Collaborative mining research project wins innovation award

Lakehead’s SSHRC grant recipients examining lead exposure, climate change

The Canada Research Chairs Secretariat has recognized Lakehead for following exemplary practices in the recruiting of CRCs as well as in achieving Lakehead's equity targets in the recruitment of CRCs.

For more inforamtion, please click here.

SSHRC Grant Application Enhancement Program 2015

The Office of the Vice President (Research, Economic Development and Innovation) at Lakehead University is pleased to announce the extension of the SSHRC Grant Application Enhancement Program. This program is designed to encourage and support researchers at Lakehead to begin preparation of their SSHRC applications well in advance of the internal deadline (2 weeks before the SSHRC deadline), with the ultimate goal of increasing overall success rates. The workshops will be designed to develop skills to write each application type, with common and specific references made during the sessions.

Beginning in February 2015, applicants will participate in a series of workshops devoted to the drafting of specific elements of a SSHRC application, common across disciplinary boundaries. Workshop topics may include a mock SSHRC peer review exercise, organizing a comprehensive description of the proposed research project, preparing an engaging summary, crafting a project budget, building effective research teams for successful grant applications, and creating a feasible knowledge mobilization plan. The topics and schedule of these workshops will be finalized in consultation with participants who are accepted in this program.

For more information click here.

Internal Call for Applications: Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) – Youth Internship Program

• Research Internships:  Two Positions Available

Overview
The intent of the Northern Ontario Internship Program is to strengthen Northern Ontario’s competitive advantage and build economic development capacity by attracting and retaining graduates in the North. The program provides recent graduates who are interested in launching and building their careers in Northern Ontario access to internships.

Lakehead University has two NOHFC research-related internships, out of its quota of five research-related placements available (one becomes available in the fall, and the second one after January 2015).  

The internal deadline for the submission of internship applications to the Office of Research Services is August 14, 2014. If more than two internship applications are received an internal competition will need to be held (applications will be reviewed by the Senate Research Committee).

Eligibility Criteria

• University and college graduates who have graduated within the last three years from an accredited college or university. Candidates must be graduates of post-secondary degree or diploma programs.
• The position must provide the intern with first time employment in their field of study. 
• Candidates are only eligible to participate in the internship program one time.   
• Candidates must be legally entitled to work in Canada.

Review Criteria
Applications will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

• The opportunity for the placement to result in a full time permanent job.
• The quality of the skill development opportunity.
• The type of training being proposed by the employer.
• The work plan/supervision method. Direct supervision must be provided daily by an onsite supervisor.   

Funding
Eligible not-for-profit and public sector organizations located in Northern Ontario are potentially eligible to receive a conditional contribution of up to 90 percent of a recent graduate’s salary to a maximum contribution of $31,500.  As well, NOHFC funding under this program, when combined with other provincial and federal government sources, will generally not exceed 90 per cent of eligible costs for public sector employers. Please note that for a proposal to be considered as being a research internship, the application must be written so as to meet the definition of research shown below:

Research involves a critical or scientific inquiry aimed at the discovery of new facts, new knowledge, or the development of new interpretations or applications.

For more information about the NOHFC program, please go to: http://nohfc.ca/en/programs/northern-ontario-internship-program

Lakehead University has announced a call for nominations/applications for the Lakehead University Research Chairs (LURCs) program.  These Chairs recognize high quality research, scholarly and creative achievement by providing a two-year research grant to support an individual’s program of research.  The LURCs program is a key element in retaining outstanding research talent at our institution.  In addition, this program will contribute towards the achievement of our Strategic Research Plan goal – to become one of the top 25 research-intensive universities in Canada in the next 5-10 years.  

Lakehead University is seeking applications for two (2) new LURCs, one (1) in the disciplines supported by SSHRC/CIHR and one (1) in the disciplines supported by NSERC/CIHR. 

Eligibility:  All tenured faculty who are members of LUFA and have been employed by Lakehead University for at least five years are eligible.  Current or past research chair holders such as CRCs, LURCs, Ontario Research Chairs, SHARCNET Chairs, etc., are not eligible to receive this award.

Value of Award:  $50,000 research grant ($25,000/yr) tenable over two years beginning September 1, 2014.  The Chair’s research grant may be used to support the following eligible expenditures:  teaching release (Chairs are required to teach a minimum of 1.0 FCE per year), stipends for students, post-doctoral fellows and research associates, research and conference travel, equipment and grant-writing support.  Chairs must receive the necessary approvals for teaching release using Lakehead University’s Release Time Request Form.  Salary payments to Research Chairs in lieu of teaching release will not be considered as an eligible expense.  Should funds remain at the end of the two year period, Chairs may request a maximum one year extension.

Application Process:  As part of their submission, Candidates should include the following:

• Cover letter;
• Two-year research plan (maximum 3 pages, plus one additional page for references);
• Budget with a budget justification (maximum 1 page) (Release Time Request Form if applicable);
• Curriculum Vitae or CCV;
• Three external letters of reference (please note that scanned copies of the original letters of reference may be e-mailed directly by referees to Dr. Umed Panu by the deadline date, but the original of the  letters of reference must be mailed by external referees to complete the file), and
• Supporting letter from the Faculty Dean.

Applications must be submitted to Dr. Umed Panu, Associate Vice-President (Research, Economic Development, and Innovation) no later than 4:30 July 2, 2014.  

Selection Process and Criteria:  The Advisory Committee to the President for Canada Research Chair Nominations has been given the mandate of making a recommendation on the selection of Lakehead University Research Chairs to the President for approval.  The Advisory Committee to the President for Canada Research Chair Nominations will review all eligible Lakehead University Research Chair nominations/applications utilizing the following evaluation criteria:

• be outstanding and innovative researchers whose accomplishments have made a major impact in their fields;
• be recognized nationally and internationally as leaders in their fields;
• have a track-record of attracting external research funding;
• have an excellent record of mentoring undergraduate students, supervising graduate students and postdoctoral fellows (taking into account circumstances in the Department or practices in the relevant field or discipline) and as Chairs have the potential to attract excellent trainees and future researchers;
• have a record of participating in collaborative interdisciplinary research and contributing to research capacity building (e.g., development of new graduate programs); and
• have proposed  an original, innovative research program of high quality that fits the priority research areas outlined in Lakehead University’s Strategic Academic and Research Plan.

Successful Lakehead University Research Chairs will be expected to give at least one public presentation as part of Lakehead’s annual Research and Innovation Week.  Each Chair will also be required to submit to the Vice-President (Research, Economic Development, and Innovation) and faculty dean a report highlighting their activities and accomplishments during their term as a Lakehead University Research Chair at the end of their award period.

For additional information regarding the application process, please contact Anne Klymenko, Director, Office of Research Services at ext. 8223.

Dear NSERC-Eligible Faculty Member:

Last year, NSERC decided to maintain a national competition for the RTI Grants Program . The new application system will involve each institution being assigned a quota of applications that they can submit to NSERC's national competition (October 25 deadline). Under this new system, Lakehead University has been assigned a quota of four applications. Therefore, in preparation for the fall RTI competition, Lakehead University faculty members are invited to submit complete RTI grant application packages (Form 101, Form 100 for the applicant and co-applicants) no later than September 17, 2014 to the Office of Research Services. Only applications from applicants and co-applicants who currently hold or are applying for an NSERC research grant (e.g., Discovery, Strategic, Collaborative Research and Development, Canada Research Chairs) at the time of application will be accepted.

If more than four applications are received, all of the submissions will be appraised and ranked according to NSERC's RTI evaluation criteria by an equipment and infrastructure sub-committee of the SRC. Subject to final approval by the Vice-President (Research, Economic Development and Innovation), the FOUR applications receiving the highest ranking will be submitted to NSERC by the October 25, 2014 deadline.

Umed Panu

Associate Vice-President (Research, Economic Development and Innovation)

MEMORANDUM

Date:              April 18, 2014                  

To:                  Faculty, Chairs and Deans           

From:             Umed Panu, Associate Vice-President (Research, Economic Development, and Innovation)       

Subject:          Early Researcher Award - Internal Competition

In the past Lakehead University has been successful in securing awards through the previous rounds of the Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI)’s Early Researcher Award (ERA) program.  The purpose of this program is to help promising, recently-appointed Ontario researchers build their research teams of undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research assistants, associates, and technicians.  

Lakehead University invites early career researchers who meet the ERA program criteria, to apply to the 2014 internal ERA competition.  You are eligible to apply for this award if you:

• are a full-time faculty member or principal investigator at an eligible research institution
• started your independent academic research career no more than 5 years ago (as of July 1, 2013)
• completed your first PhD, DVM or MD no more than 10 years ago (as of July 1, 2013)
• have not already held an Early Researcher Award
• are not a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair.

Researchers may receive only one ERA during their career.  To be competitive, researchers are encouraged to be actively involved in conducting research that has been supported by peer-reviewed funding and to demonstrate academic independence from previous supervisors.

Under this program, an award to a leading researcher is worth a maximum of $100,000 and must be matched by an additional $50,000. For this competition, Lakehead University will provide the required matching contribution of $50,000 ($10,000 per year over 5 years) towards one application. If researchers, however, are able to access funds from other sources to meet the matching requirement, Lakehead will consider submitting more than one meritorious ERA application. Please note that awards administered by the federal granting councils (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) are not eligible partner contributions.

Notices of intent (NOI), using the MRI form, are due in the Office of Research Services no later than May 23, 2014 (this is required in order for the applicant to be registered with MRI). Full ERA applications are then due internally in the Office of Research Services no later than July 11, 2014 and will be reviewed by the Lakehead University Senate Research Committee (SRC) to determine which application will be submitted to the ERA program.  

In addition to the required ERA application form and attachments, researchers are required to provide three original signed letters of reference in sealed and signed envelopes clearly marked with “ERA reference for (insert applicant’s name on envelope)”.  These sealed envelopes should be put inside another bigger envelope addressed to the Office of Research Services, Lakehead University (955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B 5E1).  One additional copy of the reference letters should be sent by fax (807-346-7749) or e-mail (ahacquo1@lakeheadu.ca) to the Office of Research Services or included in the application package for the purpose of Lakehead’s internal review. 

For a complete list of ineligible partner contributions, eligible expenses, evaluation criteria, application forms and letter of reference requirements, please see the ERA program guidelines found at:  http://www.ontario.ca/business-and-economy/funding-academic-research-early-researcher-awards

Researchers who are eligible to apply to the 2014 Foundation Scheme 1st Live Pilot may begin registration to this competition through ResearchNet as of  Monday, March 24, 2014. Registration will stay open until 8 p.m. Eastern time, June 23, 2014. As this is a new funding opportunity, CIHR encourages researchers to refer to the registration instructions available online.

The Foundation Scheme is designed to contribute to a sustainable foundation of new and established health research leaders, by providing long-term support for the pursuit of innovative and high-impact research programs.

The Foundation Scheme is expected to:

• Support a broad base of health research leaders across all career stages, areas, and health-related disciplines;
• Develop and maintain Canadian capacity in health research and other related fields;
• Provide research leaders with the flexibility to pursue novel and innovative lines of inquiry;
• Contribute to the creation and application of health-related knowledge through a wide range of research and/or knowledge translation activities, including relevant collaborations.

For more information: 

https://www.researchnet-recherchenet.ca/rnr16/viewOpportunityDetails.do?...

The Ontario Research Fund Research Excellence (ORF-RE) program promotes research excellence of strategic value to Ontario by supporting new leading-edge, transformative, and internationally significant research.

As a general rule, the minimum support provided by the ORF-RE to a project is $1 million. The maximum support provided is $4 million.
The ORF-RE focuses on scientific excellence and strong benefits to Ontarians. Applications are reviewed against the following criteria:

• Research Excellence: Scientific merit, quality of research, and expertise of research team
• Research Impact: Anticipated value to Ontarians in the following three categories:

1. Commercialization
2.  Economic Benefits
3.  Societal Benefits

• Research Translation: Strategy for achieving Research Impact
• Project Management and Governance: Management of the project, including governance structure, sustainability, budget, and milestones

The program will contribute towards eligible operating costs of an approved research project to a maximum of 1/3 of the total project costs, with 1/3 of the remainder coming from the applicant institution(s) and 1/3 from the private sector.

ORF-RE Round 7 is a general funding round. While Round 7 is open to all disciplines, the Ministry particularly encourages applications in three focus areas:

• Bio-economy and clean technologies
• Advanced health technologies
• Digital media and information & communications technologies

Interested applicants must submit a non-binding letter of intent to the Ministry of Research and Innovation, through their institution no later than February 12, 2014.  Since the letter of intent requires sign off by the University, faculty members  are asked to submit their letters of intent to the Office of Research Services by February 7, 2014.

For more information:  http://www.ontario.ca/business-and-economy/ontario-research-fund-research-excellence