Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities – Early Researcher Award (Round 18)

*Internal Notice of Intent – Due May 27, 2024

Description:

The Ontario Ministry of Colleges & Universities (MCU) will launch Round 18 of the Early Researcher Awards in the next few months, with the deadline expected to be in fall 2024. The ERA program is highly competitive and targets applicants who are exceptional early-career researchers in Ontario, helping them to build their research teams.

To ensure adequate time to prepare quality applications, the Office of Research Services is launching the internal selection process in advance of the official sponsor announcement as we do not anticipate significant changes to the program architecture.

MCU Early Researcher Awards Funding (Total value: $190,000):

$100,000 from MCU over 5 years to support salaries, benefits, and essential and reasonable travel for HQP carrying out the proposed research project. Funds cannot be used for supplies, equipment, or facility operation.
$50,000 institutional match over 5 years to support eligible research costs.
$40,000 from MCU over 5 years for indirect costs of research (overhead).

Faculty Members interested in applying internally should review the information in the attached Internal Competition Guidelines document and the ERA guidelines prior to applying. Please note, these are the program documents from the last ERA round in 2022. MCU will update these documents in the next few months, but they are not expected to change much from the previous round (except for the window for applicant eligibility).

Applicant Eligibility:

The ERA program is open to researchers who:

are full-time faculty members with tenured or tenure-track positions;
have started their independent academic research career on or after January 1, 2017;* and
have completed their first Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, Medical Doctor or terminal degree on or after January 1, 2012.*

have not already held an Early Researcher Award
are not a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair

*Final eligibility of the selected candidates will be confirmed once the Ministry launches ERA Round 18 and posts updated guidelines.

What Makes a Strong Candidate?

actively conducting research
has an “exceptional level” of grant funding; current/previous research activities supported by peer-reviewed funding - many successful applicants already hold research funds from a Tri-Council Agency (or other nationally recognized source).
demonstrate academic independence from previous supervisors – many awardees are 3-5 years from first academic appointment – and can provide two strong arm’s length reference letters.
be an “emerging leader” in the field, have a strong record of publication and experience training HQP, as well as evidence of publishing with students and student involvement in conference papers.
The proposed research program should be well-defined, with specific objectives, and must have significant benefits to Ontario.
The proposed training program should expose research team to exciting and challenging projects.

When is it Premature to Apply?

Limited research experience and chance to demonstrate potential, publish, or train HQP
Have only held internal start-up funding; funding has not been received from the federal granting councils
Current or recent research activities remain closely linked to former supervisor (Ph.D. or Post-Doc)
Difficulty obtaining strong arm’s length letters of reference from referees with international stature (two arm’s length letters are required)

The review panel scores applicants on:

Excellence of the researcher (40%)
Quality of research (30%)
Development of research talent (HQP) (20%)
Strategic value for Ontario (10%)

Internal Selection Committee and Process

Similar to previous rounds, the Vice-President Research and Innovation (VPRI) is launching an internal process to identify the applicant(s) that will submit an application to the Ministry. Eligible applicants are invited to submit an Internal Notice of Intent for consideration by the internal committee. Based on the recommendations of the committee, and subject to the budget for matching funds, the VPRI will select only the most competitive candidate(s) to put forward a full ERA application to the Ministry. The decision of the VPRI is final with no process for appeal.

Internal applications will be reviewed by a committee, comprised of:

Vice-President Research and Innovation
Ontario Tech Faculty Deans or designates;
One or two members of the Office of Research Services (non-voting);

Assessment Criteria

The internal committee will assess the application’s fit with the ERA program objectives and assessment criteria and make recommendations to the VPRI.

NOIs will be evaluated based on the following criteria that reflect the objectives of the ERA program:

Excellence of the Researcher (40%)

academic and employment record
research grants and awards received
publication record
other areas of research productivity
researcher current and potential standing for excellence in the research field based on research plans and letters of reference
independence from previous supervisor regarding publication record
independent peer-reviewed funding

Quality of Research (30%):

excellence of proposed research
originality of proposed research
clarity of research proposal
relevance of methodology

Development of Research Talent (20%):

- development of research knowledge of members of research team
- skills development of team
- training is unique and leading edge
- past experience in HQP training
- clearly demonstrate commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) when developing the research teams

Strategic Value for Ontario (10%)

Commercialization benefits
Economic benefits
Societal and/or cultural benefits

How to Apply:

A complete application for consideration by the Ontario Tech internal committee consists of:

Internal ERA Notice of Intent Form
Tri-Agency CV (Including “Research Contributions” attachment, if submitting NSERC Form 100 or SSHRC CV)

The NOI and CV must be submitted as a single PDF to Ewa Stewart by May 27, 2024 using the subject line: 2024 Ontario ERA NOI – (Applicant Name).

Note: The internal NOI represents a fraction of the work required for a full ERA application. For the Ministry ERA application, the successful candidate(s) will need to provide a comprehensive CV adhering to Ministry formatting requirements, letters of reference, a completed application form and a six-page proposal. Please read the full ERA application requirements before committing to applying.

Timeline:

Action	Deadline
Interested applicants will submit a NOI and CV to the Office of Research Services (ORS)	May 27
ORS will collate the NOIs submitted and provide copies to the VPRI and Deans for review	May 28
VPRI will meet with the Deans collectively to review and select the most competitive candidate(s) to be put forward	Week of June 10
ORS will notify applicants of internal results	June 15
Ministry Launch of Round 17	TBD
ORS will work closely with those chosen to move to develop competitive applications	June 15 – to agency deadline in the fall
ORS submits complete application package(s) to Ministry	TBD Fall 2024

Contact Information:

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this funding opportunity before you submit your NOI to the internal competition, please contact Ewa Stewart in the Office of Research Services.