Sponsor

Mitacs and Scotiabank.

Program

Scotiabank Economic Resilience Research Fund (SERRF).

For More Information

Mitacs - Scotiabank Economic Resilience Research Fund [1]

Description

To further the understanding of economic resilience, Scotiabank and Mitacs have partnered to create the Scotiabank Economic Resilience Research Fund (SERRF). This $300,000 partnership over three years will support research to advance economic resilience in communities across Canada. 

Background

Established in 1999, Mitacs is a not-for-profit (NFP) organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving challenges with research solutions from the best academic institutions at home and around the world. For more than 20 years, Mitacs has worked with over 100 universities and academic institutions, thousands of companies, not-for-profits, and federal, provincial, and territorial governments to build partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada. One of these partnerships is with Scotiabank. 

Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by the purpose: "for every future", Scotiabank helps customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products, services, and community investment. In 2019, Scotiabank contributed nearly $100 million globally through donations, sponsorships and other forms of assistance. 

This year, Scotiabank is aligning its community investment toward the single issue of economic resilience, which is comprised of three progressive goals for individuals and communities. 

• Inclusion:  Broad access to, and participation in, economic opportunities.
• Stability:  The ability to maintain financial well-being through uncertainty and challenge.
• Mobility:  The ability to improve economic and financial circumstances.

Scotiabank wants to increase economic resilience to help individuals reach their desired goals to create a more inclusive world for everyone. Scotiabank will help disadvantaged people and communities adapt to change and overcome barriers and challenges to their full participation in the economy. 

Objectives

• Support the next generation of problem solvers to ensure that students are actively engaged in innovative, useful, and relevant community research.
• Enable Canadian NFP organizations and charitable organizations to access talent from academic institutions in order to provide insights related to the economic resilience of Canadian communities.
• Narrow the gap between the need for academic research and community impact.
• Strengthen relationships between Canadian NFPs and academia through collaboration and knowledge sharing.
• Reduce financial barriers for Canadian NFPs to access research expertise.
• Increase the number of researchers representing the Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) community.
• Continue to inform Scotiabank’s social impact strategy to ensure that it invests for impact.

Eligibility

Intern eligibility criteria:

• Full-time graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at Mitacs partner colleges and universities in Canada.
• Students must have a supervisor at their academic institution who is willing to supervise them on this project and administer the funds through the institution.
• Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and international students over the age of 18.
• All academic disciplines.

Partner organization eligibility:

• NFP or charitable organizations operating in Canada.

Project partners and the scope of work outlined in the proposal must be eligible to participate in the Mitacs Accelerate program. For more detail about eligibility, please see the Accelerate program website. If you are uncertain of your eligibility, please contact Rebecca Bourque (rbourque@mitacs.ca [2]) or Sarah Fairlie (sfairlie@mitacs.ca [3]).

Funding Availability

Contributions from SERRF will flow to the academic institution at which the intern is registered and will provide up to $15,000 to eligible interns to complete a four-month internship based on the research themes above. The named student on the successful research proposal will receive a $10,000 stipend and up to $5,000 in expenses related to the direct costs of research. Any unallocated research costs during the four-month term of the project will be used to increase the eligible intern stipend for the project. For projects in which the intern identifies as BIPOC, the intern will receive an additional stipend top up of $5,000.

Indirect Costs

0%.

Project Duration

Four month internship.

Special Notes

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 [4].

How to Apply

Submitting an application to the Mitacs–SERRF partnership internship program is a two-stage process.

Stage 1: Expression of Interest (EOI) form 

• Applicants will develop and submit an EOI. EOIs will be evaluated to assess project/applicant eligibility and fit with the intent of the SERRF initiative.
• Download the EOI form here. [6]
• Please send your completed EOI form to Rebecca Bourque by February 11, 2021.
• EOIs will be reviewed by a panel of subject matter experts and the persons having submitted the highest ranked project opportunities will be invited to proceed to Stage 2 - Mitacs Accelerate proposal [7]. Only those selected for progression to the full proposal will be notified. 

Stage 2: Mitacs Accelerate proposal  

• Successful projects from Stage 1 will be invited to submit a Mitacs Accelerate application.
• Applicants will be connected with a member of the Mitacs team to support application development and final submission.
• Mitacs Accelerate proposals funded under the SERRF initiative should be submitted for review no later than March 15, 2021. Persons who fail to submit their Accelerate proposal by March 15, 2021 may risk losing the SERRF contribution to their project. 

More information about the Accelerate program and what to expect when you are submitting a Mitacs Accelerate project can be found on the Mitacs website [1]. For questions pertaining to this partnership or application process, please contact one of the following Mitacs representatives: 

Rebecca Bourque, MSc, Account Manager
rbourque@mitacs.ca [2]

 Sarah Fairlie, Business Development Director, Social Innovation, Mitacs
sfairlie@mitacs.ca [3]