To promote a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive (EDI) research environment at Lakehead University, the Offices of Research Services and Human Rights and Equity are launching an internal competition under the NSERC EDI Institutional Capacity-Building Grant. This initiative aims to facilitate programs/events that increase EDI knowledge within the university community. All academic departments are invited to apply for a monetary award of up to $1,500 to implement an EDI initiative within their academic unit. These initiatives should promote discussion within the department and propel it forward with innovative strategies for incorporating EDI in their area of research. With many Tri-Agency grants now requiring concrete EDI plans in each application, these departmental initiatives can also aid researchers with submitting more robust funding applications.

Each academic department is invited to complete the proposal outlined in the Google Form linked in this notce by October 17th, 2022. If successful, the proposed initiative must be completed before March 31, 2023. Any further questions can be directed to Jocelyn Bel (edi.research@lakeheadu.ca) or Anne Klymenko (anne.klymenko@lakeheadu.ca)

For more information, please click here.

Dr. Andrew P. Dean interviews Dr. Kathy Sanderson from Lakehead's Faculty of Business Administration. This originally aired on Shaw TV.

Dr. Andrew P. Dean, Vice President, Research and Innovation, sits down with Dr. Charles Levkoe, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Equitable and Sustainable Food Systems, and Rachel Portinga, PhD candidate at Lakehead University and a leader in the Lake Superior Living Labs Network. This originally aired on Shaw TV.

Research Internships:  Two Positions Available

Overview

·  Workforce Development Stream:  The intent of the Workforce Development Stream is to strengthen and develop Northern Ontario’s workforce through business partnerships by offering internships.  

·  Indigenous Workforce Development Stream:  The intent of the Indigenous Workforce Development Stream is to strengthen and develop Northern Ontario’s Indigenous workforce through business partnerships by offering internships to Indigenous persons.

Under this program, covering both streams, Lakehead University has a quota of five research-related placements.  Of these five, two are currently, or will be available.  The internal deadline for the submission of internship applications to the Office of Research Services is August 10, 2022. Please email a copy of your application to Andrew Hacquoil, Research Facilitator (Institutional Programs), Office of Research Services, at ahacquo1@lakeheadu.ca.  Do not submit your application to the NOHFC.   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).  Please note that you will need to create an account on the NOHFC website in order to create an application.

Eligible Candidates/Costs

Salaries/wages and employer’s portion of Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs) (e.g.: Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, mandatory minimum vacation pay, as per Employment Standards Act) for a limited-term internship position of 52 weeks (with at least 35 hours of work per week) for candidates that:

• Are new entrants into the workforce, are transitioning to a new career, or the unemployed or underemployed who are entering a new field;
• Have not previously participated in a NOHFC-funded internship;
• Are at least 18 years of age; and
• Reside, and be legally entitled to work, in Canada.
• For the  Indigenous Workforce Development Stream:  Identify as an Indigenous person, including First Nation, Metis, or Inuit.  

Review Criteria

Applications will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

• The extent to which the position addresses a labour shortage or supports the development of a skilled trade or profession in Northern Ontario
• The opportunity for the placement to result in a full-time, permanent job with the applicant or another Northern Ontario business*
• The quality of the skill development opportunity and the potential for the position to provide specific and recognizable transferable skills
• The quality of the position’s work/training plan and direct onsite supervision methods   

*Please note that applicants, in order to demonstrate the possibility of the internship resulting in a permanent employment must outline:

• How the internship could result in a permanent job with the applicant, or
• How the skills and training acquired by the intern by working with the faculty member on the proposed project will make them more employable in a certain field or industry (please give specific examples from your project that will show what skills and training will be acquired by the intern).

Applications that indicate NO employment opportunities will result, will be declared ineligible and removed from the internal competition.

Funding

For eligible municipalities, Indigenous communities and not-for-profit organizations, funding is in the form of a conditional contribution of up to 90% of an intern’s salary and employer’s portion of MERCs to a maximum of $35,000 per year. 

It is important to note that the applicant must provide the remaining 10% of the costs for the intern.  Therefore, when submitting your internship application to the Office of Research Services, a Research Proposal Approval Form (RAPF) must be included in the package.    A statement of where the required matching funds (plus benefits) will come from must be included in, or attached to the signed and completed RPAF as well.  Applications submitted by the August 10, 2022 internal deadline without an RPAF will be considered ineligible in the internal competition. 

An Important Note on Research Internships

Please note that for a proposal to be considered as being a research internship, the application must be written so as to meet the NOHFC's definition of research:  

Q:  What is a research intern under the Internship Program?

A: An employer applying for a research intern must engage in research activities as part of their mandate. NOHFC considers both pure (scientific) and applied research positions.

• Pure (scientific) research internships must contribute to the development of documents that are generated for public consumption and peer review.
• Applied research internships involve conducting studies and research that seeks to solve practical problems and find solutions to everyday problems. This often involves original investigation into the development of new technology, products, and services.

For the purpose of defining an applied research internship the following criteria must be met:

a)   The applicant must be involved in research aimed at developing a new technology and or products (i.e. a solution to everyday problem)

b)  The internship duties will focus on assisting the applicant organization in development and research of a new technology, products, or service.

 Applicants are required to state in their submissions how they meet the NOHFC's criteria for a research internship.  Applications that are not deemed to be research-related (i.e., the duties of the intern will be more administrative in nature instead of involving a research activity) will be considered ineligible in the internal competition. 

For More Information

 For more information about the NOHFC program, please click here.

Introduction 

All faculty members with tenured or tenure-track positions at Lakehead University are invited to submit applications to Lakehead University’s Fall internal 2022 Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) competition.  The deadline for the internal competition will be August 15, 2022.  

Please note that up to $500,000 (CFI portion only) from Lakehead's JELF allocation has been allocated to this competition to support a total investment of up to $1,250,000 in research infrastructure.  Researchers are required to secure the required 20% matching funds in order to be eligible to apply.

Internal Review of Applications

In order to support research excellence and ensure fairness and transparency in the distribution of these funds, applications will be reviewed internally by an internal CFI JELF peer review committee  which will rank the applications and then make recommendations to the Vice-President Research, and Innovation.

Eligibility and Application Process

The JELF "enables a select number of an institution’s excellent researchers to undertake leading-edge research by providing them with the foundational research infrastructure required to be or become leaders in their field. In turn, this enables institutions to remain internationally competitive in areas of research and technology development, aligned with their strategic priorities."

The candidate(s) listed in the proposal must be:

• A recognized leader or have demonstrated the potential for excellence in the proposed research field(s);

• Engaged in or embarking upon research/ technology development that is original, internationally competitive and of high quality; and

• A current faculty member with a full-time academic appointment or a candidate that the institution is in the process of recruiting to a full-time academic position in an area of strategic importance.

The JELF is intended to serve the infrastructure needs of individual faculty, or groups of up to three faculty members where there is a need to share infrastructure.

Preference to applicants will given in the following order:

• Early Career Researchers (ECR) -  (applicants who have obtained their first independent academic position within the last five years).

• Applications for shared research infrastructure to be located in the Lakehead University Instrumentation Laboratory or LUCAS laboratory (a letter of support from the Laboratory Director must be included in the application).

• All other tenured or tenure-track faculty members (candidates who have received funding in the past through the JELF, Leaders Opportunities Fund, New Opportunities Fund or Canada Research Chairs Infrastructure Fund are eligible for funding under the JELF; however a justification for the need for the infrastructure and complementarity of the value-added of a subsequent award is required).

Please note that applicants who have held a CFI JELF grant in the past three years are not eligible to apply.   Application forms and guidelines are available by referring to the CFI's website.

Candidates must be recognized leaders in their field of research, or show promise of becoming research leaders. They must be engaged in, or embarking on, an innovative research program for which the infrastructure is essential and which will provide an enriched research training environment. CFI JELF applications must also fit with the research priorities outlined in Lakehead University's Research Plan. 

In addition to meeting general CFI eligibility requirements, infrastructure items for JELF candidates must be essential for the research program of the candidate(s). If the requested items have been purchased or received, they must be obtained as an in-kind contribution no more than six months before the date of submission of the application.

Checklist for a Complete Application

Complete CFI JELF applications for the internal competition must be submitted to the Office of Research Services by the internal deadline and must consist of:

• [   ] 1.  CFI JELF Application Forms (CFI Award Management System)- Please use the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) – Unaffiliated version of the form.

• [   ] 2.    CFI Request for Quotations Form plus one quote for each major equipment item.

• [   ] 3.    CFI Internal Budget Worksheet and one quotation in CFI format for all equipment/renovation items.

• [   ] 4.     Letter from the relevant dean confirming support for application and confirming space. Space must be confirmed by the internal application deadline.* 

• [   ] 5.  Projects requiring renovations** must include:

  • a cost estimate (from Physical Plant) prior to the internal application deadline

  • Evidence of the required cash contributions to offset the 20% matching fund requirements.

• [   ] 6. Completed Internal Research Proposal Approval Form

• [   ] 7.  Regarding re-submissions: Applicants who have been unsuccessful in previous internal or external competitions must provide a letter summarizing how the internal peer review committee’s or the CFI's feedback has been considered and incorporated into the new application.

• [   ] 8.  If applicable:  Applications for shared research infrastructure to be located in the Lakehead University Instrumentation Laboratory or LUCAS laboratory must include a letter of support from the Laboratory Director.

• [   ] 9.  CFI JELF internal checklist.

*Note: If any CFI infrastructure is to be located outside of Lakehead University, please note that  Lakehead must still  ". . . exercise de facto control over the research infrastructure, including assuming responsibility for its access and for the associated scientific programming" (CFI Policy and Program Guide).   In such cases, a letter of support from the organization that would be hosting the infrastructure must be attached to the internal CFI application.  

The letter must specify:

• The organization's agreement to host the CFI-funded infrastructure (with Lakehead maintaining de facto control).
• Agreement to allow the Project Leader full access to the space and if there were renovations involved in making the space ready to house the equipment, the receiving organization is required to agree to the renovations to their space.

If the CFI funding was subsequently awarded, an  inter-institutional agreement would need to be signed between Lakehead and the receiving organization outlining the above terms and conditions.

**Note:  Please note that if renovations are not required as part of acquiring and installing the requested infrastructure, the applicant(s) must indicate in the CFI application why renovations are not required (including confirmation from Physical Plant).

CFI Funding Formula and Matching Funds

Please note that the CFI JELF program will contribute up to 40% towards infrastructure costs, the Ministry of Colleges and Universities' Ontario Research Fund will contribute 40% and the remaining 20% must be found from other sources by the researcher. Funds from CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC, as well as Tri-Council programs (e.g. the Networks of Centres of Excellence and the Canada Research Chairs) are not considered to be acceptable funding partners. However, the CFI will allow the cost of eligible item(s) to be covered in part by the aforementioned funding sources, provided that this portion is not used to leverage CFI funds. Equipment discounts beyond the best educational price are eligible as in-kind contributions towards the 20% matching funds required.

CFI JELF applications must include confirmation of the required matching funds. If the matching funds are to be provided by the private sector or other external agency, a letter of support outlining their commitment must accompany the application. If the 20% matching fund is provided in the form of a "discount beyond best educational price" by a supplier, a copy of the quotation must be included showing:

1. List Price

2.  Best Educational Price (if a company does not offer academic or educational discounts, this should be specified in the quote or  CFI Request for Quotations Form)

3.  Discount Beyond Best Educational Price (the in-kind or CFI contribution)

4.  Net CFI Price

Researchers must use Lakehead University's CFI Request for Quotations Form to ensure quotations meet CFI eligibility requirements. A CFI Internal budget worksheet must be completed and submitted along with copies of the equipment quotations used to complete the CFI form. Note that only "discounts beyond best educational price" are eligible.  Please note that project leaders should be aware that once the relevant taxes (3.41% HST) are applied to the total cost of the requested infrastructure in the application budget, the contribution by a vendor may actually work out to slightly less than the required 20%. Additional matching funds may be required to make up the resulting short-fall.

If you have any doubts regarding the eligibility of your matching funds, please call Anne Klymenko or Andrew Hacquoil in the Office of Research Services for advice.

Please note that LU start-up grants may be used towards the matching fund requirement whether it has been spent during the six months prior to the CFI JELF external deadline (October 15, 2022) or will be spent on research infrastructure. Funds from start-up grants are to be shown as a cash contribution from the institution, not in-kind (as per CFI guidelines). It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all in-kind contributions are eligible in accordance with CFI's guidelines.

Renovations to Space

Requests for renovations to new space (not currently allocated to the applicant) must be approved by the Lakehead University’s Space Committee prior to the internal deadline. Researchers should be aware that renovation costs can also include such expenses as changes to a space in order to accommodate a piece of equipment that has special power requirements, or environmental cooling (for example). If an application is to include renovations in the budget, researchers must contact Kevin Schlyter in Physical Plant far in advance of the August 15, 2022 internal deadline to arrange for a cost estimate. Applications that do not accurately reflect costs may be deemed ineligible for consideration. Additional information is available on-line at the Lakehead University Physical Plant website.  

Should you have any questions regarding the CFI JELF program, please contact Anne Klymenko at aklymenk@lakeheadu.ca or Andrew Hacquoil at ahacquo1@lakeheadu.ca. Additional information regarding the CFI program can be obtained by referring to the following website: CFI John R. Evans Leaders Fund.

Background

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellows (BPDF) program is a very prestigious and competitive postdoctoral fellowship program supported by the Government of Canada.  Please refer to the program website for the latest guidelines.

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program is designed to support world-class postdoctoral researchers. The fellowship provides $70,000 per year for two years. The program is open to both Canadian and international researchers who have recently completed a PhD, PhD- equivalent, or health professional degree. Applications must be completed in full collaboration with the proposed host institution.  As a potential host institution, Lakehead University is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals including women, racialized persons, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities and other equity-seeking groups. All qualified candidates are therefore encouraged to apply.

Since this is an extremely competitive program and only a limited number of BPDFs are  awarded each year (the success rate in 2020 competition was about 10%), universities strategically put in place internal peer review processes to review and facilitate the submission of the strongest applicants to the Banting Program.  The Banting program expects universities to be highly selective in their endorsement of applications and to only put forward the highest quality of applicants.

Lakehead University is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals including women, racialized persons, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities and other equity-seeking groups. All qualified candidates are therefore encouraged to apply.

The BPDF differs from traditional funding programs in that its specific emphasis is on the synergy between the applicant and the proposed institution. It is important to note that a BPDF applicant must be able to demonstrate how their proposed Banting-funded research is a strong fit with both their supervisor and Lakehead University's Research Plan priorities.

An internal peer review committee will be appointed by the Vice-President Research and Innovation and will rank/recommend applicants to be submitted to the program (with the final approval of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation).  The Committee will include representatives from equity seeking groups. All committee members will be required to have reviewed the resources available on the Banting Equity, Diversity and Inclusion page. 

Lakehead University’s Internal Application and Selection Process

Procedures and Timelines  

June 10, 2022:  After a potential candidate has contacted and finalizes arrangements with a proposed Lakehead University supervisor, the  supervisor informs the Office of Research Services (ahacquo1@lakeheadu.ca) that an application will be submitted as part of the internal process).

July 8, 2022:  Deadline for submission of complete Banting application packages. As part of the internal review process, candidates will be required to complete the online Banting application and submit supporting documents. Please submit your package as a single PDF file to the Office of Research (to Andrew Hacquoil, Research Facilitator, Institutional Programs, at ahacquo1@lakeheadu.ca).  Incomplete applications will not be accepted.*  The Office of Research will check application packages for completeness and eligibility of applicants.

Checklist

*The following components of the BPDF application (which can all be found in the official Application Guide on the BPDF website) are required by the internal deadline of July 8 (please note the the three referee letters are not required as part of the internal submission package):

●    [       ] CCV - using the Vanier-Banting academic template

●    [   ] Banting application details - a pdf file of the actual application that is completed in ResearchNet (a pdf file of the preview version is required.  Please note that this is NOT a print screen); normally 5-6 pages)

●    [   ] Significance of Research Contributions - maximum of one page

●    [   ] Significance of Leadership Contributions - maximum of one page

●    [   ] Fulfillment of degree requirements form - this form is required even if PhD has not yet been completed (for Lakehead University applicants that have not yet completed their PhD, this form must be completed by the relevant academic unit's graduate coordinator).

●    [   ] Special Circumstances, if applicable – maximum of one page (including justification for remaining in the same research environment where the candidate received their PhD). 

●    [   ] Research Proposal – maximum of four pages

●    [   ] Bibliography – maximum of four pages

●     [   ] Attachment: Supervisor's statement – to be completed by the proposed supervisor - maximum of four pages

August 1, 2022:  Internal peer review committee completes internal peer review of applications and submits recommendations to the Vice-President Research and Innovation.   

August 8, 2022:  Notification of successful and unsuccessful applicants and their proposed supervisors. A summary of the feedback from the internal review committee on the BPDF application  will be provided by the Office of Research Services to both successful and unsuccessful applicants and their mentors.  Applicants who are successful in the internal competition will be assigned to a Research Facilitator in the Office of Research Services who will work with the applicant and supervisor on improving the quality of the application considering all feedback available to the applicant.       

September 7, 2022:  Full applications are due to the assigned Research Facilitator in the Office of Research Services for final review.

September 15, 2022:  Institutional support letter provided to the successful applicant(s)  

*All applicants to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship must follow the internal application process set by the Office of Research Services. A key part of the Banting application process is the institutional support letter. Applicants that do not follow this process will not receive institutional support (see below).  Only applications that have been received by our internal deadline and successfully reviewed by our internal peer review committee will be considered for submission to the Banting Program.

University Support

Please note that for the purposes of submission, Lakehead University is willing to make the following contributions to Banting applications that are submitted through our internal process:

For Banting applications ultimately successful in the national competition,  the Vice President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) will contribute a minimum of $5,000.  In addition, the VPRI will contribute an additional $2,500 if matched by an additional $2,500 from the respective Faculty Dean for a potential institutional contribution of $10,000.  The match from the Dean must be requested by the proposed postdoctoral fellow supervisors and confirmed in writing by the internal deadline date of July 8, 2022.

The purpose of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) International Research Partnership Awards are to  enhance Lakehead University’s international research reputation and understanding of global challenges through increased engagement with international partners through: 

1) developing and expanding international partnerships; 
2) supporting the involvement of Lakehead researchers and scholars in international research networks and projects; 
3) facilitating and expanding access to international funding opportunities, and 
4) enhancing collaborative training opportunities for students.

This opportunity is open to all full-time, tenure-track and tenured Lakehead faculty members.  For more information, including guidelines and application procedures, please click here.