2023-2024 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Competition - Internal Call for Proposals: Lakehead University Internal Information/Process
Background
The Banting Postdoctoral Fellows (BPDF) program is a very prestigious and competitive postdoctoral fellowship program supported by the Government of Canada. Please refer to the program website for the latest guidelines. The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program is designed to support world-class postdoctoral researchers. The fellowship provides $70,000 per year for two years. The program is open to both Canadian and international researchers who have recently completed a PhD, PhD- equivalent, or health professional degree.
Applications must be completed in full collaboration with the proposed host institution. As a potential host institution, Lakehead University is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals including women, racialized persons, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities and other equity-seeking groups. All qualified candidates are therefore encouraged to apply.
Since this is an extremely competitive program and only a limited number of BPDFs are awarded each year, universities have put in place internal peer review processes to review and facilitate the submission of the strongest applicants to the Banting Program. The Banting program expects universities to be highly selective in their endorsement of applications and to only put forward the highest quality of applicants.
The BPDF differs from traditional funding programs in that its specific emphasis is on the synergy between the applicant and the proposed institution. It is important to note that a BPDF applicant must be able to demonstrate how their proposed Banting-funded research is a strong fit with both their supervisor and Lakehead University's Research Plan priorities.
An internal peer review committee will be appointed by the Vice-President Research and Innovation and will rank/recommend applicants to be submitted to the program (with the final approval of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation). The Committee will include representatives from equity seeking groups. All committee members will be required to have reviewed the resources available on the Banting Equity, Diversity and Inclusion page, and to complete the Tri-agency unconscious bias training module.
Lakehead University’s Internal Application and Selection Process
Procedures and Timelines
June 10, 2023: After a potential candidate has contacted and finalizes arrangements with a proposed Lakehead University supervisor, by June 10, 2023, the supervisor informs the Office of Research Services (ahacquo1@lakeheadu.ca) that an application will be submitted as part of the internal process). It is at this time that our internal Banting Review Committee will be set-up.
July 10, 2023: Deadline for submission of complete Banting application packages. As part of the internal review process, candidates will be required to complete the online Banting application and submit supporting documents. Please submit your package as a single PDF file to the Office of Research (to Andrew Hacquoil, Research Facilitator, Institutional Programs, at ahacquo1@lakeheadu.ca). Incomplete applications will not be accepted.* The Office of Research will check application packages for completeness and eligibility of applicants.
Checklist
*The following components of the BPDF application (which can all be found in the official Application Guide on the BPDF website) are required by the internal deadline of July 10 (please note the three referee letters are not required as part of the internal submission package):
● [ ] CCV - using the Vanier-Banting academic template
● [ ] Banting application details - a pdf file of the actual application that is completed in ResearchNet (a pdf file of the preview version is required. Please note that this is NOT a print screen); normally 5-6 pages)
● [ ] Significance of Research Contributions - maximum of one page
● [ ] Significance of Leadership Contributions - maximum of one page
● [ ] Fulfillment of degree requirements form - this form is required even if PhD has not yet been completed (for Lakehead University applicants that have not yet completed their PhD, this form must be completed by the relevant academic unit's graduate coordinator).
● [ ] Special Circumstances, if applicable – maximum of one page (including justification for remaining in the same research environment where the candidate received their PhD).
● [ ] Research Proposal – maximum of four pages
● [ ] Bibliography – maximum of four pages
● [ ] Attachment: Supervisor's statement – to be completed by the proposed supervisor - maximum of four pages
August 10, 2023: Internal peer review committee completes internal peer review of applications and submits recommendations to the Vice-President Research and Innovation.
August 14, 2023: Notification of successful and unsuccessful applicants and their proposed supervisors. A summary of the feedback from the internal review committee on the BPDF application will be provided by the Office of Research Services to both successful and unsuccessful applicants and their mentors. Applicants who are successful in the internal competition will be assigned to a Research Facilitator in the Office of Research Services who will work with the applicant and supervisor on improving the quality of the application considering all feedback available to the applicant.
September 7, 2023: Full applications are due to the assigned Research Facilitator in the Office of Research Services for final review.
September 14, 2023: Institutional support letter provided to the successful applicant(s)
*All applicants to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship must follow the internal application process set by the Office of Research Services. A key part of the Banting application process is the institutional support letter. Applicants that do not follow this process will not receive institutional support (see below). Only applications that have been received by our internal deadline and successfully reviewed by our internal peer review committee will be considered for submission to the Banting Program.
University Support
Please note that for the purposes of submission, Lakehead University is willing to make the following contributions to Banting applications that are submitted through our internal process:
For Banting applications ultimately successful in the national competition, the Vice President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) will contribute a minimum of $5,000. In addition, the VPRI will contribute an additional $2,500 if matched by an additional $2,500 from the respective Faculty Dean for a potential institutional contribution of $10,000. The match from the Dean must be requested by the proposed postdoctoral fellow supervisors and confirmed in writing by the internal deadline date of July 10, 2023.