SSHRC talent

SSHRC Impact – TALENT Award

Awarded for outstanding achievement by a current SSHRC doctoral or postdoctoral fellowship or scholarship award holder

The Talent Award is given to an individual who maintains academic excellence, has a talent for research and knowledge mobilization and has demonstrated clear potential to be a future leader within and/or outside the academic sector.

Competition website

Preparing your application

You are encouraged to apply for awards when you have submitted your admissions application and received your University of Calgary student number (UCID). You are not required to meet the eligibility requirements in the terms of reference of an award when you apply, but if successful, you must meet the eligibility requirements at the time the award is paid.

Please ensure that you have completed the following two steps before submitting your application:

Read the terms of reference

Awards are based on merit. It is important to read and understand the award terms of reference listed on this page and/or on the agency, or donor website.

Know your eligibility

Read our guide to discover the polices and regulations that determines a student's award eligibility at the University of Calgary.

Award Guide: Eligibility

Terms of reference

Deadline:

Nominations for Graduate students must be submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies Office, no later than March 16 at 4:00 pm

The nominating program must :

Ensure the following documents are included in the nomination package submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies:

1. A cover letter of up to two pages that includes

  • the name, current position and institution of the person proposing the nomination;
  • the Award category;
  • the name, position and affiliation of the nominee and any co-applicants;
  • a brief summary of the SSHRC-funded work that is being put forward for consideration;
  • the names, current positions, affiliations and areas of expertise of three referees who support the nomination; and
  • (the signature of the nominating institution’s president or his/her delegate will be managed by the Faculty of Graduate Studies).

Program must also provide the initial draft of the cover letter

2. An attachment of up to four pages demonstrating the rationale supporting the nomination

Including:

  • the significance, challenge and impact of the achievements for which the nomination is being put forward;
  • the quality and scope of training and mentoring provided to students, emerging scholars and other highly qualified personnel, and indication of the nominee's career level;
  • a description, including evidence of research achievements, and, where applicable, impact and outcomes of the initiative;
  • examples of success in widely sharing, and encouraging application of, resulting knowledge and benefits within and/or beyond the academic community; and
  • evidence that outcomes resulted in significant and positive impacts in Canada and/or internationally.

3. A SSHRC CV and Consent form

All nominees and any co-applicants must submit a signed copy of the SSHRC CV web form and Consent to Disclosure of Personal Information.


In the case of team Insight and Connection award nominations, and Partnership award nominations, a SSHRC CV must be submitted for each co-applicant.

4. Supporting information for nomination rationale

Include up to three pages briefly summarizing the work undertaken, including SSHRC file number(s). The summary should support the rationale for the nomination by describing the impact, research outcomes, and other pertinent contributions resulting from the nominee’s research and/or research-related activities.

5. A promotion plan

Nominations must include up to two pages outlining the commitment and strategy of the nominating institution to promote and celebrate the impact and outcomes of the nominee’s achievements. Proposed outreach activities could include: a lecture series, workshops, videos, press releases, advertisements, social media engagement or other similar activities.

6. Letters of support from three referees

Three letters must be provided in support of the nominee. Referees must be established authorities in the field who have not worked with the nominee on the project being recognized, are not affiliated with the nominee’s current institution, and do not have a personal relationship with the nominee.

Note: For the Talent Award category only, referees (including supervisors) can be affiliated with the nominee’s current institution.

Letters of support must:

  • be dated and signed;
  • include the referee's name, position, affiliation, email address and telephone number;
  • include the name of the nominee and the period of time and capacity in which the referee has known the nominee; and
  • offer an overall assessment of the nominee's accomplishments, including examples of how these achievements fulfill the evaluation criteria outlined above.