In 2022, the Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) launched the Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity , which recognizes the contributions of many influential Canadian scholars, including Queen’s University Professor Emerita Audrey Kobayashi, to advancing equity within the CRCP and Canada’s research ecosystem more broadly.
Three $100,000 awards are conferred annually through a peer-review process in accordance with the selection criteria as well as best practices in adjudication. Queen’s is invited to nominate one eligible faculty member—or a team of eligible faculty members—who are leading bold and potentially game-changing projects that challenge the status quo, spark change, and take action to address persistent systemic barriers in the research ecosystem and academia. The award recognizes faculty members who contribute their time, expertise and lived experience to help address inequities in their institution, the research ecosystem and academia, and serves to provide opportunities for students and trainees to contribute to this important work.
View previously awarded projects
Call for proposals and internal process
All Queen’s faculty members and/or institutional administrators who are eligible to hold grant funding from the agencies, and whose work advances a more equitable, welcoming and inclusive academy are encouraged to submit an expression of interest (EOI) for consideration of an institutional nomination for this award. There is no limit on the number of internal submissions from any department or faculty.
To be eligible, faculty members must be:
- eligible to receive Tri-Agency funding
- be holding a full-time academic appointment at the institution at the time of nomination and for the duration of the award (adjunct professors are not eligible); and
- be in good standing with CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC (e.g., they cannot have eligibility limits placed on them due to not meeting grant reporting requirements for the CRCP or have sanctions in place tied to the agencies’ responsible conduct of research policy).
Nominees must have a track record of leadership in I-EDIAA and demonstrate a strong commitment to equity in the research/academic system or in their community more broadly. Current and former Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) are eligible, as are individuals who are not CRCs.
Deadline: September 20, 2024
To be included in the potential candidate pool, we invite the faculty member leading the proposal to submit an EOI (1000 words maximum) to the internal selection committee, by emailing Dr. Mona Rahman (Research Awards Officer) by September 20, 2024.
The EOI should include:
- a description of the proposal that outlines the anticipated impact and outcomes of the proposed initiative and the participation/engagement of the communities it seeks to benefit
- how funds will be used
- description of the faculty member(s)' expertise and contributions to I-EDIAA
The institution is restricted to nominating only one candidate per competition cycle. EOIs will be evaluated by an internal selection committee and short-listed candidates invited to an interview to discuss their proposal further. Following appraisal against the award criteria, one candidate will be chosen for recommendation to the Vice-Principal Research to move forward as the institutional nominee, and to prepare a full nomination dossier with support from the Vice-Principal Research Portfolio for submission by the agency deadline of November 5, 2024, 8 pm (eastern).
The full nomination dossier includes:
- Nomination form (WORD 66 KB)
- Description of the proposed project (4 pages maximum for English; 5 pages maximum for French)
- Budget (1 page maximum for English and French)
- Institutional nomination letter and rationale (3 pages maximum for English; 3.5 pages maximum for French)
- Institutional nomination process and support for the initiative (2 pages maximum for English; 2.5 pages maximum for French)
Queen’s University applauds this initiative, which reflects the institution’s commitment to I-EDIAA and Canada’s Dimensions Charter and Scarborough Charter to which Queen’s is a signatory.
For more details on this opportunity and internal process, please contact:
Research Awards Officer
Research Advisor, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization
About the award
The Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity recognizes the contributions that Marjorie Griffin Cohen, Louise Forsyth, Glenis Joyce, Audrey Kobayashi, Shree Mulay, Susan Prentice, Michèle Ollivier and Wendy Robbins have made to increase the level of equity within the Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) and Canada’s research ecosystem more broadly, by way of their 2003 Canadian Human Rights complaints and their concerted efforts in the mediation processes, which led to both the 2006 Settlement Agreement and its addendum in 2019 .