NSERC Award for Science Promotion

Eligibility

Candidates must be nominated by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada. Nominators may include people who have benefited from the nominee’s contributions, such as teachers, parents or community members. However, nominators cannot be individuals from the same organization as the nominee.

For nominations within postsecondary institutions, senior administrators from the same institution may nominate an individual or group, as long as the award does not directly benefit the nominators.

Nominees for the individual award must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. Nominees for the group award may be registered non-profit organizations, postsecondary institutions, non-federal museums or science centres within Canada. Posthumous nominations or self-nominations will not be accepted. Current NSERC Council members are not eligible for nomination.

All nominees must have made a successful and sustained effort to encourage public interest in, and understanding of, the natural sciences and engineering (including math and technology). As a guideline, nominees have typically been involved in science promotion for at least five years, and their efforts must take place outside the formal education system.

Past winners of an NSERC Award for Science Promotion may be nominated again if at least 10 years have passed since their previous award. Exceptions may be made for individuals or groups linked to an organization that received the award in the past 10 years. To qualify, the nominee’s achievements, whether as a group or an individual, must be clearly different from those that led to the organization’s previous award. Such nominations must include a letter from the organization confirming the distinct nature of the activities.

Summary

The NSERC Awards for Science Promotion recognize individuals and groups who inspire others by promoting science to the general public.

Examples of science promotion activities that could be considered for the award include:

• organizing science camps, fairs, clubs or mentorship programs with youth organizations
• enhancing equity, diversity and inclusion in existing programs
• creating new learning materials
• sharing best practices for science and engineering outreach
• developing co-op programs or job shadowing opportunities related to science and engineering
• arranging demonstrations, visits or lectures
• writing books or articles
• creating radio or television programs
• engaging the public through multimedia programs

These awards are an opportunity for Canada’s science community to recognize, support and encourage outstanding science promoters.

Two recipients (one individual and one group) may be selected for an award each year. The funds are intended to support further science promotion activities in Canada.

Nomination Materials:

If you are nominating an individual or a group, your nomination package must include the following:

• A completed NSERC Award for Science Promotion nomination form 
• A document (maximum three pages) that describes:
  • the nominee’s sustained efforts to inspire public understanding and foster skills development in science and engineering in Canada
  • the impact and duration of the nominee’s activities (nominators are encouraged to include specific measures of impact)
  • the content, originality and target audience of the nominee’s activities
• Three signed letters of recommendation, dated within six months of the nomination deadline. Letters from individuals with first-hand knowledge of the nominee’s activities, especially participants in the outreach activity, are strongly encouraged. Letters must demonstrate the impact of the activities.
• Supporting documentation, such as promotional material, participant feedback, media coverage, publications or awards (maximum four pages).
• A terms and conditions form for nominees , signed by the nominee or the representative of the nominated group (do not use the encrypted digital signature function). Only one representative of a nominated group is required to complete the form. It is the nominee’s responsibility to retain a copy of the agreed terms and conditions for their records.
• A terms and conditions form  for nominators, signed by the nominator (do not use the encrypted digital signature function). Only one nominator is required. If more than one nominator is listed on the form, correspondence will be directed solely to the first person named. It is the nominator’s responsibility to retain a copy of the agreed terms and conditions for their records.

You, as a nominator, are responsible for assembling the required documentation, which must adhere to the general presentation guidelines. Documents that do not meet the presentation standards may be rejected or be at a disadvantage in comparison with those that do meet the standards. Only the documents requested by NSERC will be made available to the selection committee.

Nominations must be submitted electronically via NSERC’s ICSP secure submission site. All parts of the nomination package must be combined into a single portable document format (PDF) file. Do not upload PDF portfolios.

Application deadlines

Program application deadline