Science Rendezvous showcases the best and brightest in science and technology in Canada. The public will get a chance to meet with world-class researchers, take a behind the scenes tour of some of the cutting-edge research labs, participate in hands on experiments and activities, watch amazing demonstrations of the integration of science, architecture and human ingenuity, and most of all, have fun while experience science in a whole new way! This one-day event will make science accessible to people of all ages and from all back-grounds.

Please share this message widely with your colleagues, friends and family and encourage them to participate. More information on the U of T events organized by all three campuses can be found at:

• Watch a Science Rendezvous video on YouTube
• Events across the GTA and Canada: www.sciencerendezvous.ca
• U of T St. George Campus: Download Brochure | More details
• Toronto Zoo – organized by U of T Scarborough (UTSC): More details
• U of T Mississauga (UTM): More details

We hope to see you on May 12!

 
Date and Location: May 17th-18th, 2012 at University of Toronto Trinity College (George Ignatieff Theatre)

Registration Deadline: Register early! Rates go up after May 4th.

For more information, visit: http://www.torontomicrofluidics.ca/ooac/doku.php?id=start

The CHRP program is jointly funded by NSERC and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). NSERC will be managing the application process.  Additional projects related to the strategic priorities of CIHR Institutes may also be supported through this program.

Value: No Limit

New for 2012: Target Areas, application and guidelines.  You can read more about the program as well on the CIHR website.

Critical Dates:

1. May 2, 2012: Internal Deadline for completed Notice of Intent.
2. May 15, 2012:  NSERC’s Deadline

• To access a Letter of Intent, and for more details on the CHRP Program, vist our website.

Information Session:

• An information session will be held on Tuesday, April 3, 2012, from 3 pm to 5 pm in Room TZ 6 Imperial Oil Lecture Theater, Tanz Building, 6 Queen’s Park Cres. W.

  This session will cover program requirements, eligibility for NSERC and CIHR, changes for this year’s competiotn, evaluation criteria, and the features of a successful proposal.  Please RSVP by April 2, 2012 to Martina Simmonds, martina.simmonds@utoronto.ca

Major resources supported by this program may include:

• unique specialized experimental facilities or field research stations;
• research institutes that promote and trigger interactions within the constituents of relevant communities;
• a core of highly skilled technical or professional research support staff essential to the research activities of a group;
• large specialized items of research equipment; or
• a collection of specialized samples or objects, as defined in the Framework for Researchers Working with University-Based Collections.

General Eligible Costs

• Salaries of technical and professional research support staff employed to operate and maintain the resource, and provide assistance to users;
• Operation and maintenance of the resource;
• Materials, supplies and minor equipment essential to the operation and maintenance of the resource;
• Travel expenses for resource support staff of the facility to attend conferences, as part of the resource’s plan to keep abreast of scientific and technical advances;
• Eligible costs should not differ more than 10% at the application stage

Value: No Limit

Critical Dates:

1. April 20, 2012: Internal Deadline for completed Letter of Intent.
2. May 1, 2012:  NSERC’s Deadline (by mail)

To access a Notice of Intent, and for more details on the MRS Program, vist our website.  You can read more about the program as well on the NSERC website

Value: up to $10,000 for concept development and up to $100,000 per year for multi-year program incubation projects

Network Reception:

Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) invites you to join us for a networking reception

When: April 30, 2012 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Where: Toronto City Hall - Members Lounge, 2nd Floor

Find out about TAF’s activities and hear from three of our partners about how they are scaling up initiatives incubated by TAF:

Fred Eisenberger, President and CEO, Canadian Urban Insitute

• Scale-up of LightSavers to support adoption of advanced lighting technology Canada-wide

Brian Denney, Chief Administrative Officer, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority

• Scale-up of the SolarCity Partnership to monitor and assess performance of large solar installations in the GTA

 Roger Smith, Executive Director, Fleet Challenge Ontario

• Scale-up of FleetWise EV300 to increase penetration of electric vehicles in fleets across Ontario

If interested, RSVP to Lyle Jones ljones@tafund.org 416-392-0271

Additional information about the program can be found at our website.

The CHRP program is jointly funded by NSERC and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). NSERC will be managing the application process.  Additional projects related to the strategic priorities of CIHR Institutes may also be supported through this program.

Applying:

The application process for the CHRP involves two steps.  The first step requires a Notice of Intent (NOI) from the applicant, to provide NSERC with a brief outline of your proposal (due May 1, 2012). The second step, by invitation only, involves the completion of a full application (due October 1, 2012).

Critical Dates:

April 16, 2012: Internal Deadline for completed Notice of Intent.  Please submit the following to Mike Folinas, m.folinas@utoronto.ca.

• Completed electronic application package, which include Forms 100 and 182 (Form 100 – Personal Data Form, Form 182 – Notification of Intent to Apply for a Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRP) Grant)
• An RIS Application Form, signed by your Chair and/or Dean (as your unit’s policies determine) is required before your application can be approved by Research Services.

May 1, 2012: NSERC’s Deadline

• Firm and Final Deadline:  Your Notice of Intent MUST be submitted online no later than: 10 am on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 (sooner if possible) (by clicking on “Submit”)

**Note: Clicking “Submit” forwards your Notice of Intent electronically to Research Services for approval and final submission to NSERC.

Support: 

 Information Session:

• An information session will be held on Tuesday, April 3, 2012, from 3 pm to 5 pm in Room TZ 6 Imperial Oil Lecture Theater, Tanz Building, 6 Queen’s Park Cres. W.

  This session will cover the Program requirements, eligibility for NSERC and CIHR, changes for 2012, the application procedures, the evaluation criteria, the features of a good proposal, and more. If you are planning to apply to the CHRP Program this year, do not miss this opportunity!

• Please RSVP by March 30^th to Martina Simmonds, martina.simmonds@utoronto.ca

 Questions during the Competition Period:

• Your primary contacts at Research Services for the Collaborative Health Research Projects Program is: Mike Folinas (m.folinas@utoronto.ca)

Additional Information on the Collaborative Health Research Program can be found on our website or the NSERC website

The slide deck presentation by CIHR Panel members is available here.

A summary of the March 8th discussion is available here.

CIHR also provides information on its Town Hall Presentations: (http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/44936.html)

U of T PI Survey

Jim Woodgett, Director of Research at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, has created a U of T survey for Principal Investigators (with or currently without CIHR funding) that poses the following questions with opportunity for comment:

1. Are you familiar with the proposed reforms to operating grant programs and peer review at CIHR?

2.  If yes, please score your level of satisfaction or concern by choosing one of the following options:

a) No concerns, proposed reforms are a step forward.

b) Some concerns, but overall I am supportive of the reforms.

c) Significant concerns but I believe CIHR is addressing these.

d) Significant concerns, there are fundamental issues that CIHR appears reluctant to address.

3. Have you expressed your opinion to CIHR through email, letters, etc.

4. If you attended the town hall on March 8th, did you feel it worthwhile.

To complete the U of T survey go to:  (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/B95FLKX)

CIHR would like to hear from you! 

All interested members of the UofT research community can make their views known directly to the CIHR on the proposed reforms of open programs and peer review (http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/44761.html) by:

• completing a feedback form (http://cihr-irsc.sondages-surveys.ca/s/reform-reforme/?l=eng)
• participating in the CIHR on-line discussion forum (open until March 28, 2012)
• sending an email at Roadmap-Plan.Strategique@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Please take advantage of the opportunity to provide feedback to CIHR.   If you don’t speak up, then others will speak for you!

The Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program supports the training of teams of outstanding students and postdoctoral fellows from Canada and abroad through the development of innovative training programs that encourage collaborative and integrative approaches, address significant scientific challenges associated to Canada’s research priorities, and facilitate the transition of new researchers from trainees to productive employees in the Canadian workforce.

New

• 2 New streams offered in this year’s envelope
  • Industrial Stream
    • Through the introduction of an industrial stream within the CREATE Program, linkages between industry and academia will be enhanced.  With the focus on developing skills that will be useful for the transition to the workplace, the CREATE Program is a great asset to industry, which requires not only technical skills, but professional skills.
    • Up to 50 percent of the CREATE grants will be dedicated to the industrial stream.
      
  • International Collaboration
    • An agreement between NSERC and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, the German Research Foundation) has been established. A CREATE proposal can be submitted in parallel with a proposal submitted by German collaborators to the DFG for an International Research Training Group (IRTG) grant. The intent of the agreement is to establish a formal mechanism for supporting a bilateral training program that involves an exchange of students between Germany and Canada. For further information, please contact NSERC.

 Key Requirements

At least 80 percent of the CREATE grant must be used for trainees’ stipends

• Up to 30 percent of this portion can be distributed to trainees who are not enrolled in Natural Science and Engineering

Up to 20 percent of the CREATE funds may be used for the following expenses

• Training program structure
• Travel
• Dissemination of training materials and research results
• Services and miscellaneous expenses

Weighting of selection criteria (Revised)

      LOI Phase

• Merit of the proposed training program: 40 percent
• Excellence of the team of researchers: 60 percent

Application  Phase

• Merit of the proposed training program: 50 percent
• Excellence of the team of researchers: 25 percent
• Program management and long-term sustainability: 25 percent

Please visit the NSERC webpage for additional information

Critical Dates:

April 11, 2012: Internal Deadline for completed Letters of Intent.  Please submit the following to Mike Folinas, m.folinas@utoronto.ca.

• An RIS Application Form, signed by your Chair and/or Dean (as your unit’s policies determine) is required before your application can be approved by Research Services.
• Completed application package, which includes Forms 100 and 187 (Please forward a PDF copy)

During this time frame, we will have all proposals reviewed by an internal review panel.  The panel will rate each proposal based on NSERC’s criteria for this program.

May 1, 2012: Sponsor Deadline

 Support: 

 Information Session:

An information session will be held on Monday, March 19, 2012, from 3 pm to 5 pm in Room 6, Tanz Neuroscience Building, 6 Queen’s Park Cres. W.

This session will cover the Program requirements, internal peer review committee process and ranking, the changes for 2012, the application procedures, the evaluation criteria, the signs of a good proposal, and more. If you are planning to apply to the CREATE Program this year, do not miss this opportunity!

Please RSVP by March 16^th to Martina Simmonds (martina.simmonds@utoronto.ca)

Additional Information on the Strategic Projects Grants Program can be found on our website or the NSERC website