Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity: 2023 Competition - Call for Nominations- Due October 2, 2023
The Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) is pleased to announce a call for nominations for the Robbins-Olliveier Award of Excellence in Equity 2023 competition.
This award aims to:
fund bold and potentially game-changing institutional-level initiatives that will challenge the status quo, spark change and take action to address persistent systemic barriers within the institution research ecosystem and academia more broadly;
recognize faculty members who contribute their time, expertise and lived experience to help address inequities in their institution, the research ecosystem and academia; and
provide opportunities for students and trainees to contribute to this important work.
The objective of the award is not to fund research in EDI disciplines but rather to fund initiatives to be implemented within the institution to identify and/or address systemic barriers.
Lakehead University will submit one nomination to this competition on November 7, 2023; however, nominations must be submitted to Dr. Jocelyn Bel, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion research facilitator at edi.research@lakeheadu.ca by October 2, 2023. The proposals will be assessed by an internal review committee and ranked based on the listed selection criteria for this award. The highest-ranked nomination will work with the Office of Research Services to amend the application before being submitted on behalf of the institution for November 7, 2023.
Funding Available:
Three separate awards of up to $100,000 over one year will be awarded to successful institutions. The award provides a total of $100,000 over one year, with the potential for a one-year no-cost extension, to a faculty member or a team of faculty members nominated by an eligible institution, to fund the implementation of bold and potentially game-changing initiatives led by the nominated individual or team that:
contribute to the understanding of the persistence of systemic barriers in the nominating institution and, by extension, the research ecosystem and academia more broadly; and/or
identify innovative measures that could be implemented within the institution to change the status quo and break down those barriers in the long term.
Nominations are limited to initiatives that help identify and/or address systemic barriers within the nominating institution and, by extension, the research ecosystem. Research projects in EDI-focused disciplines will not be accepted.
Eligible Expenses:
Eligible expenses include, but are not limited to:
teaching/administrative release for the individual(s)
student/trainee stipend(s) or salary
research costs according to the Chairs Administration Guide
The list above is not comprehensive, as the proposed initiative is expected to be bold and game-changing and thus may include costs that might not specifically be stipulated as eligible in the program’s administration guide. The assessment process will include an administrative review of the proposed expenses to determine whether they are aligned with the objectives of the award.
Indirect costs are not an eligible expense. The salary of faculty is not an eligible expense.
The award is not intended to “top up” or be added to pre-existing, ongoing initiatives.
Faculty Eligibility:
To be eligible for nomination, the faculty member(s) must:
be eligible to receive grant funding from the agencies;
be holding a full-time academic appointment at the institution at the time of nomination and for the duration of the award (adjunct professors are not eligible); and
be in good standing with CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC (e.g., they cannot have eligibility limits placed on them due to not meeting grant reporting requirements for the CRCP or have sanctions in place tied to the agencies’ responsible conduct of research policy).
Nomination Requirements:
a) Description of the proposed project (4 pages maximum*)
The project description must be developed by the nominee(s) and must include:
a detailed description of the proposed initiative that shows how it is bold and potentially game-changing;
the expected impacts/outcomes, in terms of changing the status quo and sparking change towards a more equitable institution and/or research or academic ecosystem;
who will be involved in helping implement the initiative (e.g., faculty, students, administrators) and what their specific roles will be;
how co-creation with individuals from underrepresented groups (racialized individuals, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, women, individuals from the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities) will be conducted; and
how best practices in equity, including intersectionality, will be applied within the project.
b) Budget (1 page maximum*)
Provide a detailed one-year budget for the initiative that shows how the $100,000 award will be used to meet the objectives stated in the project description.
c) Institutional nomination letter and rationale (3 pages maximum*)
This section should present the nominee(s) and describe their contributions to the initiative in the form of a letter of endorsement. It must include:
the name(s) and position(s) of the nominee(s);
a summary of each of the nominees’ overall contributions to and leadership in addressing inequities in their institution and/or the research ecosystem and academia more broadly, in alignment with the selection criteria outlined above; and
the names and current positions of those at the institution (e.g., administrators, faculty, etc.) nominating the individual(s).
*Page limits do not include references. Diagrams, tables and images are counted toward each page limit. Any additional documentation provided outside of that listed above will be removed from the application and will not be reviewed by the committee.
Deadline: October 2, 2023
All nominations must be submitted via email to Dr. Jocelyn Bel, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Research Facilitator at edi.research@lakeheadu.ca.
Additional details and requirements can be found here.