URC-OAHN – Call for nominations

All applications sent by Affiliated Institute’s Research Offices must include the following documents:  

• A joint letter of support and nomination from the affiliated institute head (CEO, Scientific Director, VP, Research, or Chief Scientific Officer) and Faculty Dean explaining the caliber of the researcher, the synergy of the uOttawa-affiliated institute partnership and expected outcomes. The support letter will also confirm the type of support (a contribution of 20k$/y for 5 years in cash from the affiliated institute is mandatory, and additional in-kind contribution is encouraged) available from the affiliated institute and the faculty for the term of the Chair;
• Chair title (e.g., Ottawa Academic Health Network University Research Chair in…);
• Affiliation of the researcher (includes primarily affiliation, faculty and affiliated institute appointments);
• Research program summary (Provide 100-word summary, written in lay language, describing the uniqueness and importance of the proposed research program. This summary may be used for advertising purposes);
• Proposed research program written by the nominee (3 to 5 pages in English and 5.5 pages in French) – See section “Eligibility criteria” and the document with detailed instructions below for the presentation;
• A statement on equity, diversity, and inclusion philosophy and practice as a basis of the EDI plan to implement during the length of the URC (maximum 1 page);
• Budget plan and justification: The total budget is for five years and may be used to support direct costs of research (per the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide, can include research assistants/associates, graduate students, consumable supplies, and user fees) and actions towards EDI (adapted infrastructure and software, travel accommodation for researchers or trainees with special needs, inclusive dissemination, and other admissible fees to make research more inclusive). Up to $5K of the total budget may be used as a salary supplement to the nominee. In this section, please explain and justify how the budget will be used and the proportion of the budget to be allocated to costs of research versus a salary supplement. Note that the funding allocated for the core costs of research is provided in addition to and not as a substitute for a nominee’s concurrent sources of external funding;
• Current Curriculum Vitae (in OCGS format (PDF, 127 Ko); covering the last 8 years. Include the publication conventions in your discipline (1/2 page maximum) and any personal circumstances and/or career interruptions such as parental or sick leaves that may have impacted your research trajectory. These will be taken into consideration in the selection process;
• List of the nominee’s five most significant research contributions made during them career, explaining their significance and impact;
• Three reference letters, including at least 2 from independent arms-length reviewers with no conflict of interest (see section 3 below for definition). One letter from a collaborator familiar with the researcher’s work is permitted. It is expected that one of the three letters are from a researcher outside of Canada;
• All candidates should participate in the uOttawa institutional EDI efforts and complete the self-identification questionnaire: Count-me in Survey (accessible via VirtuO or via the following link for researchers from affiliated institutes: https://web47.uottawa.ca/siq/ The aggregated information may be used for adjudication purposes by the selection committees
• Detailed instructions (PDF, 190 KB)

Affiliated Institute’s Research Offices are invited to send their 2 selected applications (with reference letters) to the following email: [email protected].

Deadline: April 4th, 2025

Estimated start Date of the new Chairs: July 1, 2025.

When securing reference letters from at least two arm-length external reviewers in the field, please ensure that the reviewers:

• are not affiliated in any way with the University of Ottawa (including hospitals and research institutes);
• have no personal relationship with the nominee (including close friend, relative, former PhD or postdoctoral supervisor, mentor, a student previously under the nominee's supervision);
• have not collaborated, published or shared funding with the nominee in the last six years, or have no plans to do so in the immediate future;
• are not involved in the proposed program of research; and
• are not in a position to gain or lose financially/materially from the outcome of the nomination

The URC-OAHN selection committee in the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation will evaluate the applications sent by the Institutes (maximum two applications by Institute). The OVPRI selection committee will establish a funding cut-off, review the applications and recommend up to one file for each affiliated Institute (pending the evaluation). The recommended files will then be sent to the Research Chairs Evaluation Committee for final endorsement.

The applications, including external reference letters, are adjudicated based on the following evaluation criteria:

• The level of research excellence and productivity of the nominee, and/or demonstration of the research leading to significant achievements;
• The originality and quality of the proposed research program;
• The potential to achieve international recognition in the field;
• The potential to attract and retain excellent students, trainees and future researchers;
• The quality and feasibility of concrete actions to create more diversified, inclusive and equitable research environment;
• The relevance of the proposed research program in relation to uOttawa Strategic Areas of Research and the corresponding affiliated-institute’s research strategic plan and the Areas of particular interest mentioned above;
• The synergy of the uOttawa and affiliated institute’s partnership and expected outcomes. 

Following the RCEC’s final recommendation, a notice of decision is sent to the nominee, the Dean of the corresponding faculty and head of the affiliated Institute (e.g. Vice-president Research). There is no appeal.