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.

You must submit your nomination 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 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.

When preparing a team nomination, include individuals who contributed to both the research and the knowledge mobilization activities (such as synthesis, dissemination, transfer, exchange, and co-creation or co-production).

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. It must include a title describing the research achievement.

   Structure your letter using the following points as headings:

   • description of the research that has led to the exceptional benefits
   • summary of the impact the research has had within its field (see NSERC’s guidelines on the assessment of contributions to research, training and mentoring for more information)
   • description of the strategy for knowledge mobilization that was used to achieve the benefits
     • Include information about the challenge and the approach taken to involve the appropriate users or beneficiaries in the research and knowledge mobilization activities.
     • “Users” refers to entities who will interact directly with the product of the research. “Beneficiaries” are entities whose lives improve as a result of the research. In some cases, these are one and the same. Entities may include communities, community organizations, specific designated or underrepresented groups of Canadians, members of the general public, companies, students, patients, schools, clients, manufacturers, engineers, other researchers or businesses.
   • summary of the significance of the benefits to Canadian society (societal impact)
     • “Significance” means the interaction between the magnitude of benefits and their extent or range.
     • The benefits must be demonstrated and realized (see the section Review below for additional examples of societal impact).
   • explanation of how the research made a specific, demonstrable and essential contribution to the benefits described above. This should show that the benefits would not have occurred or would have been significantly reduced without the contribution of that research
2. A description of each nominee’s involvement in the research or the knowledge mobilization activities (maximum 250 words per nominee if written in English or 300 words if written in French).
3. Up to four documents (no more than 10 pages total) providing evidence of:
   • knowledge mobilization (for example, tool kits, infographics, fact sheets or plain language reports created and distributed in consultation or collaboration with users, beneficiaries or both; workshops, conferences or meetings with stakeholders, users or beneficiaries)
   • societal impact (for example, letters of impact or case studies). These documents should contain information about the individuals or groups who benefit and the realized benefits
4. 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 should be able to assess the research contributions, the knowledge mobilization activities or the societal impact.
   • Reviewers must not be in conflict of interest (see the 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.
5. A brief letter from the team identifying one of the members as the spokesperson (for team nominations only). This individual must be eligible to hold NSERC grant funds and will serve as the contact person for NSERC for matters related to the outcome of the competition (see NSERC’s eligibility requirements for faculty to apply for or hold grant funds). The letter must also include the name, title, affiliation and email address of each team member.
6. 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 knowledge mobilization activities
7. A terms and conditions form for nominees filled out and signed by each nominee (do not use the encrypted digital signature function).
8. A terms and conditions form for nominators filled out and signed by each nominator (do not use the encrypted digital signature function).