Actions

NSERC has publicly positioned itself as a promoter of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and an actor in driving cultural change in the natural sciences and engineering (NSE) research ecosystem. From the delivery of funding opportunities such as the Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering program (since 1996), which originated as the Women in Engineering Chair in 1989; the PromoScience program (launched in 2000); and the NSERC Indigenous Student Ambassadors program (launched in 2008), to the hosting of the Gender Summit 11 in 2017, NSERC has long been invested in initiatives that foster EDI in the Canadian research enterprise. While progress has been made, sustained and concerted efforts are needed to drive change.

Recent progress

In recent years, NSERC has accelerated its efforts to address barriers and biases to underrepresented groups and to foster an equitable, diverse, inclusive and accessible NSE research enterprise in Canada.

In 2018, NSERC reiterated its commitment to EDI via the Tri-Agency Statement on EDI and has since made significant progress on the initiatives listed in the Tri-Agency EDI Action Plan. Guided by this plan, NSERC:

• gathers comprehensive self-identification data to help identify EDI-related barriers and inform decision making for funding opportunities, and works with partners to expand available postsecondary education data sets.
• embeds EDI considerations into decision-making processes and integrated Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) into the development and monitoring of policies and programs (see Gender-based Analysis Plus in NSERC Programs: Summary Report 2024), as well as into program evaluations.
• increased the number of Black scholars supported by tri-agency programmingat the undergraduate, Master’s, Doctoral and Postdoctoral levels to address the disproportionate underfunding of meritorious Black scholars at all stages of their careers.
• ensures that peer review/selection committees and agency-appointed advisory/governance boards include a diversity of people, and since 2020, a standing Committee on EDI advises NSERC’s Council and vice-presidents on funding opportunities and policy issues related to EDI.
• implements new ways to understand, recognize and assess research excellence in funding opportunities as per the Guidelines on the assessment of contributions to research, training and mentoring, informed by the recommendations set in the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), and by implementing a new narrative-style CV into its programs.
• provides EDI resources and guidance for staff, peer review/selection committee members and the communities served by NSERC.
• develops initiatives and policies to promote EDI and to address barriers and biases experienced by underrepresented groups, many of which are highlighted on the Review process, Career interruptions, Grants and awards and Resources pages.

Complementing the goals set out in the Tri-Agency EDI Action Plan, NSERC recognizes the need for dedicated efforts to support a more accessible NSE research ecosystem, and as a result, an Accessibility Plan was developed in accordance with the Accessible Canada Act to guide NSERC’s action toward this goal.

Moving forward

NSERC engaged with various stakeholders to develop the NSERC 2030: Discovery. Innovation. Inclusion. strategic plan, which emphasizes the overarching importance of equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion across all of NSERC’s programs and throughout the research ecosystem, and which guides NSERC’s actions for the coming years.