The CWCO welcomes researchers from all disciplines. 

To be eligible the applicant must:

• Hold a full-time tenure or a tenure track position at the University of Ottawa
• Be a member of the conference/workshop organizing committee
• Have funding from an external source for the activity (please clearly identify from where such external funding is being sought or has been obtained for the activity). Priority will be given to applicants that have secured new funding for the workshop.
• Secure equal matching funding from the faculty 

For the application to be eligible, the conference/workshop must:

• Have student participation
• Be open to all interested and qualified researchers
• Include participants and speakers from Canada and abroad
• Host the meeting on campus
• To enhance institutional commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, applicants to the CWCO program are required to describe what actions they are taking to integrate people from the four designated groups (FDGs) - women, Aboriginal Peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities, as panelists and as presenters.

Priority will be given to applications that:

• Demonstrate high level of student participation
• Obtain or seek external funding from peer-reviewed agencies
• Put forward a conference/workshop of the national or international scene
• Will enhance the visibility of the University of Ottawa, its researchers and students

Application Deadlines

This opportunity is currently being revised and updated for the next cycle of applications (spring 2025). The November application round remains unchanged. Changes to this program's next cycle will be communicated on this website and to faculties’ research offices in the upcoming weeks. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Faculties must review and approve the request to RMS. Researchers must complete an RE form to apply for this competition. RMS encourages applicants to verify their Faculty’s submission deadlines.  

RMS will not accept application after deadlines nor without the Faculty approval.  

Applicants must submit to RMS by 4 pm on the deadline date. If the deadline falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, RMS will extend the deadline to 4 pm on the next working day.   

Applications must be submitted electronically (in a single PDF file) to:

CWCO - Conferences and Workshops on Campus Opportunity

Research Management Services ([email protected])

Application Requirements

Applicants must include a clearly defined plan identifying the following:

• Summary of the conference/workshop consisting of:
  • The title and theme of the conference/workshop
  • The need and significance of the conference/workshop for the research area
  • A description of how the conference/workshop will enhance the visibility of the discipline in research, the uOttawa, its researchers and students
  • The total number of anticipated participants (students and researchers)
  • The total number of anticipated participants from the National and/or International scene
  • A draft agenda/Opportunity for the activity
  • A list of the anticipated speakers, their home institution and their expertise
  • Proposed deliverables and/or dissemination/publication plan
  • Overall budget (revenues/expenses) for conference/workshop and budget justifications
  • Projected sources of revenues; (other sources/registration fees revenues/etc.)
• Common CV or equivalent
• RE Form
• Letter of recommendation from the Dean, Vice-Dean or Associate Dean of Research confirming:
  • The faculty's support to develop the proposed workshop conference
  • The faculty's equal matching contribution to the amount being requested of the CWCO
  • The specific dollar amount of matching funds provided by the Faculty

IMPORTANT NOTE.  The application package limit is 15 pages in total.

Budget justification, eligible and non-eligible expenses

The CWCO program will provide up to $3,000/year for an in person workshop or conference or up to $1,500 for a virtual workshop or conference.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Applicants must submit two RE forms:

• In the first RE form, the “Amount Requested” field should define the amount that is being requested from the CWCO only
• In the second RE form, the “Amount Requested” field should define the amount that is being requested from the Faculty only

Budget Justification

• Demonstrate the need for funds from the CWCO relative to other funding available to the applicant (i.e.: faculty, external sources, registration fees for the conference, etc.)
• Explain how the costs were established for each item in the budget
• Describe and justify how the budget items are needed to accomplish the objectives
• Show how the funds contribute towards the project
• Show economical use of funds

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is expected that conferences will charge registration fees to help cover costs.

Adjudication Process

The Vice-President of Research or their delegate will chair the review committee. For each competition, RMS will draw committee members from a pool of potential members. Funds are awarded through a competitive process, on the basis of the criteria set out below.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• Quality and importance of the conference/workshop and its contribution to research and scholarship
• Soundness of the planning, organization and appropriateness of the opportunity, presenters and, for workshops, the participants
• Adequacy and value of the planned deliverables and dissemination vehicles
• Provisions for the involvement of students from the University of Ottawa
• Provisions taken to promote diversity and inclusion of the panelists and presenters
• Contribution of the conference/workshop to the advancement of research and to enhancing the visibility of the University of Ottawa research, researchers and students
• Budget and budget justification, including:
  • justification of the proposed budget—its appropriateness, comprehensiveness and clarity, including prospective balancing of expenditures and revenues
  • extent to which the applicant is pursuing all potential sources of support
  • need for funds in relation to other funding available and conference/workshop activities and budgets

Format

Proposals must be formatted in accordance with generally accepted standards at the granting councils.

 General Presentation

• Text must be single-spaced, with no more than six lines per inch and in black color
• The accepted font is Times New Roman regular 12 pts, or any comparable font – nothing smaller
• Condensed font and applications completed strictly in italics are not acceptable

 IMPORTANT NOTES: 

• The evaluation for the CWCO is based on documentation available in the original application
• All text, including references, must conform to these standards. Incomplete applications and/or applications that do not meet the presentation standards may be rejected or be at a disadvantage in comparison with those that are complete and respect the presentation standards
• Color images submitted in the application will not be duplicated in color for the peer reviewers

Suggestions

• Be concise
• Avoid acronyms and abbreviations or explain them fully
• Write the proposal for a multidisciplinary scientific audience not expert in your discipline
• Include a clear description of your research objectives, why the research you are proposing is important, how it relates to prior work/state of the art and what the impact of the findings will be on the discipline
• Outline the risks and pitfalls, if any, and explain how they will be overcome and/or outline alternative plans
• Outline the resources available to you for this project and the additional resources you are requesting is support of the activities you are proposing
• Explain your dissemination plans and provide an expected timeframe for the performance of the activity (conference publications etc)

Within three months after the conference/workshop, the awardees must submit a final report to RMS (1 to 2 pages) describing the results of the conference/workshop in light of original summary submitted.

• Releases of funds are conditional on receipt of confirmation of external funding, with priority being granted to peer-adjudicated conference funding sources.
• Any funds remaining at the end of the validity period indicated on the official Notification of Decision will be reverted to the Opportunity.
• For more information please contact Research Management Services at  [email protected].