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Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award for Graduate Students
2023 Competition

Research Impact Canada Network (RIC) is committed to maximizing the impact of research for the public good in communities. RIC aims to develop the capacity for knowledge mobilization and support activities related to the impacts of research in Canada and beyond. The network is dedicated to developing institutional capacity to support creating and assessing the impacts of research, scholarship, and creative activities by developing and sharing best practices, services, and tools.

Overview of the RIC Engaged Scholarship Award for Graduate Students
Prize
  • A cash prize of $3000 CAD for doctoral students and recent doctoral graduates or $2000 for Masters’ students and recent Masters’ graduates
  • A complimentary registration to the 2023 Community-Campus-Exposition (June 5th to 8th, 2023 in Thunder Bay, Ontario)
  • Invitation(s) to present on their engaged research project
  • A post on the RIC website featuring their engaged research project
  • A social media post on LinkedIn and Twitter directing people to the post on the RIC website featuring their engaged research project
Application Deadline February 24, 2023, at 11:59pm Pacific Time (Vancouver)
How to Apply To apply, please please submit the following through the application online system:
  • A completed online application form
  • An application letter (2 pages maximum)
  • A CV (3 pages maximum)
  • 2 letters of support (2 pages maximum per letter of support)
  1. A letter from project knowledge users, participants, collaborators, or partners describing the importance of your contribution to changes or impact in their actions, practices, guidelines or policies, etc.
  2. A letter from an academic supervisor describing your journey, evolution, lessons learned from this engaged scholarship experience.

Objective

The RIC Engaged Scholarship Award for graduate students recognizes engaged scholarship (making research with the people who benefit from it), co-creation of knowledge or integrated knowledge translation efforts among graduate students of RIC's Canadian member institutions, regardless of their discipline.

A successful project meaningfully incorporates:

1. The principles of engaged scholarship

The principles of engaged scholarship focus on high-quality scholarship, reciprocity, identified community needs, democratization of knowledge, and boundary crossing. Engaged scholarship leads to increased awareness of research by diverse audiences beyond academia or changes in actions, practices, guidelines, or policies. Engaged scholarship consists of doing research in deep collaboration with the people who can benefit from it.

2. Knowledge mobilization

Knowledge mobilization refers to the multidirectional flow and uptake of research knowledge between researchers and knowledge users in order to accelerate and increase the impact of research. Knowledge mobilization activities support engagement, collaboration, and knowledge exchange throughout and beyond the research process.

Please note that engaged scholarship refers to the process of conducting research in deep collaboration with the people who benefit from it. It is not:

  • Presenting your research at an academic conference
  • Publishing your research findings in an academic journal
  • Writing an op-ed

For examples of engaged scholarship activities, please see the projects of our 2022 RIC Engaged Scholarship Award winners:

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, the applicant must:

  • Be a graduate student registered at one of RIC’s Canadian member institutions, at any stage of their program (Masters or Doctorate candidate), in any discipline, or be a recent graduate (up to 1 year after graduation date) from one of RIC’s Canadian member institutions.
  • Be leading or have led a significant research project (e.g. research for a thesis or dissertation) following engaged scholarship principles (high quality scholarship, reciprocity, identified community needs, democratization of knowledge, and boundary-crossing) that resulted in increased awareness of targeted audiences or changes in actions, practices, guidelines or policies.

Application Procedures

To apply, please submit the following through the application online system:

  • A completed online application form
  • An application letter (2 pages maximum)
  • A CV (3 pages maximum)
  • 2 letters of support (2 pages maximum per letter of support)
  1. A letter from project knowledge users, participants, collaborators, or partners describing the importance of your contribution to changes or impact in their actions, practices, guidelines or policies, etc.
  2. A letter from an academic supervisor describing your journey, evolution, lessons

Application Deadline

Completed applications should be submitted by February 24, 2023, at 11:59pm Pacific Time (Vancouver)

Selection Process

Review

All eligible applications will be reviewed by the Adjudication Committee. The Adjudication Committee is made up of members of the RIC Network.

Selection Criteria

RIC is seeking projects that can demonstrate evidence of integrated knowledge mobilization and/or knowledge user or stakeholder engagement, or public outreach either at the local, regional, national, or international level. The project should provide evidence of increased awareness of targeted audiences beyond academia or changes in actions, practices, guidelines, or policies.

Each application will be assessed based on the following criteria:

Selection Criteria Description Weight
Relevance, importance, and clarity of the application Indicators include:
  • The research project is relevant and important.
  • The engaged scholarship activities are relevant and important.
  • The application is well written, clear, and easy to understand.
 3/12
Engaged Scholarship Indicators include:
  • The applicant provides relevant evidence of the engaged scholarship or knowledge mobilization activities implemented in the project.
  • The applicant demonstrates how principles of engaged scholarship were considered and implemented throughout the project.
  • The applicant demonstrates meaningful involvement of knowledge users, relevant parties and/or partners throughout and beyond the research process.
  • The applicant demonstrates the benefits or potential benefits of engaged scholarship for all relevant parties and partners.
 4/12
Desired/Potential/Promise of impact and outcomes Indicators include:
  • The applicant demonstrates leadership for creating impact or potential impact with the project.
  • The impact or potential impact of the project is clear and relevant.
  • The applicant demonstrates the value of collaboration and engagement with partners to create impact or potential impact in this project.
 3/12
Relevance of lessons learned Indicator includes:
  • The applicant provides a reflection on lessons learned.
 1/12
Contributions to equity, diversity, and inclusion Indicator includes:
  • The applicant thoughtfully reflects upon how their projects might relate or contribute to equity, diversity, and inclusion, including reconciliation and decolonization.
 1/12

Official Languages

Applicants may submit their application in the official language of their choice – English or French.

Contact

For questions or further information, contact Lis Huang at huange@yorku.ca. Thank you.

Process

1. Register

Click on the "Register" button to complete and submit the registration form.

2. Login

Login with your email and password.

3. Create

Create your online application.

4. Save

During the call for applications period, your application can be saved as draft by clicking the 'Save work in progress' button. As each section is complete, you will see a appear in the category tab when the application is saved. At any time, you can download and print your application by clicking on the icon in the Application Summary section.

5. Submit

Upon completion, click on 'Submit final application'. Download and print a copy of your application for your records by clicking on the icon in the Application Summary section in the right column. Note: If an update is required prior to the application deadline, you can make update(s) and resave it as a final application.

If you require assistance or additional information, please email huange@yorku.ca.

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Contact Information

Research Impact Canada
Kaneff Tower, York University
4700 Keele St, Room 625
Toronto ON
M3J 1P3

Contact Email:
Lis Huang (RIC Award): huange@yorku.ca
Sylvia Urbanik (CKF): urbanik@yorku.ca