Guidelines for Nomination

University of Ottawa Award for Excellence in Research

General

• A dossier should be no longer than 40 pages excluding the curriculum vitae.
• Each dossier must be submitted by e-mail.
• It is not necessary to send a candidate’s publications with the dossier. If members of the Committee wish to consult such publication, APUO will obtain them from the faculty.
• Dossiers from previous years may be re-submitted with the candidate’s updated curriculum vitae and letters of support. Stale letters of support, or those for other awards or nominations are not acceptable.

Letter of nomination

The letter of nomination is the major document which the Committee will study. It should:

• present the core of the case;
• indicate where and with what priority supporting material fits in;
• summarize or extract important documents;
• state explicitly on which categories of research and on what sources of evidence the nomination is based;
• maximize the amount of information.

Supporting documents

A variety of supporting documents is preferable to endless, repetitive letters from only one individual. Typical supporting documents include:

• the complete, up-to-date, OCGS model of the curriculum vitae (or a curriculum vitae that contains equivalent information) of the nominee – this is required for every nomination;
• a one to three page submission, prepared by the nominee, describing the area of research and how it has contributed to the field or discipline, in language that any member of the Committee can understand;
• recommendations by department Chairs, Deans, Teaching Personnel Committees, etc.;
• letters of support / testimonials explaining why the researcher has earned distinction for themselves and for the University of Ottawa as a result of the importance and exceptional characteristics of the research work.

Letters of support / testimonials

• must be relevant to this award (please do not include letters pertaining to other awards for which the dossier was nominated);
• one letter from an internal supporter, and should be a close collaborator who is familiar with the relevance and impact of the nominee’s research;
• three letters from external assessors (to be selected by the faculty in consultation with the candidate) who will be asked by the faculty to assess the importance of the member’s contributions within their field and how the research work has influenced the discipline by specifying what information allows them to state that the researcher has earned distinction for themselves and for the University of Ottawa as a result of the importance and exceptional characteristics of their research work (Sample letter to external assessors);
• the demonstration of international recognition of the candidate’s research would strengthen dossiers;
• an accompanying paragraph outlining the credentials of the author of the letter of support / testimonial and their knowledge of the candidate’s field of research is essential.

Consent

Consent of the nominee is essential and must be indicated.

Equity, diversity and inclusion considerations

To ensure that Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) considerations are embedded in the selection process, the nominees are encouraged to participate in the institutional EDI efforts and complete the self-identification questionnaire “Count-me in Survey”.

The Human Rights Office is responsible for confidentiality, ensuring only disaggregated data is used by the University community to inform and prioritize EDI initiatives.

The APUO Administrative Director obtains data from the Human Rights Office and passes it to the Chair of the Committee. The data lists each nominee’s name and indicates whether a nominee self-identified as belonging to one of the five groups traditionally underrepresented in research (women, Indigenous Peoples in Canada, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities, and LGBTQI2S+ persons). The data does not disclose which group(s) a nominee self-identified with. The Chair will provide the data to the Committee which will be taken into consideration during the selection process.

Review and endorsements

Whenever feasible, nominations should be reviewed and endorsed by the department Chair and the DTPC.

The FTPC selects the nominations which are to be forwarded to the Committee. The FTPC shall prepare a brief in support of each candidate.

The Dean shall forward the brief, along with appropriate supporting documentation and their own recommendation, to the Committee by e-mail at apuo@apuo.ca.

Deadline date for submitting the dossiers by e-mail to apuo@apuo.ca is January 26, 2024.