Contact Newsletter

Spring 2014 - Volume 38 No. 2

In this issue

• Community Engagement Visits 2014
• Upcoming NSERC Deadlines
• Open Access Consultation Results Available Soon
• Update on the Research Portal and Common CV
• Results of the Discovery Grants Program Evaluation
• Ed H. Kustan and John Athol Meech Appointed to NSERC Council
• Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering Program Now Accepting Nominations
• Data Exhibit Pushes Boundaries of Discovery and Innovation
• Update to NSERC's Appeals Process
• Update to Funding Agencies' Joint Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy

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Community Engagement Visits 2014

NSERC is hitting the road for another round of community engagement visits to provide researchers, students and other stakeholders an opportunity to connect with us to learn more about some recent program and policy developments. These visits also serve as a platform for the community to ask questions and seek more information from some of NSERC's grants and scholarships experts.

Some of the topics that will be discussed include:

• Federal Budget 2014
• Update on the Allocation of Discovery Grants Budget Among Evaluation Groups
• Eligibility and Appeals Processes
• Common CV and New Research Portal
• Women in Science and Engineering
• Update on Scholarships and Fellowships programs, including the Harmonization of the Canada Graduate Scholarships Program

NSERC staff will be in communities across the country and invite you to learn more about confirmed dates and times on our Registration page or contact us at connect@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

Upcoming NSERC Deadlines

Note: Institutions may have an earlier deadline in order to forward applications by NSERC's deadline.

Open Access Consultation Results Available Soon

Last fall, NSERC and SSHRC held an online consultation on a Draft Tri-Agency Open Access Policy. We received 201 submissions from various individuals and groups from the research community, scholarly associations, non-governmental organizations, publishers and journals. A summary of the consultation findings will soon be available on our website.

We would like to thank everyone who provided their feedback. It will be instrumental in shaping the new policy and its implementation. NSERC anticipates announcing the final version of the Open Access policy in fall 2014.

Update on the Research Portal and Common CV

As you know, NSERC and SSHRC continue to transition from our legacy, form-based systems to a new online application platform, the Research Portal, and the Common CV (CCV). Since its launch, over 12,000 applications have been submitted through the Research Portal, and the CCV now includes more than 130,000 users, with over 25,000 added in the last year alone.

We are committed to continuously improving these systems in response to the feedback we receive from the research community. Here are some examples of what we've addressed so far:

• Improved CCV search interface functionality, removed the subdivision requirement and provided the ability to sort on PubMed entries in May 2013
• Introduced a cleaner, more reader-friendly PDF layout for the CCV
• Improved linkages between CCV and the Research Portal
• Ability to unlock your Research Portal accounts
• Simplified navigation for the selection of the CV template
• Reduced the number of required fields in the NSERC CCV template

Here are some of the enhancements to the systems that are planned for the near future:

• Research Portal
  • Application review and assessments submitted through the Research Portal, including improved PDF documents
  • Improved filtering functionality on the Research Portal for Student Liaison and Grants Officers
  • Enhancements to Canada Graduate Scholarships Program — Master's invitation and references process
• Common CV
  • Ability to import publication files in Bibtex format that is supported by Google Scholar, Web of Science and Scopus
  • Improvements to the PubMed interface to allow multiple records to be imported at once
  • Migration of existing PubMed records into the journal section of the CCV
  • Improvements to the PDF preview

We will continue to advise the research community of upcoming enhancements and the implementation schedule for other grants and scholarships programs. In the meantime, we invite you to take part in a series of webinars we will be hosting to walk users through the Research Portal and the NSERC CCV, and to provide practical tips for using the new systems.

The Research Portal is now open for the Notification of Intent for Subatomic Physics Grants and Discovery Grants.

Results of the Discovery Grants Program Evaluation

The five-year evaluation of the Discovery Grants Program has reached a major milestone. A report summarizing the findings will soon be available on our website along with NSERC's perspective on the recommendations from the International Review Committee.

The overall conclusion is that the Discovery Grants Program is high performing, relevant and efficient. The report also signals that the revised peer review process should be maintained with some refinements.

Ed H. Kustan and John Athol Meech Appointed to NSERC Council

We are pleased to welcome Ed H. Kustan and John Athol Meech as the newest members of NSERC's Council. Both members were appointed for a three-year term on April 10, 2014.

Collectively, NSERC Council members represent the academic research and private sector communities in the natural sciences and engineering, as well as other stakeholder groups in the Canadian innovation system. They work to advance Canada's research and development agenda and to achieve the maximum strategic impact from the investments made by the Government of Canada.

Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering Program Now Accepting Nominations

If you are a female scientist or engineer in Quebec or British Columbia who would like to share your passion for the sciences, connect with and mentor youth, and be part of a team of five dedicated female academics, consider becoming an NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering.

Since 1996, the Chairs have helped increase the participation of women in science and engineering, and provided role models for young women active in and considering careers in these fields.

Nominations are welcome from any Canadian university located in Quebec and British Columbia. Joint proposals from two or more institutions located within these provinces are welcome. Chair candidates must either hold a current NSERC Discovery Grant or be awarded one prior to taking up the chair.

Applications are due to NSERC by October 2, 2014.

To learn more, please visit the Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering Program.

Data Exhibit Pushes Boundaries of Discovery and Innovation

Data: New Ways of Seeing the World, which features the work of Dr. Sheelagh Carpendale of the University of Calgary and Dr. Lyn Bartram of Simon Fraser University, was unveiled at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in April. The exhibit explores how NSERC-funded research in data visualization is making information more accessible and easier to understand.

Update to NSERC's Appeals Process

In 2013, NSERC's Corporate Internal Audit Division conducted an audit of NSERC's Appeals Process and made six recommendations. The Audit of the Appeals Process report and the management response are available on the Internal Audits page. In response to this audit, and to align more closely with CIHR and SSHRC, the Appeals Process was reviewed and revised. The description of the process has been updated.

Update to Funding Agencies' Joint Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy

Canada's four federal research funding organizations—CFI, CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC—have updated their harmonized  Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy of the Federal Research Funding Organizations, and the corresponding  Agreements. The funding organizations now require that individuals under investigation for a breach of agency policy at any of the four organizations must temporarily withdraw from participation in, and decline invitations for, any organization review processes.

Please direct any questions to sectr@nserc-crsng.gc.ca