Postdoctoral Match-Funding Program
Fall 2024 competition closes on November 18th
The Postdoctoral Match-Funding Program is designed to support UCalgary faculty to recruit and support outstanding postdoctoral scholars.
This program will award partial salary support for postdoctoral associates who will be highly competitive for external awards and will help advance the University of Calgary’s strategic research and innovation plan. Funding will be awarded on a competitive basis.
This funding is intended for individuals who will be new postdoctoral scholars at UCalgary at the start of their appointment.
Applications are to be written and submitted by the individual applying to be a VPR Match Funding Postdoctoral Fellowship holder, and not by their faculty supervisor.
Deadline: November 18th at 11:59 p.m. MDT.
Contact:
Eligibility
By the proposed award start date, applicants must be eligible to hold an appointment as a new Postdoctoral Associate under the identified supervisor. Individuals must not hold a postdoctoral appointment on the application deadline and should not have held a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Calgary in the past.
Applicants must have completed all requirements of their doctoral degree no more than 3 years before the date of the application deadline. For MD and Vet Med holders, applications must have completed all requirements of their terminal degree no more than 5 years before the date of the application deadline.
Applications from individuals who have already started their appointment as a University of Calgary postdoctoral scholar at the time of the application deadline will not be accepted; however, individuals who have received an offer letter with a start date after the application deadline will be eligible to receive the award.
Terms
The purpose of this award is to attract new Postdoctoral Associates to the University of Calgary who will be highly competitive for extramural awards on the basis of their scholarly contributions, research leadership, and proposed research program. Supporting postdoctoral researchers in these efforts advances the University of Calgary’s strategic research aims. Individuals holding this award must apply for all fellowship awards for which they are eligible, with a priority focus on extramural awards including those from provincial or national agencies. Renewal of the Postdoctoral Match-Funding award for the second year is contingent on the award holder having met this requirement. The Postdoctoral Match-Funding award cannot be combined with any award of equal or greater value (extramural or intramural), and any new funding awarded during the tenure of the Postdoctoral Match-Funding Award must be activated on the earliest possible date allowed under the terms of the new funding.
Applicants must provide a letter of support from their proposed supervisor committing to provide a $25,000.00 annual component of the award plus employer-paid benefits (Plan C), CPP, EI, and WCB for the entire award period including the renewal year (i.e. a total of two years). The letter must acknowledge that the supervisor has reviewed and is familiar with the award terms stated here including the incentive funding should the awardee successfully secure other fellowship funding. Supervisors of international postdocs are also responsible for the $230 Compliance Fee Payment to support the work permit application.
Incentive funding
When a Postdoctoral Match-Funding award holder receives additional stipend-based fellowship funding (extramural or intramural), under the following conditions they will be eligible for an annual incentive of $5,000.00 from their supervisor’s project, pro-rated for the remaining period of the Postdoctoral Match-Funding award (see Terms of Reference for more details).
- Funding will not be allocated to a postdoctoral scholar who received their PhD from the University of Calgary, except in cases where personal circumstances require the PDS to remain in Calgary, and where there is a proposed change in research context (new supervisor, Institute, or Department/Faculty, etc)
- Funding cannot be allocated to a PDS who already holds a postdoctoral position at the University of Calgary as of the application deadline, or who has previously held a postdoctoral position at the University of Calgary.
- A postdoctoral scholar is defined as an individual with seven years or less of full-time training after PhD or ten years or less for MD or Vet. Med degrees. This window can be extended in cases of career interruption for extenuating circumstances, such as parental leave, illness, health-related family responsibilities, etc.
- Funding under this program is only available to faculty members to support one postdoctoral application per competition
VPR support does not include benefits or employer CPP and EI contributions - Individuals obtaining external support (i.e. Tri-Council, AIHS, MITACS, or equivalent) or any other internal funding must immediately inform the Postdoctoral Office to enable the re-allocation of funding to other individuals.
- Awards are always subject to the continuing availability of VPRO funds.
The adjudication committee will evaluate applications according to Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) recommendations, which recognize a wide and diverse range of scholarly outputs beyond the Journal Impact Factor.
Review criteria will include, but not necessarily be limited to:
- Quality of the candidate (e.g., impact and significance of previous research and creative contributions, evidence of research leadership); respecting the stage and nature of the applicant’s career path
- Quality of the proposed project, in terms of novelty/originality, feasibility, and expected impact (e.g., for discovery, society, policy, practice, innovation, etc.)
- Supervisor’s current research, training, and where appropriate, innovation environment; early career supervisors are eligible and encouraged to apply
- Institutional synergy, including alignment of the proposed project with UCalgary research and innovation priorities
You must provide the following in your online application form:
- Contact information
- Ph.D. completion information
- Contact information for 2 references
- Ensure that your referees submit letters of reference to fellowships@ucalgary.ca on or before the application deadline. We will not contact referees to request letters.
- Do not list your proposed UCalgary supervisor as a reference
- Proposed research project title
All documents must be on 8.5x11 pages, single-spaced with minimum margins of 2 cm on all sides, and a minimum font size of 11 in Arial font.
Attach the following as a single PDF, in the order listed below: The PDF attachment MUST include your first and last name in the file name
(e.g. "Last Name, First Name Application.pdf"):
1. Completed VPR Matching Fellowship Research Project Summary form
- The summary form is available for download here.
2. Research project proposal 2 pages maximum, plus 1 page references
- Briefly describe the impact and significance of your previous research and creative contributions. Include evidence of research leadership if possible, considering the stage and nature of your career path.
- Briefly summarize your research project in terms of novelty/originality, feasibility, and expected impact (e.g. for discovery, society, policy, practice, innovation, etc.
3. CV Includes a list of publications, awards, grants, scholarships, and other relevant research outputs. The adjudication committee will evaluate applications according to Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) recommendations, which recognizes a wide and diverse range of scholarly outputs beyond the Journal Impact Factor.
4. Confirmation of Ph.D. degree completion (not required if degree is pending)
5. Faculty supervisor's statement 1 page maximum
- Include confirmation of match-funding ($50,000 plus benefits) full 2 year tenure of award
- Outline how the supervisor’s current research, training and innovation environment will support the applicant's research.
- Explain how your proposed project will align with current UCalgary research and innovation priorities.
6. Detailed plan for external funding applications 1 page maximum
- List all external or internal postdoctoral fellowships you are eligible for and have applied for or are planning to apply for.
We must also receive 2 letters of reference from referees to fellowships@ucalgary.ca on or before the application deadline. These must be submitted by the referees, and not by the applicant.
Letters of reference must be on institutional letterhead and include the name, title, and signature of the referee.
Application checklist
Confirm eligibility
Review Terms & Conditions to confirm eligibility
Except with special circumstances, funding is not allocated to applicants who earned a PhD from UCalgary. Cannot be allocated to an applicant who already holds a postdoctoral position at UCalgary or who has held a postdoctoral position at UCalgary
Cannot be held in conjunction with other funding.
Compile documents
The following documents must be compiled into a single PDF file in the following order:
Research summary form
Research project proposal
CV
Confirmation of PhD degree
Supervisor's statement
Detailed plan for external funding applications (non-UCalgary administered)
Review Application Requirements above for details, including page limits
Apply
Apply for funding using the online application form. Attach your document PDF to your application form. Your PDF file name must contain your first and last name.
The applicant's 2 references must submit their letters of reference (signed and on official letterhead) to fellowships@ucalgary.ca by the deadline.
November 18, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. MDT