Step-by-Step Guide to Applying

An application is completed through a series of tasks:

• Task 1: Confirm Eligibility
• Task 2: Contact your desired Host Institution
• Task 3: Register for ResearchNet and Common CV accounts
• Task 4: Start a ResearchNet Application
• Task 5. Identify Area of research
• Task 6. Identify Applicant/Supervisor
• Task 7. Identify Referees
• Task 8. Attach CVs and Supporting Documents
• Task 9. Enter Degree Information
• Task 10. Enter Project Information and Supporting Documents
• Task 11. Preview Application Materials
• Task 12. Consent and Submit Application

The following "Task Tips" provide general instructions, but do not necessarily represent an exhaustive list of all information required to ensure completeness. Tasks 5 - 12 are to be completed within ResearchNet as you prepare your application.

Task 1: Confirm Eligibility

Confirm that you meet the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program's eligibility criteria. Applications from candidates that do not meet all the eligibility criteria will not be accepted.

Task 2: Contact your desired Host Institution

Your application must be completed in collaboration with your proposed host institution as they must provide you with 4 documents that you will include as part of your application. (For more information on these documents, please refer to the appropriate sections that can be found at the end of Task 10: Enter Project Information and Supporting Documents.) The Endorsement Process might include internal deadlines set by the institution and so you should contact them as soon as possible.

All supporting materials from the host institution must be sent to you prior to the submission deadline. You are responsible for uploading the host institution documents to ResearchNet as part of your complete application submission. Referee forms are uploaded by the referee, however it is your responsibility to ensure that these forms are included by the deadline. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. 

Task 3: Register for ResearchNet and Common CV accounts

Make sure you have the following or click the links to register:

• a ResearchNet account;
• a Common CV account.

You should only have one ResearchNet and one Common CV account. If you have already accessed ResearchNet and/or Common CV, do not register for new accounts. Applicants are responsible for preparing and submitting their application, including compiling and uploading the documents required from others as indicated below.

You need a Common CV account to create a validated Banting CV as a PDF attachment to upload into ResearchNet during Task 8: Attach CV and Supporting Documents.

Task 4: Start a ResearchNet Application

After launching an application in ResearchNet, you will be presented with the ResearchNet login screen. If you login using your ResearchNet account, you will arrive at the main Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Application menu. This menu lists a series of tasks that must be completed before you are able to submit your application. Information on how to complete these tasks is provided in the sections below.

You should only have one Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships application. If you have already started an application, login to your ResearchNet account. You will find your Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships application on the Current Activities tab underneath the Applications heading. Clicking on it will bring you to the main Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Application menu.

Task 5: Identify Areas of Research

This task is used to determine to which Selection Committee your application will be assigned. Applications related to health research will be received by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, those related to natural sciences and/or engineering by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and social sciences and/or humanities by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. For more information, please refer to Selecting the Appropriate Federal Granting Agency. If you still aren’t sure of the most appropriate research area, please send an email to banting@researchnet-recherchenet.ca to confirm. Applications are assigned to one of these committees based on the field of study identified by the applicant as part of their application, but the agencies reserve the right to make the final assignment of the applications based on the mandate of the committee assigned to review applications in that area.

Task 6: Identify Applicant/Supervisor

This task collects information on the applicant and primary supervisor. (Note that although applicants may have more than one supervisor, only one may be listed as part of the application.)

Task 7: Identify Referees

This task collects information on the three (3) referees whose assessments accompany your application. Note that when identifying referees, the language specified will determine the language in which they will receive their assessment form.

Note that it is the applicant's sole responsibility to follow up with referees to ensure the assessments are submitted prior to the deadline date and therefore ensure the application completeness. You will not be able to submit your application until this task is complete. If a referee informs you that a report cannot be submitted within your deadlines, you may delete that referee from your list and add a new referee to your list.

Referees selected to participate must each address all three stated selection criteria. Specifically:

• Assessment of research excellence and leadership in the research domain
• Assessment of quality of the applicant's proposed research program
• Assessment of suitability of proposed research environment

Applicants are encouraged to consider the full range of potential referees who could provide relevant evidence, perspectives, and insight to support the review of the applicant's application in light of the selection criteria.

Applicants should contact their selected referees in advance to seek their agreement to provide an assessment well before the application deadline date. Applicants will then enter the name and contact information for each referee in ResearchNet. ResearchNet will then send email requests to the referees providing a secure link to each referee to complete their assessment online. The assessment form must be completed and submitted online by the referees and be written in either English or French.

Once an assessment is submitted, it will automatically attach itself to your application. Applicants do not have access to the content of the assessment submitted by referees. However, you may follow the status of the assessment directly under this task and are encouraged to follow up with your referees if the task is not completed shortly before the deadline. Note that it is your responsibility to follow up with referees to ensure the assessments are submitted prior to the deadline date and therefore ensure the application completeness. You will not be able to submit your application until this task is complete. If a referee informs you that a report cannot be submitted within your deadlines, you may delete that referee from your list and add a new referee to your list. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Task 8: Attach CV and Supporting Documents

It is under this task that you will attach:

• A Validated Banting Common CV in PDF Format
• Research Contributions
• Leadership Contributions
• Fulfillment of Degree Requirements
• Special Circumstances

Attachment: A Validated Banting Common CV in PDF Format

The applicant must attach a Banting CV that is created on the Canadian Common CV website, validated for Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program, and saved as a PDF document. Free-form CVs are not accepted. Common CVs are required regardless of the citizenship of the applicant.

The Canadian Common CV website stores data in a secure database that you can access at any time, and from any computer. You may save your CV in progress and return to complete at your convenience. Data entered can be reused in future applications which use the Common CV.

To create a Banting Common CV to attach to your Banting application on ResearchNet:

1. Log on to the Common CV system and create an account if you do not have one already;
2. Enter the required data, following the instructions provided for the “Banting PDF” program;
3. Validate your CV for the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program by clicking "Validate my CV" to ensure you have provided the mandatory elements.
4. To generate your CV in PDF format:
   1. Click "Finalize and Submit my CV"
   2. Select "Banting PDF" from the agency dropdown and click "Submit"
   3. You will be prompted to consent to submit electronically for Banting PDF
   4. Click on the "diskette" icon in the Adobe menu
      Note: Do not create a PDF from the "Preview/Print my CV" menu as the documents generated are considered in draft form and will not be accepted.
5. Save your validated Banting Common CV PDF on your computer.

To upload your validated Banting Common CV PDF:

1. Log onto your Banting application on ResearchNet
2. Go to the task "Attach CVs and Supporting Documents" and click on "Manage Files"
3. Click on "Browse" and navigate to the location of your saved Banting CV PDF and select
4. Click on "Attach" to upload your Banting CV

Other sources of information to help you complete your Banting CV:

1. Page by page guidelines for creating and updating your Banting CV including guidelines for fields specific to Banting, can be found on the Canadian Common CV website.
2. Once in your account, there are several areas where guidelines are located.
   1. The "Common CV User Guide" and "Frequently Asked Questions" links are located on the right hand side of the "Home-My CV" page.
   2. Guidelines specific to each screen can be found in 'Section Help' at the top right hand side of each screen and also from the link 'Some agencies have specific requirements'
   3. Guidelines pertaining to a specific field on a screen can be accessed by clicking on the "?" icon next to the field.

Attachment: Research Contributions

(Maximum of three pages for both parts described below, and must follow the specifications found in the instructions related to Formatting of Documents)

Part 1: List of Contributions

List your research contributions, using the categories provided below as a guide. This is not intended to be a complete list of possible categories and is provided as guidance only.

Begin with your most recent contributions and list each entry in a new line. Do not include any articles that are currently in preparation or those on which you do not appear as an author. In all cases indicate if the contribution has been refereed.

Categories

To enhance ease of review of multiple applications by reviewers it is strongly suggested that applicants use the applicable categories as sub-headings in listing their contributions.

• Articles published or accepted in refereed journals
• Accepted or in press refereed articles
• Articles submitted in refereed journals
• Other refereed contributions (papers in refereed conference proceedings, posters, etc.)
• Published books and monographs (as author or editor)
• Accepted or in press books and monographs
• Submitted books and monographs
• Published contributions to a collective work and/or book chapters (including chapters written on invitation or collective works derived from conferences or symposiums)
• Accepted or in press contributions to a collective work and book chapters (including chapters written on invitation or collective works derived from conferences or symposiums)
• Presentations as guest speaker (including conferences, presentations, demonstrations, workshops intended for a non-academic audience)
• Published abstracts/number of notes (including name of journal, title of article, and date submitted)
• Accepted or in press abstracts/number of notes (including name of journal, title of article, and date submitted)
• Submitted abstracts (including name of journal, title of article, and date submitted)
• Works including individual or collective literary or artistic works (e.g. novels, short stories, poetry, film, video, visual arts work, booklet, record, sound creation, book of artists, collection, exhibition catalogue, etc.)
• Research reports or reports produced for government or non-governmental organizations
• Patents or intellectual property rights for technology transfer, products, and services
• Articles in professional or cultural journals without review committee (including popularized texts)

Note: In all cases, indicate any collaboration with other researchers

• Publications submitted, accepted or in press: indicate the date of submission/acceptance and the number of pages submitted.
• Posters: Indicate the presenting author with an asterisk (*). Example: Applicant, X.X.*.
• Conferences: indicate whether institutional, regional, provincial, national, or international.
• Patents or Intellectual Property Rights: include the title, patents or intellectual property rights number and date, country(ies) of issue, the name of the inventors, as well as relevance or impact of the stated item.
• Indicate source of funding supporting the contribution, where applicable.
• Confidential technical or internal reports: Many contributions to industry or other knowledge users take the form of technical or internal reports, some of which may be confidential to protect proprietary information, or may be subject to patent or copyright protection. Upon request, you should be prepared to provide a letter from the relevant university and/or organizational entity (e.g. technology transfer office) attesting to the nature and significance of the contribution in as specific terms as possible.
• Use a format for contributions that is appropriate to your discipline.
• Updates to your contribution record will not be accepted after submission.

Part 2: Research Contributions

From the contributions listed in Part 1, choose up to three that you judge to be your most significant research contributions and describe their significance in terms of influence on the direction of thought and activity in the target community and in terms of significance to, and use by, other researchers and knowledge users.

This application element speaks directly to the Selection Criterion:

• Research excellence and leadership in the research domain

Attachment: Leadership Contributions

(Maximum one page. This single page must include both parts described below, and must follow the specifications found in the instructions related to Formatting of Documents)

Describe your leadership contributions and their impacts.

Part 1: Leadership Activities in the Research Domain

Provide a list of professional activities that demonstrate your research leadership and sphere of influence at the institutional level and beyond, using the categories provided below as a guide. This is not intended to be a complete list of possible categories and is provided as guidance only.

Begin with your most recent contributions and list each entry in a new line.

Categories

To enhance ease of review of multiple applications by reviewers it is strongly suggested that applicants use the applicable categories as sub-headings in listing their contributions.

Participation on Committees

• Academic/Scientific Committee membership, including involvement in student/fellow or professional associations
• For selection/merit/peer review committees, specify the year(s), the subject(s), and the funding organization. For thesis examination committees, indicate the author, title of thesis, and university.

Participation as External Reviewer

• Evaluation of articles for scientific, literary or artistic journals (specify title of journal and the number of articles evaluated)
• Evaluation of grant/scholarship applications for funding organizations (specify name of funding organization and number of applications evaluated)

Participation in Training Activities

• Supervisory activities (provide details including level of students/personnel being supervised)
• Teaching (provide details, including name of course, class size, etc.)
• Mentoring experience

Participation in Scientific Outreach and/or Knowledge Translation/Mobilization Activities

• Editorships (specify if editor-in-chief or member of the editorial team)
• Academic conference organization, chairing sessions/leading workshops, etc.
• Founded societies, society chapters, companies, not-for-profit organisations, etc.
• Consulting/contract activities
• Involvement in product development/technology transfers (specify the nature of the activity and the target audience)
• Evidence of specific dissemination, exchange and/or application of knowledge and improvements to current practices (including development of policy papers, etc.)
• Promotion activities (e.g. articles in popular journals, interviews in popular media, science fairs, etc.)
• Involvement in public, private, or non-profit sector research and knowledge translation/mobilization activities
• Presentations as guest speaker (public or invited lectures)

Part 2: Leadership Contributions - Details

From the activities you described in Part 1, choose up to three that you judge to be the most significant in demonstrating your research leadership and sphere of influence at the institutional level and beyond. Discuss the impact and importance of these activities in terms of your career as a researcher.

This application element speaks directly to the Selection Criterion:

• Research excellence and leadership in the research domain

Attachment: Fulfillment of Degree Requirements Form

(Maximum of one page)

Fulfillment of Degree Requirements Form [ PDF (848 KB) | Help ]

Upload a Fulfillment of Degree Requirements Form that has been completed by the institution that conferred the PhD, health professional or equivalent degree you have entered in the "Enter Degree Information" section. All applicants for the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program must fulfill or have fulfilled all degree requirements for a PhD¹, health professional or equivalent degree:

1. on a date within the 3-year eligibility window of November 2^nd, 2008, through December 31^st, 2011
   
   OR
2. no earlier than November 2^nd, 2006, if they have had their career interrupted or delayed for the purpose of childrearing, illness, or health-related family responsibilities or, for Health Professionals only, have engaged in post-degree non-research related clinical training (residency, etc.).

Applicants must document any interruptions, delays or post-degree clinical training in the Special Circumstances attachment.

Applicants who have not completed their PhD, health professional or equivalent degree at the time of application but expect to do so on or before December 31^st, 2011, must also upload to ResearchNet a Fulfillment of Degree Requirements Form that has been completed by the institution that conferred the PhD, health professional or equivalent degree that was entered in the "Enter Degree Information" section. Upon completion, applicants must once again provide a Fulfillment of Degree Requirements Form that has been completed by the institution that conferred the PhD, health professional or equivalent degree that was entered in the "Enter Degree Information" section. This form must be scanned and sent by email to the Banting@researchnet-recherchenet.ca address no later than 8 p.m. (EST) January 15^th, 2012 or the application will be withdrawn.

Attachment: Special Circumstances

Maximum one page, and must follow the specifications found in the instructions related to Formatting of Documents)

Identify any administrative responsibilities, family or health reasons, or any other factors that might have delayed or interrupted any of the following: academic and/or career advancement, scientific research, other research, dissemination of results, training, etc. Common examples of an interruption/delay might be a bereavement period following the death of a loved one, maternity/parental leave, or relocation of your research environment. Health professionals should include any post-degree training that is not research-focused (e.g., clinical training, residency, etc.) in this section. Please note that although it is important to document all your career interruptions in the Special Circumstances attachment, only those of the type listed in the Eligibility Criteria under the Eligibility Window for Degree Completion section will be considered for the purposes of extending the eligibility window.

Please provide specific dates for your delays and/or interruptions.

Only in exceptionally rare circumstances will a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship be awarded to an applicant who is staying at the same institution where they completed their PhD, PhD- equivalent or health professional degree. Applicants who wish to undertake postdoctoral level research training in the same institution (or its affiliated hospitals, research centres and other laboratories) in which they received their PhD, health professional or equivalent degree must provide a strong justification for this exceptional circumstance to be assessed as part of the Selection Committee review process. The more similar the proposed research environment is to that which existed during the applicant's PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree, the stronger the required justification. These situations are expected to be exceptionally rare in the context of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program

This application element speaks directly to the Selection Criterion:

• Research excellence and leadership in the research domain

Task 9: Enter Degree Information

This task collects information on your PhD, health professional degree or equivalent.

Task 10: Enter Project Information and Supporting Documents

This task has four sub-tasks to collect information related to your research project.

• Project Overview
• Project Details
• Project Descriptors
• Attachments

Project Overview

Your Title of Research Proposal is the way that the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program identifies your research project. (Maximum of 640 characters)

Your Lay Title will be used to inform the public and Parliament about the valuable research supported through public funds. Provide a title that is accessible to a lay audience. (Maximum of 200 characters)

Your Lay Abstract will be used to inform the public and Parliament about the valuable research supported through public funds. Provide an abstract that is accessible to a lay audience and be sure to indicate how your proposed research can improve the quality of life of Canadians. (Maximum of 2000 characters)

Project Details

Enter information on the Host Institution that is endorsing your application, your expected Start Date to take up the award and the Language in which your Research Proposal is written. Please note that the list of institutions provided in the lookup feature is not exhaustive. If the institution you are proposing does not appear on the list, please verify that it meets the criteria of an eligible host institution and then enter it into the Other box. If you are still uncertain whether the institution is eligible, please send an email to banting@researchnet-recherchenet.ca to confirm.

Project Descriptors/Keywords

Provide keywords/descriptors to describe your research project, the techniques and the methodologies it will employ, and the areas of interest.

Note: The Proposed field of study/research was auto-populated based on the Identify Area of Research task.

Attachments

All attachments must adhere to the guidelines for attachments found in the "Support" section (bottom of the page) on the "Attachments" task on ResearchNet.

It is under this subtask that you will attach:

• Career Aspirations and Choice of Institution
• Research Proposal
• Bibliography
• Institutional Synergy and Letter of Endorsement
• Supervisor's Statement
• Research Environment
• Professional Development

Attachment: Career Aspirations and Choice of Institution

(Maximum of one page, and must follow the specifications found in the instructions related to Formatting of Documents)

Describe your career aspirations and provide rationale for the decision to pursue a postdoctoral research experience at the proposed host institution and in association with the proposed supervisor. Applicants should clearly justify the choice of Institution and supervisor and should highlight the benefits expected with respect to fulfilling the applicant's career aspirations.

This application element speaks directly to the Selection Criteria:

• Quality of applicant's proposed research program
• Institutional commitment and demonstrated synergy between applicant and institutional strategic priorities

Attachment: Research proposal

(Maximum of four pages including graphs and images, and must follow the specifications found in the instructions related to Formatting of Documents)

Provide a detailed description of your proposed research that considers the following elements:

• the objectives of your proposed research program
• the significance of the proposed research program
• the contribution that your research will make to the advancement of knowledge
• how the proposed research program is situated within relevant scholarly literature
• the theoretical approach or framework that will be used
• the research question(s) and/or hypothesis(es)
• the methodology and why it was chosen
• the plan to disseminate the findings and/or enhance potential for impact

If the proposed research is closely related to or a continuation of your thesis, explain how it will develop and expand on your thesis.

If the output of your proposed research is an artistic creation, indicate clearly the research component of your proposed work.

This application element speaks directly to the Selection Criterion:

• Quality of applicant's proposed research program

Attachment: Bibliography

(Maximum of five pages, and must follow the specifications found in the instructions related to Formatting of Documents)

Provide a bibliography, including bibliographic details for all citations included in your "research proposal". Ensure that they are clear and complete to allow reviewers to easily locate the sources.

This application element speaks directly to the Selection Criterion:

• Quality of applicant's proposed research program

Attachment: Institutional Synergy and Letter of Endorsement – to be completed by Host Institution

(Maximum of two pages)

Describe the institution's documented strategic directions and illustrate the synergy between that strategy and the applicant's proposed research program. Clearly justify the Institution's endorsement of the applicant in light of the institution's strategic priorities and articulate how the Institution will strategically benefit from engagement with the applicant. Describe the process by which your institution chose to endorse this applicant and the specific reasons why this applicant was endorsed.

The document should also confirm the institution's commitment to gender equity and involvement of institutional equity officers (or equivalent) in the endorsement of the applicant.

This document must be signed by the institution's President or her/his official delegate. Note that all applications involving a given host institution must be signed by the same official signatory – President or a single official delegate.

Applications for and awards provided through the Banting program are subject to the policies and guidelines for awards programs as outlined by each funding agency.

This application element speaks directly to the Selection Criterion:

• Institutional commitment and demonstrated synergy between applicant and institutional strategic priorities

Attachment: Supervisor's Statement – to be completed by your proposed supervisor

(Maximum of three pages, and must follow the specifications found in the instructions related to Formatting of Documents)

This document must include the Supervisor's description of their academic and research background, and key contributions/accomplishments to date. A contribution is understood to be a publication, literary or artistic work, conference, patent or intellectual property right, contract or creative activity, commission, etc. A complete description may include the organization, position or activity type and description, from and to dates, and the basis on which this contribution is significant (i.e. relevance, target community and impact). This document will be used to assess the degree to which the supervisor is well positioned to provide the required support to the applicant in relation to the research proposed.

This document must be signed by the supervisor.

Applications for and awards provided through the Banting program are subject to the policies and guidelines for awards programs as outlined by each funding agency.

A CV for the supervisor is not required.

This application element speaks directly to the Selection Criterion:

• Institutional commitment and demonstrated synergy between applicant and institutional strategic priorities.

Attachment: Research Environment – to be completed by Host Institution

(Maximum of two pages, and must follow the specifications found in the instructions related to Formatting of Documents)

Provide details concerning the applicant's proposed research environment. These details should clearly state the Institution's commitment, for example in terms of the funding, facilities/resources and personnel that will be available to support the applicant as he/she carries out his/her proposed research.

This application element speaks directly to the Selection Criterion:

• Institutional commitment and demonstrated synergy between applicant and institutional strategic priorities

Attachment: Professional Development - to be completed by Host Institution

(Maximum of one page, and must follow the specifications found in the instructions related to Formatting of Documents)

Describe the Institution's commitment to the applicant's professional development, clearly indicating the resources and/or mentoring activities that are available through the institution to support career development. These could include, but are not limited to: career counselling; training in preparation of grant proposals, publications and presentations; training in knowledge translation/mobilization; training in intellectual property; guidance on ways to improve teaching and mentoring skills; guidance on how to effectively collaborate with researchers and knowledge users from diverse backgrounds and disciplinary areas; and training in responsible professional practices.

This application element speaks directly to the Selection Criterion:

• Institutional commitment and demonstrated synergy between applicant and institutional strategic priorities

Task 11: Preview Application Materials

Review your application and save a PDF copy for your records. If a task is incomplete, you must provide the missing information to successfully submit your application.

Note: If any documents provided (including attachments) do not conform to the requirements above and/or exceed page limitations, these additional pages will be removed from the application prior to Selection Committee review.

Task 12: Consent and Submit Application

Submit Application

You must indicate whether or not you consent to the terms listed in ResearchNet before you submit your application.

You must click Submit to send your application to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program. If you have performed this task correctly, you will be sent an email entitled "Successful Submission - Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program / Soumission acceptée - Programme de bourses postdoctorales Banting". No further confirmation is provided.

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1. "Fulfilled all requirements of the degree" refers to the date that the applicant completed all the steps required for obtaining their degree. Although these requirements may vary by institution and degree type, they normally include thesis defence corrections and thesis deposition. It is not the convocation date.