Donna Strickland Prize for Societal Impact

Eligibility

All researchers in the NSE, regardless of their career stage, can be nominated for this award for their research conducted in Canada. The outstanding research that led to the exceptional benefits described in the nomination must have been supported, at least partially, by NSERC, and the research must be primarily in the NSE. Self-nominations will not be accepted, and current NSERC Council members are not eligible for nomination.

In order to be nominated as an individual, you must hold an NSERC research grant.  

In order to be nominated as a team, at least one of your team members must hold an NSERC research grant. The majority of your team members must be employed at a Canadian university, Canadian federal or provincial government lab, or private firm active in Canada.

Summary

Call for nominations

Nomination deadline: November 28 before 8 p.m. (ET).

If the deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, NSERC must receive your nomination before 8:00 p.m. (ET) the next working day.

The NSERC Donna Strickland Prize for Societal Impact of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research recognizes an individual or team whose outstanding research in the natural sciences and engineering (NSE), conducted in Canada, has led to exceptional benefits for Canadian society, environment or economy.

Eligibility

Candidates may be nominated by any individual or group. Self-nominations will not be accepted. In the case of individual candidates, posthumous nominations will also not be accepted. Current NSERC Council members are not eligible for nomination.

Regardless of their career stage, all researchers in the NSE can be nominated for this award for their research conducted in Canada. The outstanding research that led to the exceptional benefits described in the nomination must be primarily in the NSE.

For individual nominations, the nominee must be eligible to hold NSERC grant funds.

For team nominations, at least one team member must be eligible to hold NSERC grant funds. The majority of the team members must be employed at a Canadian university, Canadian federal or provincial government lab, or private firm active in Canada. If a team is awarded a prize, the team spokesperson will receive the funds on behalf of the team. This spokesperson must be eligible to hold NSERC grant funds.

NSERC reserves the right to determine the eligibility of nominees.

An individual or a team may be nominated for more than one NSERC Prize (Herzberg, Polanyi, Brockhouse, Synergy, McDonald or Strickland) in the same year but can receive only one prize per year. Nominees cannot receive more than one of the following prize s for the same achievement: Brockhouse, Polanyi or Strickland.

NSERC is acting on the evidence that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding, and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. NSERC strongly encourages nominators and university officials to address barriers to equity, diversity and inclusion in their nomination processes.

Evaluation

A diverse selection committee made up of research representatives from academia, government and industry across a range of disciplines will review the nominations and recommend the successful candidate or team to NSERC. Committee members are selected according to NSERC’s guidelines governing membership of selection committees. The committee may recommend that the prize not be awarded in a given year if there is no outstanding nomination.

NSERC recognizes that the entire research ecosystem is strengthened by equitable, diverse and inclusive access and participation. In support of its ongoing commitment to cultural and systemic change in Canadian research, NSERC has updated and improved its guidelines concerningcontributions to research and training. The intended outcomes ofthe Tri-agency EDI Action Plan and recommendations from the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) inform these changes. NSERC’s revised guidelines on the assessment of contributions to research, training and mentoring diversifythe principles and considerations regarding contributions and assessing their quality and impact.

For this prize, the impact of the research within its field and the significance of the benefits to Canadian society (societal impact) are evaluated separately. Societal impact may include, among others, improvements to specific procedures in society (such as laws, regulations or protocols), new approaches to social issues, improvements to quality of life, contributions to policy making, reductions in waste, pollution or the impact of pollutants, protection of species or ecosystems, improvements in the sustainable use of resources, reductions in the impacts of climate change, contributions to economic growth or new industrial sectors, the introduction of disruptive technologies, and increased equitable and inclusive participation in research ecosystem.

Selection criteria

The committee will review the nominations according to the following selection criteria:

Research (30%)
Impact of the research within its field

• extent to which the research has led to advances or new directions in understanding, methods, theories or application within its field

Knowledge mobilization (20%)
Involvement of the individual nominee or team in mobilizing research knowledge, resulting in the benefits described in the nomination

• extent to which the nominee or team was involved in the uptake of research by a broader community
• approach to involving the appropriate users or beneficiaries in the research and in knowledge mobilization activities

Societal impact (50%)
Significance of the benefits to Canadian society

• interaction between the magnitude and range or extent of the benefit:
  • the individuals or groups who benefit
  • the timeliness of the benefit (meaning the benefit was realized at a favourable or useful point in time for users or beneficiaries)
  • the degree to which the benefit has enabled, enriched, influenced, informed or changed the performance, policies, practices, products, services, understanding, awareness or wellbeing of individuals who benefit
• stage of benefits (must be demonstrated and realized)
• extent to which the benefits are clearly underpinned by the research

Nomination process

Eligible candidates may be nominated by any individual or group.

When preparing a team nomination, include individuals who contributed to both the research and the knowledge mobilization activities (such as synthesis, dissemination, transfer, exchange, and co-creation or co-production).

Because nominations are reviewed by a multidisciplinary committee, the nomination material should be written for non-specialists.

The nomination package must include:

1. A letter of nomination signed by one or more nominators. The letter must be no more than four pages if written in English and five pages if written in French. It must include a title describing the team’s research achievement. Structure your letter using the following points as headings:
   • description of the research that has led to the exceptional benefits outlined in the nomination
   • summary of the impact the research has had within its field (see NSERC’s guidelines on the assessment of contributions to research, training and mentoring  for more information)
   • description of the strategy for knowledge mobilization
     • Include information about the challenge and the approach taken to involve the appropriate users or beneficiaries in the research and knowledge mobilization activities
     • Users refers to entities who will interact directly with the product of the research. “Beneficiaries” are entities whose lives improve as a result of the research. In some cases, these are one and the same. Entities may include communities, community organizations, specific designated or underrepresented groups of Canadians, members of the general public, companies, students, patients, schools, clients, manufacturers, engineers, other researchers or businesses.
   • summary of the significance of the benefits to Canadian society (societal impact)
     • Significance means the interaction between the magnitude of benefits and their extent or range
     • The benefits must be demonstrated and realized (see the section Contributions to research and their impact below for additional examples of societal impact)
   • explanation of how the research made a specific, demonstrable and essential contribution to the benefits described in the nomination. This should show that the benefits would not have occurred or would have been significantly reduced without the contribution of that research
2. A description of each nominee’s involvement in the research or the knowledge mobilization activities (maximum 250 words per nominee in English or 300 words in French)
3. Up to four documents (no more than 10 pages total) providing evidence of:
   • Knowledge mobilization (for example: tool kits, infographics, fact sheets or plain language reports created and distributed in consultation or collaboration with users, beneficiaries or both; workshops, conferences or meetings with stakeholders, users or beneficiaries
   • Societal impact (for example, letters of impact or case studies). These documents should contain information about the individuals or groups who benefit and the realized benefits
4. The names, organizational affiliations and email addresses of six individuals who could be contacted by NSERC to conduct an impartial review of the nomination
   • Reviewers should be able to assess the research contributions, the knowledge mobilization activities or the societal impact
   • Reviewers must not be in conflict of interest (see the Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy of the federal research funding organizations)
   • Nominators should suggest a cross-section of reviewers including:
     • Canadian or international researchers from established and early-career stages
     • individuals from underrepresented groups, including women
     • researchers in academic and non-academic settings
   • Nominees must not contact suggested reviewers in advance
   • NSERC reserves the right to select all or none of the suggested reviewers
5. A brief letter from the team identifying one of the members as the spokesperson (for team nominations only). This individual must be eligible to hold NSERC grant funds and will serve as the contact person for NSERC for matters related to the outcome of the competition (see NSERC's eligibility requirements for faculty to apply for or hold grant funds). The letter must also include the name, title, affiliation and email address of each team member
6. Identification of any eligible leaves of absence (optional, maximum one page if written in English and 1.5 pages if written in French), in line with the section on interruptions in research, training and mentoring in NSERC’s guidelines on the assessment of contributions to research, training and mentoring. For medical leave, it is not necessary to describe the illness or treatment, but rather its impact on your research activity. Please:
   • provide the duration of the interruption
   • describe its impact on research activity
7. A terms and conditions form for nominees signed by each nominee (do not use the encrypted digital signature function)
8. A terms and conditions form for nominators signed by each nominator (do not use the encrypted digital signature function)

Submitting a nomination

Nominators are responsible for preparing the required documentation, which must follow NSERC’s general presentation guidelines. Documents that do not meet the presentation standards may be rejected or at a disadvantage compared to those that meet the standards.

Nominations must be submitted electronically through NSERC’s ICSP Secure Submission Site. All parts of the nomination package must be combined into a single Portable Document Format (PDF) file. Note that hyperlinked material will not be considered as part of the review process. Only documents requested by NSERC will be made available to the selection committee.

For re-nominations, nominators are asked to submit a complete and updated nomination package. The list of suggested reviewers should also be updated to include new individuals.

You must submit your nomination before 8:00 p.m. (ET) on the deadline date. Late nominations will not be accepted. Once you have submitted your nomination, you will not be able to update it.

SUPPORT DEADLINE: October 15, 2025

See SUPPORT Review Requirements here.

Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

SUPPORT: Research Awards Committee

The SUPPORT: Research Awards committee is available to review and provide feedback to strengthen nominations for this award. This committee is comprised of distinguished University of Calgary faculty who have won major national awards and sat on national award selection committees.

SUPPORT Review deadline (optional):

Your Faculty or Associate Dean (Research) must submit the request for review to researchawards@ucalgary.ca.

1. a letter of nomination (see above - Nomination Materials - item 1)
2. a description of each nominee's involvement in the research and/or knowledge mobilization (see above, Nomination materials - item 2)
3. up to four documents, providing evidence of knowledge mobilization and societal impact (see above, Nomination materials - item 3)
4. an up-to-date CV for each member of the team

If additional components of the nomination package are available by the SUPPORT deadline, the committee would be pleased to review all available materials.

SUPPORT Nomination Review Deadline: October 15, 2025