Tri-agency Update

for Postdocs

Fundamental Science Review

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• The Advisory Panel on Federal Support for Fundamental Science presented its report in April 2017.

• 35 recommendations including the following:

• increased investment in independent investigator-led research;

• increased coordination among the granting councils and CFI;

• new oversight body for the federal research and innovation ecosystem.

Fundamental Science Review – CRCC Creation

• In October 2017, the Minister of Science and the Minister of Health announced the creation of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) which will address several of the recommendations made in the Fundamental Science Review, including:

• improving support for international, multidisciplinary, risky and rapid-response research;

• ensuring better access to funding for young researchers;

• improving equity, diversity and the capacity of Indigenous communities to conduct research and partner with the broader academic community;

• and making the research system more nimble so that researchers can seize opportunities with minimal administrative burden.

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Achievements in Harmonization

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• The Agencies have sought to reduce administrative burden and improve access to paid parental leave.

• All training award holders are now eligible for paid parental leave. • The Tri-Agency Research Training Award Holder’s Guide was updated accordingly on April

1, 2017.

• NEW: Since July 31, 2017, SSHRC has joined NSERC and CIHR in providing paid parental leave supplements to eligible students and postdoctoral fellows who are paid out of agency grants.

• Those who are eligible for other parental leave benefits may also be eligible for these supplements.

• Questions? grantsadministration@nserc-crsng.gc.ca

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Paid Parental Leave for Award Holders

• Award interruption for relevant work experience: extended to one year;

• CGS M award holders who finish their master’s before the end of their award can carry it into a PhD program (at the same institution), even when there is a gap in registration;

• Harmonize the timing of proof of citizenship/permanent residence

requirement: now at time of award acceptance.

Tri-Agency Research Training Award Holder’s Guide Forthcoming changes (January 2018)

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25% cap on awards taken abroad

• A formal request to eliminate the cap has been approved by the Ministers of Science and Health.

Amendment to binning process during

adjudication

• The proportion of applications that reviewers assign to the middle bin has been increased to 50%, while the percentage to the bottom bin has been reduced to 20%.

Banting PDF News

Overview

• The Agencies (including CFI) are committed to ensuring equitable access to their programs.

• To determine whether this is being achieved, the agencies must be able to collect equity and diversity participation rates in a harmonized fashion.

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Equity and Diversity-Related Data Project

How will this be accomplished?

• By determining the equity/diversity data requirements of the Agencies

• By establishing what is already being collected

• By identifying the most appropriate way to collect this information going forward

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Equity and Diversity-Related Data Project (cont.)

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Unconscious Bias Module

• Launched this Fall and developed by CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, the module is part of the agencies’

commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

• Promotes understanding of unconscious bias, how it can affect merit review, and ways to mitigate biases of different kinds

• Adjudicators are encouraged to refer to the online training module as a guide for preventing unconscious bias in merit review

Tri-Agency Programs - Statistics

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2016-17 Tri-Agency Training Programs - Overview

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Banting PDF

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CIHR’s Update

on Training

Challenges in the Health Research Enterprise 2

Health Research is Evolving

Health research is increasingly complex, interdisciplinary and global

Career Paths are Changing

51,000 PhDs and 6,000 Fellows in Canada. Most (≈85%) do not secure tenure-track positions, yet OECD reports not enough

PhDs

Expertise in Critical Areas is Lacking

Data-intensive research ● Indigenous health research ● Health-professional scientists ●

Patient-oriented research ● Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Training Challenges: Future trainees must be:

Research Leaders of Tomorrow

who can lead high-impact, multi-disciplinary research in a rapidly evolving environment of

advancing technologies and globalization

Leaders Across Knowledge Sectors

who can apply their scholarship and talent to lead innovation across different sectors of

Canada’s knowledge-based economy

Experts in Critical Priority Areas

who can establish and fill Canadian priority areas of specialized expertise and advance

the frontiers of science

To generate scientific,

professional,

and organizational leaders

within and beyond the

health research enterprise

CIHR Training Strategy 4

Research Leaders

of Tomorrow

Data, Evidence &

Communications

• Training and mentoring

in program design

• Multidisciplinary and

multi-sectoral training

programs

• Peer review training

opportunities within the

College of Reviewers

• Training modules on

science/policy frontiers

Leaders Across

Knowledge Sectors

• Data intensive

research

• Health

professional

scientists

• Research with/by

Indigenous

peoples

• Entrepreneurial

skills

• Patient-oriented

research

Experts in Critical

Priority Areas

• Individual career

development plans

• Professional skills

development

• Hands-on professional

experience

• CIHR fellowship held

in diverse

environments

• Career Trajectory

Survey

• End of Award

Reports

• Program Evaluations

• CIHR Training

Website

• Training Data Centre

• Partnered Scans/

Surveys

To generate scientific, professional, and organizational leaders

within and beyond the health research enterprise Vision

Update 1: CIHR Training Website 5

Promotes training-related resources available within and beyond CIHR and its institutes.

Shares CIHR’s vision for excellence in health research training.

Allows expanded reach and engagement with training stakeholders.

Highlights relevant training-related, innovations, strategies and policies.

Insert content. For example, key statistic, or brief message. Resize box if needed

One-stop shop to support all training stakeholders

http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/50507.html

Goal

Update 2: PDF Peer Review Pilot #1

• To support the development of research leaders, CIHR conducted a pilot using Banting postdoctoral fellows (PDFs) as reviewers for the 2016/2017 Doctoral Research Award (DRA) competition.

• The goal of the pilot was to:

1. Determine the feasibility of providing PDFs the opportunity to develop peer review skills and

2. Inform the development of peer review education material for PDFs.

• Results of the Quantitative data analysis (scores & reviewer experience feedback) are available on CIHR’s training website.

• Qualitative analysis of reviewer comments is underway

• Expanded Pilot 2 with additional training and CIHR PDFs is underway in the 2017/2018 DRA competition.

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Update 3:

Individual Career Development Plans (IDPs)

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Tool to help map one’s career by encouraging the identification

of career goals and the intentional planning of short and long-

term strategies to attain the goals.

What is

an IDP

That all (CIHR-supported / tri-agency-supported) trainees complete IDPs at regular intervals so they can be more mindful of the skills and experiences they could seek throughout their training.

Goal

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For Trainees

• Active career management leads to better career outcomes for trainees, and higher career satisfaction

Update 3: Benefits of IDP Use

• Career success stories from university alumni increases high-quality applicants

• Leads to higher success in securing funding, easier to access career advice, and shorter time to degree completion

For Institutions / PIs

• Enhances ROI for the health research enterprise

• Ensures gaps are filled in strategic priority areas

For Funders

Contact Us

• support@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

By email By telephone By mail

• 1-888-603-4178

• 613-941-2672 • Canadian Institutes of

Health Research 160 Elgin Street, 9th Floor Address Locator 4809A Ottawa ON K1A 0W9 Canada

1 2 3

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NSERC Program - Updates

• PGS/CGS/PDF Notification of Decisions are now sent by email directly to student

• Selection Committee Guide is available on the NSERC website

• “Must start May” rule removed for PGS/CGS D

• Completion of PhD requirements by September 1 following announcement of results removed for PDF

• List of examples of activities demonstrating communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills expanded to include recognition for science promotion, outreach, volunteer work, coaching, clubs, civic engagement, etc.

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1. Implement gender-based analysis+ (GBA+) agency-wide and monitor its implementation

2. Collect, analyse and report gender and diversity data for all NSERC programs

3. Increase gender equity and diversity on selection committees

4. Develop competency to recognize and assess sex and gender as elements of research excellence; mitigate unconscious bias

5. Increase applicants’ understanding and competency to include sex and gender equity and diversity considerations in the research design and research teams

6. Ensure that leave does not impact how accomplishments, contributions and expertise are assessed

7. Recognize gender equity, diversity and SGBA+ as components of research excellence in evaluation criteria

8. Consult and engage relevant stakeholders in the implementation of the Framework

Framework on Gender Equity

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Equity, Diversity and Inclusion - Update

• Selection committees must have at least 20% women (30% by 2020)

• Selection committee members must complete gender equity training modules and references are encouraged to do so

• Parental leave policies

• 6 month paid parental leave available (regardless of eligibility for other paid parental leave)

• part-time options available for parental and family responsibilities

• extension of PDF eligibility window for parental leave

• Applicants are evaluated on their active period, excluding leaves

• Collection of self-identification data (includes option to not self-identify)

• Applications from qualified Indigenous doctoral applicants may be submitted in addition to university quotas

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Diversity and Gender Equity Training

• VIDEO: Equality versus Equity http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/med/multimedia/videos/gba-acs-ee-en.html (source Status of Women Canada)

• We also recommend:

• Bias in Peer Review Training Module (http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/women-Femmes/index_eng.asp)

• GBA+ Training Module (http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/gba-acs/course-cours-en.html) (source: Status of Women Canada)

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2017 Competition Statistics Package

• Contains information such as:

• Results by province

• Sex-disaggregated results

• Results by institution

• Results by selection committee

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www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/_doc/Students-Etudiants/2017StatsScholarships_e.pdf

Update from SSHRC

Collaborative Initiatives

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• SSHRC continues to work with organizations to create and administer

collaborative initiatives and supplements in support of research training. These

include:

• Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Advanced Scholars Program

(QES-AS)

• Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)—International Law

Research Program

• Parliamentary Internship Program (PIP)

• Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes Program (CHCI)

• Mitacs – SSHRC Partnership

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Eligibility of Health-Related Research • In May 2017, the guidelines were revised

and expanded to include more areas of

eligible health-related research:

• Eligible projects:

• General well-being and work-life

balance related

• Healthy policy and management

• Health ethics

• Social construction of health and

health behaviour

• Still ineligible:

• Clinical education

• Clinical research and therapy

• Kinesiology and epidemiology

• Fall 2017 - launch of a new end-of-award electronic achievement

report

• New format will:

– improve SSHRC’s capacity to collect and measure outcomes and

impacts of funded activities; and

– reduce administrative burden on award recipients.

• Achievement reports:

– will replace the current final report forms; and

– must be completed by SSHRC doctoral and postdoctoral award

holders after their award end date.

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Achievement Reporting

• Recognize outstanding researchers and celebrate

their achievements in research, research training,

knowledge mobilization and outreach activities

• 2017 Talent Award winner – Claire Battershill,

Simon Fraser University

• Claire’s current work uses publishers’

archives to follow the life cycles of books

from manuscript to finished product,

revealing publishers’ roles in helping to shape

contemporary culture

• This year’s winners were recognized at a

ceremony held at Rideau Hall on September 15th

• Results of the Impact Awards evaluation and its

management response will be posted on SSHRC’s

website in November 2017.

Impact Awards

Update on Future Challenge Areas

Summary Reports

2016: New Ways of Learning; Energy and Natural

Resources

2017: Emerging Technologies

2018: Shared Future with Indigenous Peoples;

Globalized Society

Events September 2017: Indigenous Research Forum

Nov. 16, 2017: Globalized Society Forum

Sample Collaborations Walrus Talks 2017 Speakers Series 2017-18

Library and Archives Canada Podcast (Nov.30)

Imagining Canada’s Future 2.0

- Foresight on Societal Futures

2018-2021 - Research on Emerging Issues

- Futures in Research & Training 45