC is committed to promoting the integration of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in its practices. As a result, EDI considerations have been integrated into the selection criteria below.

Criterion – Excellence of the organization (30%)

Indicator	Evidence to be provided in application
Ability of organization and its collaborators to deliver the proposed program(s) successfully	relevant background of the organization education/experience of staff and how this supports the organization’s science or engineering promotion to young people program delivery team representative of target audience (especially for programming involving under-represented youth)
Continuity of the organization	evidence of sustainability contributions to the science, engineering and education communities
Communication	publicity activities of the organization and its program(s) aimed at the public examples of networking with and/or mentoring others involved in science and engineering promotion to share best practices
Financial status (not included in five-page limit)	realistic budget forecast and budget justification ability to raise funds from non-federal sources letters of commitment from outside sources letter of commitment from the host organization (for post-secondary institutions only)

Criterion – Quality of the program (30%)

Indicator	Evidence to be provided in application
Program objectives	objectives consistent with those of PromoScience plans to show how objectives will be attained need for activity(ies)
Program content	detailed description of program(s) and what participants will do brief description of COVID-19 mitigations for the activity(ies) suitability for intended audience (e.g., integration of Indigenous knowledge, roles of appropriate contributors/mentors especially for programming involving under-represented youth) focus on the natural sciences and engineering differences from other groups (i.e., originality/creativity)

Indicator

Evidence to be provided in application

Program objectives

objectives consistent with those of PromoScience
plans to show how objectives will be attained
need for activity(ies)

Program content

detailed description of program(s) and what participants will do
brief description of COVID-19 mitigations for the activity(ies)
suitability for intended audience (e.g., integration of Indigenous knowledge, roles of appropriate contributors/mentors especially for programming involving under-represented youth)
focus on the natural sciences and engineering
differences from other groups (i.e., originality/creativity)

Criterion – Impact and reach (40%)

Indicator	Evidence to be provided in application
Impact of program(s) on target groups	quality of the program interaction (number of participants, number of interactions per participant) success stories evaluation plan and highlights from past program evaluations participant feedback (testimonials, survey results) letters of reference
Impact of PromoScience funding	explanation of the added value or benefits that funding will bring to the organization, its program(s) and, ultimately, its participants
Target audience	profile of participants (age, numbers reached) geographical reach (i.e., national, provincial) transferability to other geographical areas
Focus on under-represented and (include evidence relevant to your strategy)	plans and strategies to make activities inclusive¹ for participants specific groups targeted based on gender, ethnicity, language, geographical location or socio-economic status (if applicable) letter of reference from organization linked to under-represented target audience (if applicable)

¹Inclusive programming consists of activities in which all people are respected and have access to the same opportunities, and where all individuals—including those from under-represented groups—can reach their full potential, unimpeded by inequitable practices. Organizations should describe specific actions that acknowledge and address barriers to participation (such as physical, procedural, visible, invisible and unintentional barriers) in order to broaden access to the largest pool of potential participants and to improve the impact of the activities.

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Selection criteria