Information for faculty applying to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

The information presented here is intended to answer the most common questions that ORS staff receive by providing additional information not found on the NSERC website and by offering advice based on past experience. Please refer to the NSERC website (http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/index_eng.asp) for program descriptions, application forms and procedures, and competition deadlines.

Form 100: Personal Data Form

What is included in the Form 100?
Why must I include personal data on HQP I have trained?
What is the free form Contributions attachment?
How do I prepare the Contributions section on:

1. Most Significant Contributions to Research and/or to Practical Applications?
2. Research Contributions and Practical Applications?
3. Other Evidence of Impact and Contributions?
4. Delays in Research Activity?
5. Contributions to the Training of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP)?
   

What is included in the Form 100?

The Form 100 consists of the following components:

Online sections that populate a PDF form:

• Identifying information (current employment, address, etc.)
• Academic background (degrees awarded)
• Training of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP): the number of Undergraduates, Master's, Doctoral, Postdoctoral Fellows and others you have trained over the past six years
• Personal data on the highly qualified personnel you have trained over the past six years
• Academic, research and industrial experience
• Research support
• Personal Data (Appendix A)—only required if (i) if you are an applicant or co-applicant applying for the first time; (ii) if you need to update information submitted with a previous application; or (iii) if you do not hold an appointment at a Canadian postsecondary institution.
  Note: Appendix A information is automatically generated through the On-Line System.
• Eligibility (Appendix B)—only required if you are an applicant or co-applicant holding a position at a Canadian university that is not a tenured, tenure-track or lifetime professor emeritus position at the time of application.
• Applicant's Activities (Appendix C)—only required if (i) you are an applicant or co-applicant and hold a part-time academic appointment at a Canadian postsecondary institution (e.g., adjunct professor, professor emeritus, part-time position); or (ii) you hold an academic appointment at a Canadian postsecondary institution which is not a tenured or tenure-track appointment.

The free form Contributions attachment:

1. Most significant contributions to research and/or to practical applications
2. Research contributions and practical applications
3. Other evidence of impact and contributions
4. Delays in research activity
5. Contributions to the training of highly qualified personnel (HQP)

Visit the NSERC On-line Services menu Frequently Asked Questions page for help and information on how to register/login, create electronic attachments, maintain your user profile, change your password, grant/remove access to your application, and link your form to an application. You can also call or email the Office of Research Services.

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Why must I include personal data on Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) I have trained?

NSERC reviewers want to know about the students and other personnel you have trained. They want to know the research area in which you supervised them and where each student is now working or studying. Due to concerns about individual privacy, you must obtain signed consent from each student or employee whose name you wish to list in your Form 100. This consent can be in the form of a fax. You do not need to submit the consent form to NSERC or to the Office of Research Services. Simply keep it in your own files. If you are not able to obtain consent because you cannot reach the student, their name will need to be withheld, and only generic information about their research and current position can be given. At minimum, it is best to obtain consent from all students whom you are currently supervising.

The number of HQP you list on the first page of your Form 100 must match the number of HQP for whom you have provided personal data. For example, if you have trained a total of 18 HQP over the past six years, 18 people must be listed in the highly qualified personnel section. This section of the application is used to assess your past and current contributions to training.

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What is the free form Contributions attachment?

The free form Contributions attachment of your Form 100 is a document that you create in a word processing program (e.g. Microsoft Word). NSERC provides strict guidelines on the content and format of the Contributions attachment. Read the instructions carefully, even if you have applied to NSERC in the past (the guidelines can change from year to year).

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In this section, you should not simply list five papers, but instead discuss five impacts that your research has had on the discipline. Each impact can be tied to one or more publications. A simple and clear way to do this is to list all of your publications from the past six years in section 2, Research Contributions and Practical Applications, and number them sequentially. You can then refer to these publications by their number in the Most Significant Contributions section. This allows you to show reviewers a complete list of your publications in section 2, without repeating what has been covered in section 1. Most successful applicants use two pages to cover their most significant contributions, and most do not list less than five (the exception to this rule of thumb is new researchers who do not have a sufficient track record to list five). It is okay for new researchers to list their PhD dissertation if they feel it made a significant contribution to the field.

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Follow the order and format that NSERC specifies in the instructions. Mixing abstracts and conference talks with refereed papers in the primary literature will cast suspicion on other aspects of your application. When papers are in press, EGs will accept that the journal has agreed to publish it. Although some GSC members will ignore papers submitted, you can and should still include them because they show that you are active and productive. Reviewers will be looking for quality over quantity—the number of publications is not as important as their impact on the field. Reviewers will be looking for recent publications in respected journals; if you have published in less prestigious journals, you should explain why. For instance, they may be more appropriate for the subject matter, or may be a better method for reaching a specialized audience. You can also use this section of the application to discuss collaborations with other researchers, clarify your role in jointly-authored papers, explain the significance of technical reports, or describe any technology transfer or commercialization activities, among other things.

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In this section, you can include a range of other activities to highlight the impact of your work.

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If applicable in your case, this section provides an opportunity to explain circumstances that may have led to delays in publication or career advancement, such as serious illness, parenthood, and so on. It is not appropriate to use this section to make excuses or to vent your frustrations; use it to describe legitimate situations that have had an impact on your research. It helps to end on a positive note, highlighting what you have accomplished in spite of the delays or extenuating circumstances.

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Here, you should describe your prior contributions to the training of students and other personnel. Use this section as an opportunity to elaborate on the quality of the training that you have provided—do not simply repeat numbers and other information already given in the PDF form. You can discuss both your supervising and co-supervising roles. Discuss the specialized skills that your trainees have gained from working with you and from working in your lab, and discuss the opportunities they were given for interdisciplinary and collaborative research. Emphasize any unique accomplishments that you helped students achieve, such as publication in a peer-reviewed journal or an award-winning conference presentation. If you have had little or no involvement in training HQP, you can also use this section to explain why. For instance, you may be working or have worked at a primarily undergraduate university.

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