Enhancing Concordia's External Prizes & Awards Strategy: A Comprehensive Approach
The Office of the Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies (OVPRGS) at Concordia University has transitioned its approach to external prizes and awards from ad hoc to a structured process. By expanding key portfolios and emphasizing equity, diversity, and inclusion, Concordia has seen significant progress in nominations and success rates. The OVPRGS's commitment to supporting faculty members in developing nominations underscores a culture of recognition and excellence.
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External Prizes & Awards: Overview & Strategy OVPRGS Town Hall Meeting 17 November 2021
Background & Context Limited institutional record-keeping on external prizes & awards prior to 2012 An ad hoc approach to external prizes & awards until 2019 A new funding landscape since 2019 requiring institutional nomination strategies for external prizes & awards, e.g. SSHRC Impact Awards
Recent Progress Concordia s RSC nominations o 2019: 4 (3 Fellows, 1 College Member) o 2020: 10 (4 Fellows, 6 College Members) o 2021: 18 (7 Fellows, 11 College Members) Concordia s RSC success rate o 2019: 0 BUT o 2020: 3 (1 Fellow, 2 College Members) Average RSC nomination success rate, nationally, in 2020: o 1 in 5 for both Fellows and College Members Concordia s success rate in 2020 o 1 in 4 for Fellows, and 1 in 3 for the College
This Year at a Glance In addition to 10 RSC nominations in December 2020, the OVPRGS submitted nominations January-October 2021 for: Prix Acfas (5) Prix du Qu bec (2), SSHRC Impact Awards (1 nominee a Finalist in 2020) NSERC Synergy Award (1) Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship (2), and Governor General s Innovation Awards (1) The OVPRGS and all participating stakeholders put a heavy emphasis on embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion in their processes
From Ad hoc Since 2019, the OVPRGS has focused on moving Concordia s external prizes & awards strategy from ad hoc support to a process that connects all levels of the University, and generates a high volume of high-quality nominations: Expansion of the portfolio of Associate Advisor, Institutional Research Initiatives (2019) to include oversight of external prizes & awards w/ position reporting to Director, Research Development Creation of the portfolio of Associate Vice-President Research, Development & Outreach (2019) Creation of the portfolio of Advisor, Institutional Recognition Initiatives w/ position reporting to Director, Research Development (2021)
... ... to Process The OOR offers extensive support developing major prize and award nominations for our faculty This support is equally available regardless of whether the University is the nominator, or the nominator is a colleague (both within and outside of the university). We encourage nominees to put individual nominators in touch with us when they are aware of them The University s efforts are geared toward faculty at all stages of their career. Early-career prizes and awards are also important for building toward career-crowning honours later
to Process National and international level: in close contact with the Global Excellence Initiative, managed by Universities Canada, which promotes the recognition of Canadian research talent on the international stage. Support includes: o Inventories of national and international research awards o Support in building compelling dossiers during the application process o Assistance with coordination of external reviews of candidates nomination dossier o Proposing a path to success for top researchers
to Process University level: University Research Committee (URC+2) responsible for providing high-level guidance and oversight of the external awards and prizes nomination process Review of bi-annual reports on nominations and outcomes issued by the OVPRGS; tracking performance and nominations to date, benchmarking with other institutions Provide guidance on Concordia s overall external prizes & awards strategy, including considerations related to institutional capacity as well as alignment with current and emerging best practices related to equity, diversity & inclusion and the principles of inclusive excellence
to Process Faculty level: working with the ADRs to establish faculty-level Awards, Honours and Prizes Committees Support identification and nomination of a diverse pool of stellar candidates for external awards and prizes Alignment with the Canada Research Chairs Program s best practices for candidate selection: o fairly considers the impact of leaves on a potential nominee s record when assessing research outputs, including potential career slowdowns as individuals transition to being on leave and transition back to work; o ensures that the assessment process does not undervalue scholarship or research that is non-traditional or unconventional, based in Indigenous ways of knowing, outside the mainstream of the discipline, or focused on issues of gender, race or minority status; o ensures that the need for workplace accommodations is not used as a negative against a potential nominee in the assessment process;
to Process Department level: working with the ADRs to explore mechanisms which will encourage and support department- level, peer and self nominations Winter 2022: All Chairs Meetings Fall 2021: Database of external awards and prizes collaboration between OVPRGS, OOR and UCS
Importance of External Prizes and Awards Recognize the achievements of individual researchers and research creators Wider implications: o As a measure of the quality of our scholarship, they enhance our institutional reputation and influence our global rankings o Contribute to a culture of excellence, allowing us to recruit and retain top researchers
Database of external awards and prizes https://www.concordia.ca/research/awards.html In February 2022, a filter for career stage will be added, allowing researchers to search for prizes and awards by either Early-mid career, or Established career
