Queen’s NSERC CCV FAQ

A: Please refer to the following file that shows how to do this step by step. [Please email vmk@queensu.ca in case some instructions in that file don’t work anymore – the exporting websites keep changing their interfaces]

A: In order to import such a .bib file into your CCV, choose “Utilities” from the black menu at the top of the CCV webpage, select “Import Publications from File” and then upload the bibtex file that you exported from the publication databases, and select which publications to import, e.g, the ones that fall within the 6 year window. You can also import all of them, and later deselect the ones you don't want to include in the PDF output for your Discovery Grant. This is especially useful if you need different CCV versions for different granting agencies. Also make sure to check if the publication type is correct after you use the import tool, it lets you select a publication type from a little drop-down menu for each publication after it’s imported them. Please also note that the import tool will not import the name of the conference for bibtex items of type “@inproceedings”. Apparently this is by design, and the CCV tech support does not plan to fix this, so you will have to manually enter the names of the conference for all your conference papers. There is also a nice "Demo" that shows how the import works.

A: There is probably a minor error in one of the entries, e.g., if a field in one of the bibliography items is empty it will break the import. Try exporting from a different database, or open the .bib file in a text editor and remove empty fields, or email your file to webapp@nserc-crsng.gc.ca and ask them if they can tell what the problem is.

A: Similar questions arise if people don’t select the NSERC version of the CCV form, the generic version is much longer. To get the shorter NSERC version, follow the NSERC instructions, especially step 2.
You need to select "Funding" instead of "Generic" when you click on the "CV" menu tab after logging into the CCV website. Choose NSERC as the funding agency, then wait until "NSERC_Researcher" shows up (the only choice under NSERC) and select that.

The Queen's URS step-by-step CCV instructions contain lots of screenshots and a lot of detail on how to use the CCV interface.

A: The NSERC CCV instructions, give short explanations of what is supposed to go where. You can also click on the  buttons to find explanations right in the form.

A: For the fall 2017 round, you can include anything for which the date (or the end date) is after January 1, 2011.

A: No, don't delete them - you may need a different CCV version later for a different granting agency that may have different rules. To remove an item from the PDF output without deleting it from the system, you simply uncheck the check box in the "Submit" column:

A: In past years, NSERC has changed back and forth between numbering and not numbering the publications and presentations  in the CCV. As of May 31, 2016, they appear to be numbered in this year's version of the CCV. However, please note that the numbering starts with the most recent publication and presentation. That means that if you add more presentations or publications in October, let's say, then all the numbers will shift and if you used them to reference your publications in your application, then you will have to update up all those references. Some people have come up with their own numbering system, e.g., J2014a, (J for Journal publication etc.) and you can tag the entries in the CCV by simply adding those tags into one of the text fields at the beginning of the entry, e.g., before the name of the first author, or at the beginning of the title of the contribution.

A: Unfortunately, there isn't. 

A:That field doesn’t have an asterisk so it’s not mandatory. Specifying the start and end date can be useful if you can be reached under different phone numbers during specified periods of time, e.g., field work. However, it is not likely that anyone from NSERC would actually call you.

A:The official instructions say: “Recognitions are any acknowledgments, appreciations and monetary rewards that were obtained and which were not directly related to your research funding. “ Examples are: research chairs or research fellowships, best paper awards and other awards for your research (by professional societies, universities, foundations, the government); “Fellow of the XYZ Society” or something similar if it’s a research society in your field that elects fellows and if you received that honor in the last 6 years. Some people also list teaching awards. Some people list “Visiting Professor” at other universities (e.g., during their sabbatical). Some people prefer to list research chairs under research funding, that's fine as well.

A:This is in keeping with NSERC's Reviewer guidelines, which indicate that Application Reviewers must limit their assessment to applicant information from the last six years. If the honor is ongoing (but starts before the 2011 cut off) and the applicant feels it is an important item to include in their application, they may choose to highlight in the full application in the “additional information on contributions” section. Note that space in that section will be limited.

URS comment in addition to the official NSERC line stated above: some committee members consider it a significant indication of a person's stature in the field if the applicant is an (elected) fellow of a prestigious scientific association, so it really is a good idea to mention it in one of the sections in the application form even if you became a fellow before 2011, e.g., in Additional information on Contributions.

A: As per the NSERC instructions updated in May 2017, it means "the amount allocated to you personally". Note that is says "amount", so express your share of the grant in $, not in per cent.

A: To obtain consent from students to list them in your CCV, you can use the old form 100 (PDF, 105 KB). Each consent agreement is valid for 6 years. The form says the following about emailed consent: “If the trainee provides consent by e-mail, the response must include confirmation that they have read and agree to the text of the consent form.”

A: A “Principal Supervisor” is the person who is directly supervising the student’s research in an official capacity. Since this it is a documented process that contributes to training undergraduate HQP, summer research students can be included.
-You will use “Principal Supervisor” if you were the sole supervisor for that research or “co-supervisor” if supervision was shared.
-The  Level can be entered as “Bachelors”. In a few cases “Bachelors Honors” may apply instead.
- We suggest you identify the “summer student” nature of the project in the “Thesis/Project Title” section as a qualifier at the end of the title (example: “Title Name – NSERC Summer Research Student”). If you want to expand on this type of training, you would be able to do so within the space available when completing the full application.

A: First a clarification of the type of "4th year projects":

- Supervision of Honor’s or Bachelor’s theses should be included in the CCV, and the supervision of undergraduate summer research projects (especially if funded by NSERC USRAs) should be included in the CCV as well.

- Certain departments require so-called 4^th year design or capstone projects, for which groups of students work on a project under the guidance of a professor in which the students have to design a solution to a certain task or challenge. Work on these projects is often accompanied by lectures (by a different instructor) on how to write reports, give presentations, etc. and the students get course credits for this capstone/design project. Some of these projects can be very similar to summer research projects in the type of supervision they receive from the supervising professor, and some lead to publications or garner awards.

In the 2017 updates of NSERC's CCV instructions, it now asks applicants explicitly not to include supervision of capstone projects. You can still explain your supervision of capstone projects in the Past Contributions to HQP Training section in the full application, especially in cases where the students won awards, published or patented the results.

A: In the past, applicants could list scientific journal reviews in Editorial activities (Under Activities>Administrative Activities). However, in the updated CCV instructions 2017, NSERC states explicitly: "Do not include other assessment and review activities such as journal reviews and external reviews of research funding applications in the CCV. You may describe these activities in the application as part of the Additional Information on Contributions section, if relevant."

“Organized Review Activities” section is only for review activities related to the assessment of an institution.

External reviews for granting agencies are not part of the information that NSERC collects in the CCV. You may wish to highlight these types of activities in the full application in the “additional information on contributions” section. Note that space in that section will be limited.

A: If the applicant is unsure of the start and end dates of her membership on a technical program committee, then she should enter the dates as best as they can.

A: Service on committees of one’s department or faculty can be listed under Committee Memberships. Positions such as “Graduate Admissions Officer” which you mentioned are not really a membership in a committee could be mentioned in the full application in the “additional information on contributions” section. Note that space in that section will be limited.
Queen's URS note: I have heard from at least one Evaluation Group member that he/she didn't find listings for university committee memberships particularly useful for assessing a person's "excellence of researcher".

A: No.

A: No, this year's applicants can list all contributions from January 1, 2011 onward.  

A: As per the 2017 CCV instructions: The presentations section should contain "Presentations that you have given at conferences and events." as long as you "Do not duplicate information listed under Conference Publications."

A: Tech support has informed me that they are not importing the “Conference Name” or “Published In” fields deliberately, so unfortunately, you will have to enter the conference name manually.

A from NSERC: Only include the presentations made by the applicant him or herself. Do not include presentations given by highly qualified personnel (highlight these HQP achievements in the application instead, not in your CCV).

A: See the NSERC instructions to the previous question: apparently you should only list presentations given by yourself.
If you were a co-author but did not give the actual presentation, then list the contribution under Publications instead (assuming it was also published).

A: The asterisk should be used to identify HQP that were under the direct supervision of the applicant. It should not be used to identify all students listed on a publication, unless all the students listed were under the direct supervision of the applicant. This notation should be applied to all HQP under the applicant’s supervision (including post-doctoral fellows and laboratory technicians). If the research was done after the student has left your supervision, then you should not mark the student with an * as a co-author anymore.

Additional note from Vera: Some reviewers, especially external ones, may not know that the asterisk is supposed to be used to indicate student co-authors in the CCV. Since the asterisk is also commonly used to indicate other things (e.g., who is the corresponding author of a journal article), it is a good idea to include a sentence in the "Additional Information on Contributions" section in the full proposal to state explicitly that this is what the asterisk means in the CCV list of publications.