Mitacs Elevate Postdoctoral Funding - Spring 2021 Call for Proposals

Sponsor

Mitacs

Program

Elevate

For More Information

Mitacs Elevate Spring 2021 Call for Proposals

Mitacs Elevate FAQ

Description

Mitacs Elevate is a postdoctoral fellowship with a customized research management training component. Fellows address complex challenges through:

• An exclusive research management curriculum for postdoctoral fellows in any discipline
• A minimum one-year research project (normally two years in duration) with a partner organization in need of high-level expertise
• A Partner Organization Business Case, developed to outline project objectives, risks, and stakeholder success criteria, and ensure project value

Elevate fellows progress through the program in a cohort, giving them cross-disciplinary networking and peer-learning opportunities they might not have otherwise in their careers.

Over the two-year fellowship, Elevate fellows divide their time between their partner organization project and university-based research with their faculty supervisor.

Eligibility

Postdoctoral Fellows

Postdoctoral fellows may apply for Mitacs Elevate fellowship if their date of graduation from a PhD program is no more than 5 years prior to the proposed start date of the research project.  Fellows who have had a break in their career due to military service, illness, or family leave may be considered as exceptions and must be approved in advance of proposal submission. If this situation applies to you and/or you have any questions, please contact Mitacs at elevate@mitacs.ca.

Successful candidates must have fulfilled all degree requirements (e.g., successful defense, final deposit, and signoff of dissertation) for their PhD at time of project start date which can be no later than February 9, 2022.

All fellows who successfully enter into the Elevate program are responsible for ensuring that they meet the PDF eligibility criteria at their host institution and that they will hold a PDF status by the start date of their fellowship (no later than February 9, 2022) and for the two-year duration of the Elevate program.

• Fellows must not have been employed for more than six months in an R&D position outside the university after receipt of their doctoral degree; and
• Fellows must not have received an offer of employment from the partner organization except an offer of this fellowship or short-term employment of up to six months while awaiting a decision on the fellowship.
  • If the application is not recommended for an award, the candidate may not be eligible to apply again once he or she has accumulated more than six months of industrial or partner organization work. It is therefore recommended that candidates accept a temporary contract only if necessary and that the period of the contract be kept as short as possible.
• Fellows who have held a Mitacs Accelerate award as a Masters, or PhD student are eligible to apply. Applicants may also apply if they have been approved for no more than 3 internship units of Accelerate funding (1 year equivalent) support at the postdoctoral level to be completed before the start of the Elevate fellowship.  Postdoctoral fellows who have already held a Mitacs Elevate award are not eligible to apply again to Elevate or to apply afterwards to Accelerate.
• Fellows cannot apply to multiple Mitacs programs for the same period of time.

Partner Organizations

Proposals with a not-for-profit partner must seek partner and project eligibility approval before proceeding. Please contact elevate@mitacs.ca or the University of Guelph's Business Development Representative (Emily Gordon) to discuss the eligibility of an NFP organization before submission of the completed application package.

Eligible partner organizations to Elevate include:

• For-profit corporations and crown corporations receiving no more than 50% of their revenues from government sources.
• Not-for-profit (NFP) corporations, such as industry associations, charitable organizations, and economic development organizations.

All projects in collaboration with an NFP partner must demonstrate an economic or productivity orientation.  Examples include creating new jobs, reducing costs of goods or services, or increasing productivity in a process or industry. 

Funding Availability

A limited number of fully funded fellowships are available. However, Mitacs strongly recommends that you confirm the availability of $5,000 per year from your academic supervisor or university before applying. Fellowships will be awarded competitively.

Maximum Project Value

Partner organizations provide $30,000, and Mitacs provides $30,000, for a total research grant of $60,000 per year, renewable for a second year, for a total of $120,000. This includes support for fellows and up to $5,000 in research costs for equipment, additional research personnel, conference travel and publishing costs.

Elevate fellows receive:

• $55,000 minimum annual stipend/salary 
• Training curriculum valued at $7,500 per year
• Submission assistance, including application feedback, from Mitacs representatives
• Certificate of completion after receipt of their exit survey and final report submission

Indirect Costs

0%.

Project Duration

Minimum one year research project (normally two years).

Special Notes

Mitacs recognizes that due to the pandemic and the uncertainties it’s created, you may be operating with limited ability to plan future research projects. If you feel that you cannot submit an Elevate proposal at this time due to the pandemic, please reach out to Mitacs at elevate@mitacs.ca.

Please also note that industry/partner matching funds must be remitted to Mitacs directly. Funds that are already at the University cannot be used for matching purposes.

COVID-19
Please note that research activities carried out in the context of COVID-19 need to adhere to the University of Guelph COVID-19 research principles, policies, guidelines and processes as they may be updated from time to time and communicated on the Office of Research web-page.

How to Apply

1. Once you have connected with a Mitacs Business Development Representative
   1. Apply with Mitacs' Online Application
   2. Follow Mitacs' guidelines when writing your proposal 
2. Upload the following documents to your Elevate application:
   1. Postdoctoral fellow’s CV
   2. Proposed academic supervisor’s CV
   3. Three recommendation letters with letterhead and signature required. Please refer to the Recommendation Letter Guidelines.
      1. One (1) recommendation letter from the proposed academic supervisor
      2. One (1) recommendation letter from a former supervisor or person familiar with the fellow’s research expertise
      3. One (1) recommendation letter from an eligible partner organization including financial contribution in dollar amount
   4. Any supplementary documents as applicable
3. Complete your Elevate application by June 30, 2021, at 5 p.m. PT
   1. Full Elevate application, including signatures, are due to Mitacs by June 30, 2021, at 5 p.m. PT