uOttawa Process for the Allocation of CRCs

At the University of Ottawa, Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) are mainly used for external recruitment purposes.

Process

The CRCs are managed centrally by the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (OVPRI) and are allocated as follows:

  1. The Faculty Dean submits a request to the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) explaining how the proposed research chair addresses a research priority and/or fills a research gap within their faculty, and how it is aligned with the University’s Strategic Areas of Research. 
  2. The VPR reviews the request in light of the following: the availability of CRCs, uOttawa’s CRC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (PDF, 984 KB), the relative priority of the request, the allocation of CRCs across disciplines, and other contextual factors.
  3. Once the request is approved by the VPR, a competition is launched to fill the chair position following pre-determined best practices. This includes an open posting of the chair position, as well as other equity considerations, such as diversity in the Selection Committee composition, preferential hiring process (if required) and mandatory training on unconscious bias for all individuals involved in the recruitment process.
  4. A Faculty lead is assigned to guide the Selection Committee’s activities and ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process.
  5. Following the selection of a candidate, the Chair of the Selection Committee submits his or her final recommendation to the VPR for approval.
  6. The candidate’s nomination package is then evaluated by the University’s Research Chairs Evaluation Committee (RCEC). Upon positive recommendation from the RCEC, the Office of the Vice-Dean, Research of the host Faculty, works with the nominee to prepare the nomination application, to be submitted to the CRC Program.
  7. The OVPR is responsible for submitting the nomination application to the CRC Program.