North American Research Linkages Program

October 30, 2007

Objective:This program is designed to facilitate North American collaboration within the academic community. It aims to foster the development of permanent exchange networks by providing assistance to teams of researchers from Canada, the United States and Mexico in order to organize seminars, workshops, or other forms of research linkages.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada will offer grants of up to 20,000 to assist in the establishment or the development of North American research networks in support of projects that have policy relevance for the North American agenda. Topics that are highly relevant to Canada – United States – Mexico relations include: sustainable development (including energy and the environment), human capital (e.g. people-to-people linkages), security and public safety, competitiveness and innovation, cross-border cooperation, and culture and identity.

Definition: Research team: a research team is defined as a group of at least three researchers with at least one having completed graduate studies (Ph.D. or equivalent).

Eligibility: To be eligible, a proposal must meet the following requirements:
1. A research team must be comprised of members from an academic institution in each of the three countries.
2. Each team shall be actively engaged in a research related to the linkages project;
3. Show that this proposal’s goal is to foster academic mobility and exchange of information and not to finance research;
4. Include a strategy/critical path to pursue linkages after the initial activity;
5. Include a detailed budget indicating all expected expenditures and potential sources of revenue other than the Canadian government.
6. Applications must be submitted in either English or French.

Note: Purely scientific subjects such as physics, chemistry, medicine, engineering, etc. which would not lead to a better knowledge and understanding of Canada and North American issues per se are not eligible, nor are proposals which focus exclusively on technological or methodological issues.

Deadline: November 30

Application procedure:With the official endorsement of his/her institution, and having constituted a research team, the designated principal researcher, to be located in Mexico or the United States, should submit an application to the relevant Canadian Embassy. See below for full contact information.

Applications must be sent electronically and include the following:
1. Project title;
2. A summary of the proposed activity; emphasis should be on the objectives and the expected results (maximum four pages). The summary should include a complete schedule of activities and identify expected participants, partner institutions or organizations;
3. For each team:
a) name and mailing address of project leader(s) (including a brief c.v.)
b) short presentation of other research teams’ members.
c) description of the state of the research work to date (maximum one page)
d) if applicable, a list of research grant(s) received for that research;
4. A detailed budget including all estimated expenses and potential sources of revenue. Eligible costs under this program include travel, accommodation, honoraria, per diems for team members, communications (telephone, fax, postage), administrative assistance, stationery and photocopying related to the linkages project; no provision is made for release time stipends, salaries or overhead costs to the institution(s).
5. Institutions may request funding up to $15,000CDN; applicants whose project focuses on the priority topics above and who can demonstrate matching funds from other sources may request funding up to $20,000CDN;
6. Identification of the team that will administer the grant.

Note: The recipients are responsible for making all arrangements relating to the project including: international travel, visas (if applicable), accommodation, medical and life insurance, etc. The event must be completed by March 31st of each year (or in the first 3 weeks of April for exceptional cases only.

Selection:All applications will be peer reviewed by a jury established by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada which will include Canadian and foreign academics. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade will do the final selection following a review of complete applications and recommendations of the selection committee.

All applicants will be notified in writing of the results of their application, normally within 90 days of the deadline for submission of applications.

Payment procedure:Successful applicants will be sent a Grant Agreement detailing the value and conditions of the award. It must be signed and returned to the relevant Canadian Embassy within thirty (30) days. The award will be paid after receipt by the Canadian Embassy of the signed Grant Agreement. Please note that this is a one-time, non-renewable grant.

Report of activities:Within three months of the completion of the activities, a complete report must be submitted to the relevant Canadian Embassy. The report should focus on demonstrating how and to what degree the objectives and expected results were attained and include a section on “next steps” that will be taken to pursue future linkages.

The assistance of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada must be acknowledged during the linkages activities and, if applicable, in any publications resulting from the research.

The designated principal applicant should direct their application to one of the following Canadian Embassies:

Daniel Abele, Ph.D
Academic Relations Officer
Embassy of Canada
 501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
 Washington, DC 20001
Tel.: 202-682-7717
Fax: 202-682-7791
E-mail: daniel.abele@international.gc.ca

Luis Archundia
Academic Affairs Coordinator
Embassy of Canada
Calle Schiller 529, Polanco, 11580
 Mexico City- Mexico*
Tel: +011 (5255) 5724-7958*
Fax: +011 (5255) 5724-7981
luis.archundia@international.gc.ca 

For assistance with the development of this grant, please contact:

Melanie Katsivo PhD, Consultant, International Programs
Research Development, University of Western Ontario
Telephone(519) 661-2111 Ext. 87970
E-mail: mkatsivo@uwo.ca


Golf Research Featured in the London Free Press

October 26, 2007

The Oct 24, 2007 edition of the London Free Press reported on the results of a recent study by UWO researchers, Dr. Alan Edmunds, Faculty of Education and Dr. Craig Hall, Kinesiology:

‘The researchers — Alan Edmunds, an associate professor with UWO’s faculty of education, and kinesiology professor Craig Hall — call their strategy Auto Focus.
Essentially, it’s a five-count mantra that goes like this: Look. Back. Focus. Tick. Tock.
The two researchers tested their strategy with 13 golfers during an eight-week period this year.
“We did prove the point,” says Edmunds. “We made all the golfers better.” ‘


Faculty of Education – Seminar Series

October 18, 2007

The Faculty of Education, Seminar Series 2007-2008 “tees off” with the first speaker of the series:

Dr. Alan Edmunds
Faculty of Education, UWO will present:

A Psychological Strategy for Improved Golf Scores

October 25, 2007
1:30 – 3:00 pm
Room 1141

Faculty, staff, and students welcome to attend
Refreshments to follow


Centre for Inclusive Education – Research Hour

October 18, 2007

The Centre for Inclusive Education invites faculty and students to attend their Research Hour.

Monday, October 22
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Stevenson-Lawson Bldg. Room 292 

Jacqui Specht & Susan Rodger will be discussing
“Transitioning Youth with Disabilities: Lessons from the Literature” 
 
 
Light refreshments will be provided. All are welcome; please advise Grace Howell, ghowell@uwo.ca, if you  plan to attend  


Determining Whether a Journal is Peer Reviewed

October 18, 2007

The Education Library Blog has just posted information on how to determine whether a journal is peer-reviewed

Thanks Denise!


Human Resources & Social Development Canada – Contract Opportunities

October 18, 2007

This is short notice on these policy-relevant research contracts from HRSDC but…

Who Goes to Post-Secondary Education (PSE) and Why? Longitudinal Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY)
Deadline: October 26/07
Amount: $22,500
More information: Flyer – PSE & Economic & Request for Proposals (RFP)
 
Economic Returns to Work Experience
Deadline:
October 26/07
Amount: $45,000
More Information:  Flyer – PSE & Economic & Request for Proposals (RFP)

Lessons Learned From Other Industrialized Countries About Government Policies to Encourage the Provision of Employer-Sponsored Training  
Deadline: November 9/07
Amount: $21,000
More Information: Flyer – Lessons & Financial & Request for Proposals (RFP)

Developing a Policy Rationale for and Exploring the Government of Canada’s Role in Financial Capability Initiatives
Deadline:
November 5/07
Amount: $50,000
More Information: Flyer – Lessons & Financial & Request for Proposals (RFP)

Understanding Adult Numeracy: What Do We Know? What Should We Know?
Deadline: October 29/07
Amount: $35,000
More Information: Flyer – Numeracy & Workplace & Request for Proposals (RFP)

Linkages Between Workplace Skills and Training and Firm Productivity
Deadline: November 23/07
Amount: $45,000
More Information: Flyer – Numeracy & Workplace & Request for Proposals (RFP)

Full Applications are to be processed through Research Development Services for institutional signatures, and are to be accompanied by a completed RDAF form (bearing applicant and Dean Signatures).

If you wish to have feedback on your application, please contact Karen Kueneman, kueneman@uwo.ca


Canadian Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

October 16, 2007

The Canadian Post-Doctoral Fellowship Research Program is funded by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT). 

Value: Total value of the fellowship is $32,000 CAD and is not taxable in Canada. As no dependant allowance is payable, it is essential that fellows who plan to bring their family to Canada have sufficient financial resources for their support.

Deadline:  November 2, 2007

Objectives and Goals: As part of the Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Program (CCSP) and the Government of Canada Awards (GCA), the Government of Canada offers one-year post-doctoral research fellowships tenable at recognized public Canadian universities and affiliated research institutes only.

The Government’s objective in establishing this program is to attract recent PhD graduates to do research in Canada. Within that, the Government wishes to support research that clearly advances the scholar’s own career and that is useful to Canada or to the research team within which the scholar proposes to work.

The Canadian Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship Program (PDRF)) is designed to provide research opportunities to promising recent doctoral graduates in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering. Priority will be given to candidates who have not previously studied in Canada under a Canadian government scholarship.

Eligibility:  Applicants must be citizens of one of the United Kingdom. Anyone who has obtained Canadian citizenship or who has applied for permanent residency in Canada shall not be eligible for an award.

More information and applications…

Email enquiries to: csfpout@acu.ac.uk


Dean Julia O’Sullivan – Western News

October 12, 2007

The Faculty of Education’s new Dean was recently interviewed by Western News.  In the interview  (see Page 7) Dr. Julia O’Sullivan describes her thoughts and visions for the Faculty’s research.  

“One of the things I’m doing is linking people who work here in our faculty,” she says, noting the faculty’s Top 5 ranking in Canada regarding research productivity. “This is a great faculty of education, we have research here that is changing the face of how we look at education in this country and internationally.”
 ”Part of my job is to make sure that the people here, our faculty, are linked and networked around the world because that will help our work.”