To: Deans, Associate Deans of Research, Department Heads, Directors, Canada Research Chairholders
From: Chris Houser, Vice-President, Research and Innovation and Youstina Asaad, Research Facilitator/Administrative Assistant Office of Research and Innovation Services
CC: Interim President Douglas Kneale; Acting Provost and Vice-President, Academic, Jeffrey Berryman
Original Approval Date: October 18, 2006 (Revised August 2019)
Prior to the end of their term, and at the University’s discretion, Canada Research Chairs (CRC) may be eligible for renewal. The following criteria apply to the two types of CRCs:
Type of Chair: Tier 1
Term of Chair: 7 years
Renewals Allowed: One additional term
Type of Chair: Tier 2
Term of Chair: 5 years
Renewals Allowed: One additional term
The CRC Secretariat encourages universities to submit re-nomination packages within the last year of the current appointment. Once a university becomes eligible to renew a chair, it has two consecutive nomination cycles to do so in order to avoid any break in funding. The first of the nomination cycles will fall approximately one year or more prior to the end of the current term, with the second date following six months thereafter. The renewal cycles have the same submission deadlines as new nominations: April and October. As a prerequisite to the renewal process, the Chairholder will be requested to submit to the Office of Research and Innovation Services (ORIS) the following documents: (i) a current CV; (ii) an Outcomes Report covering the current term (maximum five pages); a Research Plan covering the next term (maximum five pages); and (iv) for Tier 1 Chairs only - a document containing the candidate’s ideas and plans regarding his/her leadership role in deepening and broadening research within his/her academic unit (department or centre, maximum three pages).
Provided the candidate’s research performance in the last term has met the performance expected of Canada Research Chairs nationally, the candidate may be eligible to seek approval to apply for renewal. The Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) and other University Executives will examine the required documents noted above and determine whether a consideration for renewal is merited.
Renewal Process
The Nomination form for renewal of a chair is similar to the Nomination form for a new Chair except that it requires a Performance Report prepared by the University administration. Upon approval to proceed with renewal, the Chairholder will receive instructions for the preparation of the application together with the deadlines.
The following is the procedure leading up to the submission of the renewal application:
1. Approximately 18 months prior to the expiry date of the CRC, ORIS will send a request to the Chairholder to submit the following documents: (i) a current CV; (ii) an Outcomes Report covering the current term (maximum five pages); a Research Plan covering the next term (maximum five pages); and (iv) for Tier 1 Chairs only - a document containing the candidate’s ideas and plans regarding his/her leadership role in deepening and broadening research within his/her academic unit (department or centre, maximum three pages). Upon receipt of these documents, ORIS will send the documents to the Dean/Director of the Chairholder asking for a review of the documents and a confirmation as to whether the Dean/Director agrees that the Chairholder should be considered for renewal of his/her Chair position.
2. Upon receiving confirmation to proceed from the Dean/Director, the VPRI and other University Executives will review the Chairholder’s performance over the last term including a review of the documents provided by the Chairholder as outlined in item 1 above and will provide a decision whether the candidate may proceed with a renewal submission within one month of the submission of the documents outlined herein. If the decision is positive, the Chairholder will be invited to apply for renewal, and if times permits, he/she will be given a choice of two consecutive deadline dates. If the decision is in doubt, the VPRI and Executive Director, Research and Innovation (EDRI) will meet with the Chairholder to discuss a path forward.
3. Approximately five months prior to the CRC submission deadline, the Chairholder, if invited to proceed with renewal, will be asked to prepare two 6-page documents according to CRC templates: an Information Sheet, which is essentially a record of the Chair’s achievements to date and a draft Proposed Research Program, which is essentially a proposal for the renewal period (5 or 7 years). These should be submitted to ORIS approximately three months prior to the CRC submission deadline. Upon receipt of the completed documents from the Chairholder, ORIS will provide the Information Sheet and CV to the Chair’s Head, Dean or Director, as appropriate, for preparation of a draft six-page Performance Report on a template following the Information Sheet with a deadline for submission to ORIS approximately one month thereafter.
4. Approximately two months prior to the CRC submission deadline, the draft Performance Report and a draft Proposed Research Program will then be provided to a candidate-specific Evaluation Committee charged with assisting the candidate to prepare the best possible submission. This Committee will consist of the EDRI (as chair), a faculty member from within the affected Faculty, a faculty member from another Faculty, and a person from either on campus or outside the University who has sufficient knowledge of the candidate’s area to provide input and assistance concerning the submission. Suggestions will be sought from the candidate on the latter three members. This Evaluation Committee will review the documents and provide input to the candidate regarding the form and content of the documents comprising the application for renewal. This Committee will complete its interaction with the candidate approximately one month prior to the CRC submission deadline.
5. Co-ordination of these activities plus preparation and submission of the Nomination form will be handled by the Office of Research and Innovation Services.
Example of dates of notification to Chairholders
Sample date of expiry of Chair: Sep 2020
Date of request for documents: Mar 2019
Latest submission of documents: Oct 2019
CRC Review Ctte Approval: Nov 2019
Info sheet and Res. Objectives submission: Jan 2020
Prep of Performance Report: Feb 2020
Evaluation Committee assistance: Mar 2020
Latest submission to CRC *: Apr 2020
Sample date of expiry of Chair: Mar 2021
Date of request for documents: Aug 2019
Latest submission of documents: Apr 2020
CRC Review Ctte Approval: May 2020
Info sheet and Res. Objectives submission: July 2020
Prep of Performance Report: Aug 2010
Evaluation Committee assistance: Sep 2020
Latest submission to CRC *: Oct 2020
* To guarantee continuity of funding this is the latest submission date as provided by the CRC Secretariat.
Any questions regarding the CRC renewal process may be directed to
Youstina Asaad
Research Facilitator / Administrative Assistant
Office of Research and Innovation Services
(519) 253-3000, ext. 3919
tinaa@uwindsor.ca