Deadlines
Introduction
Value and duration
Eligibility
Evaluation criteria
Priority research areas
Review process
Application and nomination process

Deadlines

Submission deadlines and decision timelines
Phase 1 - Application Deadline Date	competition now closed
Results of Phase 1 Competition
Phase 2 - Application Deadline Date	November 16, 2009
Phase 2 - Anticipated Decision Date	February 2010

Introduction

The CERC program offers eligible Canadian degree-granting institutions the opportunity to establish highly remunerated research Chairs at their institutions in research areas that are of strategic importance to Canada.

Universities must first compete for the opportunity to establish these Chairs in Phase 1 of the process. Up to 40 applications in Phase 1 are invited to submit nominations in Phase 2, from which up to 20 Chairs are established.

Value and duration

Canada Excellence Research Chairs are tenable for seven years and are not renewable. They are targeted at the world's top researchers and scholars to develop ambitious research programs in the four priority research areas targeted in the Government of Canada's science and technology strategy. For each Chair, the university receives up to $1.4 million annually for seven years.

Unlike the Canada Research Chairs program, there is no dedicated infrastructure support for the Canada Excellence Research Chairs. However, universities are free to apply to the Leaders Opportunity Fund for infrastructure to support the chairholder’s research program. Funds from the CERC program cannot be used as a matching contribution for the Leaders Opportunity Fund. Further details on CFI programs may be found at http://www.innovation.ca/en/.

Chairs are awarded to individuals who take up the Chair on a full-time basis.

Eligibility of institutions

Canadian degree-granting universities are eligible to participate in the CERC program only if they have received, annually, an average of $100,000 or more from the three federal agencies.

To be considered degree-granting, an institution must meet both of the following criteria:

1. It must be authorized by a provincial or territorial government to grant its own university degrees. A postsecondary educational institution affiliated or federated with another degree-granting institution will be accorded its own independent eligibility, if it receives its operating budget directly from the provincial government (Ministry of Education or Higher Education or equivalent) and has its own board of directors; and
2. It must have conferred degrees during the two calendar years prior to application or have students enrolled who will receive degrees during the calendar year of application or within the three succeeding years. The institution must provide evidence of its authority to confer degrees and evidence that degrees were, or are expected to be, granted within the required time period.

Eligibility of nominees

Nominees must be full professors or associate professors who are expected to be promoted to the full professor level within one or two years of the nomination. Alternatively, if they come from outside the academic sector, nominees must possess the necessary qualifications to be appointed at these levels.

The program imposes no restrictions on nominees with regard to nationality or country of residence. Procedures to allow non-Canadian chairholders to work in Canada have been established by Human Resources and Social Development Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Members of the Chair’s team may also be eligible for an expedited work permit. For further information on the process, universities may contact their local Temporary Foreign Worker Unit: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/employers/tfw-units.asp. Other procedures have been established by the government of Québec for foreign researchers taking up a Chair in this province.

Researchers who hold tenured or tenure-track positions at Canadian universities are eligible to be nominated. However, they may not be nominated at the university where they hold a tenured or tenure-track position on the Phase 2 deadline, November 16, 2009.

Evaluation criteria

Phase 1

The program is exclusively excellence-based. No special consideration will be given to applications based on region, size of applying university, or factors other than those noted in the following criteria:

1. The institution's research strengths in the proposed field, assessed against global standards of excellence;
2. The promise of the proposed field of research for the Chair, measured in the context of leading global research in the proposed field;
3. The likelihood that the work associated with the proposed Chair will be recognized as globally relevant and will advance the frontiers of research in the field on a global scale;
4. The extent to which the proposal fits in one or more of the priority and sub-priority areas identified;
5. The ability of the university to sustain the research advantage created by the proposed Chair after the seven-year term of the Chair expires;
6. The ability of the institution to leverage additional resources that, together with the CERC program, will enable the university to adequately support the direct and indirect costs associated with a world class program of research; and
7. The potential to apply the research results from the Chair to advance public policy and/or the potential to commercialize research discoveries from the Chair.

Phase 2

Universities invited to participate in Phase 2 have the opportunity to nominate world-class researchers. The selection is based on the highest standards of research excellence, and nominations are assessed based on the following criteria:

1. Quality of the nominee - The nominee should demonstrate that he/she:
• is an outstanding and innovative researcher whose accomplishments have made groundbreaking impacts in his/her field, including the application of research findings for social and economic benefit;
• is internationally recognized as a world leader in his/her field; and
• has a superior record of attracting and supervising graduate students and postdoctoral fellows (taking into account practices in the relevant field or discipline).


2. Quality of the proposed program of research - The nominee should be proposing a program of research that:
• demonstrates excellence, originality and innovation and is of the highest quality; and
• will attract excellent trainees, students and future researchers.


3. Fit with the university's proposal in Phase 1 - The university is required to demonstrate a strong fit between the nominee and its application in Phase 1.

Four priority research areas

All Chairs are awarded in the four research priority areas outlined in the Government of Canada's science and technology strategy. The minister of Industry, upon the advice of the Science, Technology and Innovation Council, has identified sub-priorities to the four priority areas. Proposals that address one or more of the following sub-priority areas receive higher ranking in the assessment and selection process. Proposals are invited from a broad range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities; natural sciences and engineering; and health and related sciences.

1. Environmental sciences and technologies
• Water (health, energy, security); and
• Cleaner methods of extracting, processing and utilizing hydrocarbon fuels, including reduced consumption of these fuels.


2. Natural resources and energy
• Energy production in the oil sands;
• Arctic (resource production, climate change adaptation, monitoring); and
• Biofuels, fuel cells and nuclear energy.


3. Health and related life science and technologies
• Regenerative medicine;
• Neuroscience;
• Health in an aging population; and
• Biomedical engineering and medical technologies.


4. Information and communications technologies
• New media, animation and games;
• Wireless networks and services;
• Broadband networks; and
• Telecommunications equipment.

Not fewer than three Chairs are allocated to each of the four priority areas, and at least one Chair is allocated to research under one or more of the priority areas that is of direct benefit to the automotive industry.

Review process

Phase 1 applications and Phase 2 nominations to the program undergo a multilevel peer review. The selection is based on the highest standards of research excellence.

Phase 1

1. Review panels

   Appropriate experts, selected both nationally and internationally, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the proposals in relation to the selection criteria. The evaluations are provided to the selection board, along with all proposal materials, for further evaluation.

2. Selection board

   A prestigious and distinguished arms-length selection board assesses the proposals. The majority of the selection board members are world-renowned international and Canadian experts. The chair and vice-chair of the selection board are distinguished Canadians. Other members include the vice-chair of CIHR Governing Council, the vice-president of NSERC Council and the vice-president of SSHRC Council, and the deputy minister of Industry Canada as an observer.

   In Phase 1, the selection board recommends the approval of up to 40 applications. These recommendations are provided to the tri-agency steering committee, who approves the successful Phase 1 applications. Universities who submit winning Phase 1 applications are invited to submit Phase 2 proposals.

3. Tri-agency steering committee

   The steering committee is composed of the presidents of SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (as an observer), and the deputy minister of Industry Canada. They approve Phase 1 applications based on the recommendations from the selection board.

   Universities who submit winning Phase 1 applications are invited to submit Phase 2 proposals.

Phase 2

1. Expert reviews

   Appropriate experts, selected both nationally and internationally, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Phase 2 nominations in relation to the selection criteria. The evaluations are provided to the review panel, along with all nomination materials, for further evaluation.

2. Review panel

   Members of the Phase 2 review panel are national and international experts, some of whom evaluated the Phase 1 applications and some  new members with appropriate expertise. The review panel evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the nominations in relation to the selection criteria. It also conducts interviews with university delegations as part of the evaluation. The nominee is not invited to participate in the delegation. The evaluations are provided to the selection board, along with all proposal materials, for further evaluation.

3. Selection board

   The selection board assesses Phase 2 nominations and recommends up to 20 potential chairholders. These recommendations areprovided to the tri-agency steering committee, who approves the successful Phase 2 nominations.
   
   If appropriate, the selection board ranks an additional slate of the most promising Chair applicants beyond the top 20. In the event that a successful nominee declines a Chair or fails to commence his/her duties and reside in Canada within 12 months of being awarded the Chair, the respective Chair will revert to the pool to be re-allocated according to the additional slate described above.

4. Tri-agency steering committee

   The steering committee approves the Phase 2 nominations based on the recommendations from the selection board.

Application and nomination process

The Chairs are identified through a highly competitive two-stage process:

Phase 1: Each eligible institution is provided with a target number of applications it may submit. Universities compete for the opportunity to establish Chairs by submitting documentation that addresses the evaluation criteria described above. Up to 40 applications will be invited to proceed to Phase 2 of the competition.

Phase 2: Universities are invited to nominate world-class researchers and to compete for up to 20 Chairs by demonstrating the world-class excellence of the nominee and of his/her proposed research in the priority areas identified.

All CERC recruitment and nomination processes at universities must be transparent, open and equitable. In particular, these processes should include open advertising with a statement of commitment to equity in the nomination process.