New Faculty Orientation: Research Nimal Rajapakse Vice-President (Research and International)

1. New Faculty Orientation: Research • Nimal Rajapakse • Vice-President (Research and International) • September 1, 2016

2. New Faculty Orientation: Research • Contact Information: • Office: 503 Tory Building • Telephone: 613-520-7838 • Email: nimal.Rajapakse@Carleton.ca • EA: Susan Smallwood (susan.smallwood@Carleton.ca) • AVPS: Pauline Rankin (Research & International) • Sandra Crocker (Partnerships & Operation)

3. New Faculty Orientation: Research • New Faculty Orientation: Research • Thursday, September 1, 9am – 1 pm, Dunton Tower, Rm, 2017 • 9:00am – 9:10am Welcome and Introduction • 9:10am- 9:45am The Basics: Who Does What • 9:45am – 10:00am Library Resources for Research • 10.00am-10.45am Breakout Sessions • Session 1: NSERC/CIHR Strategies & Grantsmanship DT 2017 • Session 2: Opportunities in SSHRC & Foundations DT 1304 • 10.45am -11.00 am Coffee Break • 11:00am – 11:20am International Opportunities • 11:20am- 12:00pm Nuts & Bolts of Research at Carleton University • 12.00pm – 12.20pm Lunch • 12:20pm – 1:00pm What I Wished I Would Have Known: Research Advice for New Faculty

4. New Faculty Orientation: Research • Key Facts: • $59M Research Income • 24 Canada Research Chairs • 27 Royal Society Fellows • 16 Order of Canada Recipients • 3 Killam Award Winners • 18 Carleton University Research Centres • Over 200 MOUs with international partners • International research collaborations (e.g. CERN, France, India, Japan, Brazil) • EU Excellence Centre, Canada-India Centre, Confucius Institute, Global Academy

5. New Faculty Orientation: Research • Research Landscape: • Funding agencies: CFI, CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC and others • Increasingly competitive and merit-driven • HQP training is a critical component of success • Interdisciplinary and team-based research increasing • Focus on your early tri-council success • Know your research community and outreach • Knowledge translation and innovation are increasingly important • Pay attention to partnerships • Learn from peers and do not hesitate to ask for assistance

6. New Faculty Orientation: Research • Establish Credibility – This is your key to success • Amongst peers, research community, students, funding agencies and external partners • Join technical committees, attend key conferences/meetings, organize sessions – be visible in your community; leverage your advisor’s connections; have an outward looking approach • Participate in workshop mode conferences to develop relationships • Participate in journal reviews and review panels, volunteer in learned societies, external examiner roles and build networks • Know your landscape • 20-30 top peers (national and international) in your discipline • Top 10 journals in your area (visit Scimago to get journal rankings) • Top 5-10 conferences/workshops in your discipline • Identify a group of arms-length reviewers (prioritize the top 10 – connect with leaders) • Review the membership of grant selection committees – check tri-council web sites • Inform chairs/deans and VPRI about awards/prizes that you have a high chance of winning

7. New Faculty Orientation: Research • Build Your Profile: • Set performance goals and focus on high quality research • Your web page • Get ORCID ID • Register and update your Google profile, Web of Science and other databases • Know your bibliometric measures • Publish in top ranked journals and conferences and with book publishers • Share success stories of your research with VPRI [Julie Carl (juli.carl@Carleton.ca) ] and your department

8. New Faculty Orientation: Research • Things to watch! • Ethical conduct in research (PI, collaborators and trainees) • Conflict of interest and commitment (real, perceived and potential) • Various compliance requirements of tri-councils and other funding agencies • Relevant provincial regulations related to human rights; privacy; etc. • Contact us if you have any questions – we are there to help!

9. New Faculty Orientation: Research • 40 years as a faculty in major US research university (NSF new faculty workshop) • 20 research problems • 35 PhD students • 140 publications • $15 million in funding and 300 proposals • 70 courses taught and 2000 students • 6 chairs, 7 deans and 8 presidents • 4 sabbaticals • 2080 Saturdays and 55 hrs./week

10. New Faculty Orientation: Research • NSERC STRATEGIES

11. New Faculty Orientation: Research • NSERC • NSERC is the main research funding agency for Science and Engineering in Canada • Budget is over $1B • NSERC funds a wide range of research from discovery to innovation through a variety of programs • Has a program to fund research tools up to $150K • Funds scholarships for graduate students, post-docs and UG summer research • www.nserc.ca – for details

12. New Faculty Orientation: Research • NSERC Programs: • Discovery grant – continuing funding for basic research (5 yrs.) • RTI grants – support equipment and tools up to $150K • Engage and Engage plus grants for collaboration with industry • CRD grants for multi-year collaborations – matching funds required • Scholarships and fellowships (attract top students) • Strategic grants and strategic network grants (senior PIs) • CREATE grants – training grants involving teams of researchers and institutions – international collaboration through DAAD and FAPESP • Major grants – NCE, CECR, Discovery Frontiers (led by senior PIs and teams), I2I, college-university partnerships • Look for opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and institutions

13. New Faculty Orientation: Research • Trends in DG • Competitiveness has increased – success rates have come down from 75-85% to 60-70% or below in some disciplines • New assessment criteria introduced in 2008 • Increasing focus on training and success of HQP • Evidence of impact, stature and knowledge translation • Zero-base assessment (history does not determine the level of funding) • Strong peer-review system • Cost of research is a factor • Renewed interest in basic sciences

14. New Faculty Orientation: Research • DG Grants: • Grant Selection Committees (see NSERC website for membership) • New applicants - $15K-40K range but some cases of > $40K • Discovery Accelerator Supplement for top scholars ($40K/year for 3 years) • Remember productivity matters – have to show outcomes in 4-5 yrs. • Plan your outcomes (HQP; papers; collaborations; evidence of leveraging, etc.) • At the time of renewal – build a case on strengths rather than excuses • No research funding agency is a charity!!  

15. New Faculty Orientation: Research NSERC Discover Grant Adjudication Bins Other programs have similar criteria – additional items may include industrial relevance and benefits; benefits to Canada; fit with strategic areas; university support and budget.

16. New Faculty Orientation: Research Top quality bin is ‘A’ and ‘P’ is the lowest quality bin. Cut-off bin depends on the GSC.

17. New Faculty Orientation: Research • Writing a winning proposal • Identify research topic based on your strengths – avoid ‘me too’ type proposals to pursue flavours of the day • Look through the lens of a reviewer when you write; be ambitious but realistic in your goals and promises • Follow instructions, follow instructions… • Don’t ‘pad’ your CV or the proposal especially budget • Specifically address the assessment criteria • No errors – typos, grammatical mistakes, poor formatting, missing information • Select the reviewers carefully – consult your advisor and senior colleagues in the department; it is fine to contact and ask whether you could use them as reviewers but nothing beyond that to protect arms-length relationship; NSERC provides the criteria for arms-length relationship • Plan in advance – don’t wait for last minute

18. New Faculty Orientation: Research • Tips from SERC, UK • Have I clearly formulated the problem? Have I: • put it in the context of current state-of-the-art (don’t tell nothing before) • demonstrated the way in which your work will build on existing research and make a contribution to the area? • Is there a clear and convincingly argued analytical/experimental framework? • What will the research do, to whom or to what, and why? • Have you established appropriate aims and objectives? Are they clear and concise, do they reflect intellectual aims and practical, attainable objectives? • Have I provided a well-thought out research design in which there is a reasoned explanation of the scale, timing and resources necessary in a realistic manner? • What are the outcomes? (contribution to knowledge; dissemination; translation to practice; training; collaborations; patents/inventions, etc.) • Will this pass through the lenses of a reviewer? What would be your reaction if you were asked to review this proposal– be self-critical • Am I using the most relevant approach and the most appropriate methods? How will these relate to and deliver the objectives?

19. New Faculty Orientation: Research • At Carleton: • OVPRI is collaborative, collegial and merit-based • We value your research successes • We are here to provide help and guidance • Support for grant information and writing, developing partnerships and strategic advice is available • Talk to your ADR, Faculty facilitator and CURO staff • Internal research support for substantial grants are available – often a partnership with the Faculty, academic unit, VPRI, etc. 

20. New Faculty Orientation: Research • Good Luck !!