Details
| Award Name | Synergy Awards for Innovation |
| Agency | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) |
| Value | $200,000 |
Deadlines
Internal nomination
| Internal nomination due to FSc RO at sciapps@yorku.ca for full review | 10-01-2024 |
| Internal nomination due to FSc RO at sciapps@yorku.ca for mandatory review | 10-08-2024 |
| Internal nominations due to SIRI | 10-16-2024 |
Complete nomination
| Complete nomination due to FSc RO at sciapps@yorku.ca for full review | 11-18-2024 |
| Complete nomination due to FSc RO at sciapps@yorku.ca for mandatory review | 11-25-2024 |
| Complete nomination file due to SIRI | 12-02-2024 |
| Agency deadline | 12-06-2024* |
Nominees should reach out to executive heads of partner companies as soon as possible to secure letters of support with this as a deadline to begin the conversation
Background
Recognizes partnerships in natural sciences and engineering research and development between universities and Canadian industry. In recognition of an evolving research environment, the Synergy Awards now also reward research partnerships with colleges and research partnerships beyond those with industrial partners.
Three awards will be offered for University Partnerships, defined as a partnership between an eligible Canadian university and one or more partner organizations.
Please see this memo for more information on the internal process.
Eligibility
- The nominated partnership must be for research in natural sciences or engineering. It must have also been supported, in whole or in part, by at least one NSERC research partnerships grant, i.e., Engage, Collaborative Research and Development, Strategic Partnerships (Projects or Networks), Industrial Research Chairs, Idea to Innovation, Alliance or Calls for Collaborative Research Projects.
- In addition, the partnership must be between at least one Canadian university professor, or group of professors,andone or more partnering organizations from the private, public (non-academic) or not-for-profit sectors. One member of the academic team must be designated as the nominee and all others, as applicable, as co-nominees. All academic team members must meet NSERC’s Eligibility requirements for faculty to apply for or hold grant funds (at the time of the nomination). Partnering organizations must be recognized for cost-sharing based on the guidelines established for Alliance grants. Refer to the Role of partner organizations page for more details. Partnering organizations must also be at arm’s length from the nominee, co-nominee(s) and academic institution(s). Refer to the Conflict of interest guidelines for partner organizations for more details.
Required Materials
Internal Nomination Components
Email submission to SIRI Specialist Abby Vogus, avogus@yorku.ca) by noon on October 16, 2024 – 1 PDF file compiled in the following order:
- Communication from Dean (or Associate Dean of Research) endorsing nomination, highlighting any benefits of the partnership to the Faculty
- A draft of the Nomination Template
- Completed Nomination Form (minus signatures from nominator and partners)
Completed Nomination Components
Email soft copy to avogus@yorku.ca no later than December 2, 2024. Please review NSERC’s General Presentation Guidelines to inform the preparation of nominations. External nominations require an ORS Checklist and the completed package should be submitted to SIRI.
- Completed Nomination Form (with all signatures)
- Completed Terms and Conditions Form for Nominees (one for the nominee and one for each co-nominee)
- Completed Terms and Conditions Form for Nominators
- Nominator letter of support (1 page max)
- Completed Nomination Template
- Letters of support from partner organizations (2 pages max per letter; not to exceed 20 pages).
- Concise company profile (one page max) for each partner
- Completed and signed ORS Checklist
Evaluation Process
Winners will be selected by an interdisciplinary peer review selection committee on the basis on the following criteria:
- Partnership (30%): the significance of the involvement from the partner organization(s) through the partnership.
- Impact and outcomes (70%):
- The significance of the social, environmental and/or economic impact and outcomes realized in Canada, and internationally if applicable (35%)
- The significance of the impact and benefits to the partners organization(s) (20%)
- The quality of the training environment and enriched learning experiences for research trainees that led to the development of advanced research, technical and/or professional skills (15%)
How to Apply
York University researchers are reminded that all applications for external research funding, including Letters of Intent, must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Research Services before they are submitted to the granting agency. For internal approval, the application must be accompanied by a completed ORS Checklist, which requires the Dean’s signature. Please send the complete application, with the finalized budget and a completed ORS checklist to sciapps@yorku.ca, five days prior to agency deadline.
ORS is accepting electronic applications – the process is outlined here.