John G. Diefenbaker Award

Eligibility

The Canada Council is committed to equity and inclusion, and encourages applications and nominations from individuals, groups and organizations from culturally diverse, Deaf, disability and official language minority communities. The Canada Council is committed to reaffirming and revitalizing its relationship with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. Measures are in place in all programs to support these commitments.

Eligibility

Candidates may not apply directly for this award: they must be nominated by a department within a host university or research institute in Canada.

Eligible nominators

Nominations must be submitted by a department head of a Canadian university or research institute and be endorsed by an authorized representative of the host institution. If the nominator (the department head) is normally the signing authority for the institution, another senior official must sign the authorization for the institution instead (e.g., VP Research).

Eligible candidates

This award is open to German scholars who have demonstrated outstanding ability, especially through a substantial publication record over several years. The award is offered in support of research in any of the disciplines of the social sciences and humanities.

Candidates must be German citizens with a contractual or working relationship with an academic institution in Germany. They must have a sound working knowledge of at least one of Canada’s two official languages.

Summary

The John G. Diefenbaker Award enables a distinguished German scholar in the social sciences or humanities to do research in Canada, which may include brief periods in the United States. While research must be the primary activity during the award period, the award winner will be encouraged to participate in the teaching activities of the host institution and to interact with the research communities in Canada and the United States by visiting other institutions.

The award is funded by an endowment given to the Canada Council by the Government of Canada. The endowment, announced by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney during his visit to Germany in the spring of 1991, honours the memory of former Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker.

The award is administered by the Canada Council, in a shared history of collaboration with Global Affairs Canada, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany. The spirit of this award is to encourage exchange between scholarly communities in Canada and Germany.

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

Prize amount – up to $95,000

The amount of the award for a full year is Can$80,000. These funds are to be used by the host institution as a contribution towards the salary of the visiting scholar.

In addition, a grant of up to Can$15,000 is provided to cover the winner’s travel costs to the host institution (including travel of the winner’s immediate family for award periods longer than three months) and travel to other institutions in Canada and the United States.

Award periods of less than 12 months will be considered. The amount of the award for a shorter period will be prorated accordingly. The award period should begin on or after 1 August 2024.

Guidelines

Nomination Form (DOC)

Nominations include:

• Nomination form, signed by Research Services
• A current curriculum vitae of the proposed candidate (10 pages maximum)
• A description of the candidate’s proposed program of research and other activities (1 page maximum)
• A signed letter of support from the department head or authorized representative of the host institution (1 page maximum)
• Two (2) signed letters of support from distinguished specialists in the candidate’s field. (2 pages maximum for each)
• Letters of invitation to participate in activities outside the host institution (include 2 letters maximum, optional)

Send your completed nomination form and required documents as 1 email on or before the deadline date by 11:59 pm (local time) to diefenbaker-award@canadacouncil.ca. The total maximum file size including attachments is 25 MB. If you do not receive a confirmation email within 3 business days, please contact us to make sure we have received your nomination.

Contact information

diefenbaker-award@canadacouncil.ca
1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 4086