Nominators are responsible for preparing the required documentation, which must follow NSERC’s general presentation guidelines. Documents that do not meet the presentation standards may be rejected or be at a disadvantage compared to those that meet the standards.

Nominations must be submitted electronically through NSERC’s ICSP Secure Submission Site. All parts of the nomination package must be combined into a single Portable Document Format (PDF) file. Note that hyperlinked material will not be considered as part of the review process. Only documents requested by NSERC will be made available to the selection committee.

For renominations, nominators are asked to submit a complete and updated nomination package. The list of suggested reviewers should also be updated to include new individuals.

Nominations must be submitted before 8:00 pm (ET) on the deadline date. Late nominations will not be accepted. Once submitted, nominations cannot be updated.

In January, nominees will receive a system-generated email from NSERC with instructions on how to complete a self-identification questionnaire. This data provides information on the diversity of the population applying for and receiving NSERC awards. This information increases NSERC’s capacity to monitor its progress on increasing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in its programs, to recognize and remove barriers and to design new measures to achieve greater EDI in the research enterprise. Although completing the questionnaire is required, if you do not want to self-identify, you have the option to choose “I prefer not to answer” for each question. Self-identification data are not seen or used by NSERC peer reviewers.

NSERC is acting on the evidence that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding, and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. NSERC strongly encourages nominators and university officials to address barriers to equity, diversity and inclusion in their nomination processes.

Because nominations are reviewed by a multidisciplinary committee, the nomination material should be written for non-specialists.

The nomination package must include:

1. A letter of nomination signed by one or more nominators. The letter must be no more than four pages if written in English and five pages if written in French.

   Structure your letter using the following points as headings to clearly describe:

   • the nominee’s most significant contributions to research, training and mentoring in terms of quality and impact (refer to selection criterion below)
   • the role of the nominee in bringing about the contributions
2. The nominee’s up-to-date personal data form (Form 100) or Canadian Common CV or an up-to-date CV in another format. This must include detailed information about the relevant achievements and contributions to research and training over the nominee’s entire career.
3. The names, organizational affiliations and email addresses of six researchers who could be contacted by NSERC to conduct an impartial review of the nomination.
   • Reviewers must not be in conflict of interest (see Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy of the federal research funding organizations).
   • NSERC strongly recommends that nominators suggest a cross-section of reviewers with expertise in the nominee’s area of research, such as:
     • Canadian or international researchers from established to early-career stages
     • individuals from underrepresented groups, including women
     • researchers in academic and non-academic settings
   • Nominees must not contact suggested external reviewers in advance.
   • NSERC reserves the right to select all or none of the suggested reviewers.
4. Identification of any eligible leaves of absence (optional, maximum one page if written in English and 1.5 pages if written in French), in line with the Interruptions in research, training and mentoring section in NSERC’s guidelines on the assessment of contributions to research, training and mentoring. For medical leave, it is not necessary to describe the illness or treatment, but rather its impact on your research activity. Please:
   • provide the duration of the interruption
   • describe its impact on research and training activities
5. A terms and conditions form for nominees filled out and signed out by the nominee (do not use the encrypted digital signature function).
6. A terms and conditions form for nominators filled out and signed by each nominator (do not use the encrypted digital signature function).