The Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) has recently launched the Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity , which recognizes the contributions of many influential Canadian scholars, including Queen’s University Professor Emerita Audrey Kobayashi , to advancing equity within the CRCP and Canada’s research ecosystem more broadly.
Three $100,000 awards are now conferred annually through a peer-review process led by the program’s Advisory Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy . Queen’s will nominate one eligible faculty member—or a team of eligible faculty members and/or program leaders—who are invited to submit bold and potentially game-changing project proposals that will challenge the status quo, spark change, and take action to address persistent systemic barriers in the research ecosystem and academia. The award recognizes faculty members who contribute their time, expertise and lived experience to help address inequities in their institution, the research ecosystem and academia, and serves to provide opportunities for students and trainees to contribute to this important work.
Call for proposals and internal process
All Queen’s faculty members and/or program leaders whose work advances a more equitable, welcoming and inclusive academy are encouraged to submit an expression of interest (EOI) for consideration of an institutional nomination for this award. There is no limit on the number of internal submissions from any department or faculty. Preference will be given to a team rather than individual.
To be eligible, faculty members must be:
- eligible to receive Tri-Agency funding
- be in good standing with the Tri-Agencies
- have a full-time academic appointment at the time of nomination and for the duration of the award.
Nominees must have a track record of leadership in equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigenization (EDII) institutionally and/or in their community. Current and former Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) are eligible, as are individuals who are not CRCs.
Deadline: May 19, 2022
To be included in the potential candidate pool, we invite the faculty member leading the proposal to submit an EOI [1000 words maximum] to the internal selection committee by May 19, 2022.
The EOI should include:
- a description of the proposal
- how funds will be used
- description of the faculty member(s)’ expertise and contributions to EDII
The institution is restricted to nominating only one candidate/team per competition cycle. EOIs will be evaluated by an internal selection committee and short-listed candidates/teams invited to an interview to discuss their proposal further within two weeks of the EOI submission. Following appraisal against the award criteria, one candidate/team will be chosen for recommendation to the Vice-Principal Research to move forward as the institutional nominee, and to prepare a full nomination dossier with support from the Vice-Principal Research Portfolio for submission by the agency deadline of July 29, 2022.
The full nomination dossier includes:
- Nomination form (PDF 539 KB)
- Description of the proposed project (4 pages maximum for English; 5 pages maximum for French)
- Budget (1 page maximum for English and French)
- Institutional nomination letter and rationale (3 pages maximum for English; 3.5 pages maximum for French)
- Institutional nomination process and support for the initiative (2 pages maximum for English; 2.5 pages maximum for French)
Queen’s University applauds this initiative, which reflects the institution’s commitment to EDII and Canada’s Dimensions Charter (PDF 52 KB) to which Queen’s is a signatory.
For more details on this opportunity and internal process, please contact Dr. Mona Rahman (Research Awards Officer, rahmanm@queensu.ca) or Dr. Aleksandra Bergier (Research Advisor, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization (EDII), a.bergier@queensu.ca).
About the award
The Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity recognizes the contributions that Marjorie Griffin Cohen, Louise Forsyth, Glenis Joyce, Audrey Kobayashi, Shree Mulay, Susan Prentice, Michèle Ollivier and Wendy Robbins have made to increase the level of equity within the Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) and Canada’s research ecosystem more broadly, by way of their 2003 Canadian Human Rights complaints and their concerted efforts in the mediation processes, which led to both the 2006 Settlement Agreement and its addendum in 2019 .