Connaught New Researcher Award – Application Form
Application Deadline: December 1, 2017
1.Applicant Information
Last Name, First Name: / Department: / Faculty:U of T Appointment Start Date: / E-mail Address:
Academic Rank: / Date PhD or Equivalent Received (M/Y):
Start Date of First Assistant Professor Appointment or tenure track position at any other university (M/Y):
2.Adjudication Panel (only one Panel may be chosen)
HumanitiesLife Sciences – Epidemiology & Health Outcomes
Life Sciences – Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Biology
Physical Sciences & Engineering
Social Sciences
3.Funding Request:
Requests should be limited to an appropriate amount required to carry out proposed research.
A) Basic funding request (up to $10K):B) Top-up funding request (up to $25K):
Only a limited number of Top-up requests will be made to top ranked proposals
Total amount requested* (A+B):
*Not to exceed $35,000
4.Project Information
a)Project Title
b)Executive Summary
Provide an executive summary of up to half a page,briefly describingin non-specialist languageyour project, its anticipated significance/impact on the relevant area of research, and its applicability to matters of public interest.
c)Project Description
Please provide a project description of up to three pages (excluding references) stating the research objective(s), the methodology, the expected scholarly significance, and the relationship of the project to your previous work and to current knowledge in the field. The project description should be written for a non-specialist audience.
d)Leveraging Impact of Connaught Funding
Provide up to half a page to outline your strategy for using Connaught Fund support and/or the anticipated research outcomes resulting from this support to attract external research sponsorship. Please be as specific as possible in identifying potential sponsors and application timelines.
5.Budget
The Connaught New Researcher Award is meant to provide support for research operating costs. Eligible expenses are to be consistent with the appropriate tri-agency guidelines for NSERC Discovery grants, CIHR Open Operating Grants or SSHRC Insight grants, with the exception of laptops which should only be included in application budgets when required for project-specific purposes (as opposed to general research). Proposals should clearly describe what role all research personnel will play in the research project. Budgets should be assembled with care. If awarded, variations exceeding 20% between requested budget items will require justification and prior approval. Questions on eligible expenses should be directed to the Connaught Secretariat.
Basic Funding Request (Up to but not exceeding $10K):
Please provide a budget of up to $10,000 with appropriate justification for each budget item. All applicants are competing for awards up to $10,000. A limited number of top-up awards of up to $25,000 (for a maximum combined award of $35,000) may be allocated to the highest ranked proposals that also identify a specific need for the additional funding.
(Sample budget can be found in the Connaught New Researcher Guidelines)
Expense Item / Description/Justification / CostTotal:
(Add more line items as needed by re-clicking over corner of table and choosing insert-rows below)
Budget justification:
Provide a detailed explanation and justification for each budget item identified in the budget (up to 2 pages). Provide sufficient information to allow reviewers to assess whether the resources requested are appropriate. Applicants must only use this section for the purpose of justifying the proposed budget.
Top-Up Funding Request (Up to but not exceeding $25K):
If requesting top-up funding, please elaborate on the specific need for the additional funding and how it relates to the research project’s basic (up to) $10K budget. It should be noted in the justification how the project will scale with the additional funds, but also clearly demonstrate an effective research scope if in the event the top-up is not granted. Put more directly, the $10K budget should stand on its own as a complete research project with potential top-up funding increasing the project’s scope.
Expense Item / Description/Justification / CostTotal:
(Add more line items as needed by re-clicking over corner of table and choosing insert-rows below)
Top-Up Budget justification:
Provide a detailed explanation and justification for each budget item identified in the top-up budget (up to 4 pages). Provide sufficient information to allow reviewers to assess whether the resources requested are appropriate. Applicants must only use this section for the purpose of justifying the proposed top-up budget.
6.Career Interruptions and Special Circumstances
Reviewers take into consideration both career interruptions and special circumstances that may have affected the record of research achievement of applicants. In doing so, reviewers will be able to more accurately estimate the productivity of the applicant, independent of any career interruptions or special circumstances.
Career interruptions occur when, for health, family or other reasons, an applicant is taken away from his or her research work for an extended period of time.
Special circumstances involve slow-downs in research productivity created by health, family or other reasons (i.e., the applicant was not taken completely away from his or her work).
In these cases, the applicant should explain the absence(s) and ask that this be taken into consideration by the reviewers. Include the start and end dates, and the reason(s) or a brief explanation of the absence(s).
7.CV
Attach an academic or standard SSHRC/CIHR/NSERC CV. Please ensure that you include refereed publications from the last 5 years and identify the 3 most significant contributions along with an explanation of why they are the most significant.
8.Departmental Chair Assessment (Prepared by Chair or Equivalent)
The Chair’s letter can be either submitted by the applicant as part of the application package through MRA, or separately via email to by the application deadline. The letter of assessment must include a critical evaluation (up to one page) of the applicant's research capabilities along with confirmation that the applicant can dedicate the time required to undertake the proposed research. The letter should also address the publication norms within the discipline and outline the applicants key journals/publications.
Submission Instructions:Connaught New Researcher applications are to be submitted electronically in PDF format as one file using the naming convention: LastFirst_NR_2017, via MRA (My Research Applications).
The PDF file must contain the following documents in this order:
a) Connaught New Researcher Award application form. Please ensure that your application is presented according to the following specifications:
- Single-spaced
- Body text in a minimum 11 pt font
- All margins set at a minimum of ¾ inch or 2cm
c) Departmental Chair Assessment
Applicants are encouraged to login to MRA well in advance of the submission deadline to ensure login credentials are correct. Once the MRA has been submitted, it is recommended that you notify both your Chair/Director and Vice-Dean/Principal Research that your application is pending their approval and needs action before the competition deadline.
The system utilizes your UTORID and password (the same used to check @utoronto.ca email or Blackboard). If you encounter problems contact the RAISE help desk (416-946-5000, ).
Please consult the My Research - Application User Guide for additional information.
For program queries, contact Michael Hussey, Research Funding Officer, Internal Programs, at 416-978-3211 or
NR 2017