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E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships

Instructions to External Reviewers – Form 140

Before Proceeding

Your signature on the paper version of the review form, or transmission of your final evaluation to NSERC either by mail or by using the electronic evaluation process, means that you have read these instructions and that you consent to these uses and disclosures.

In addition, you may refer to:

Program objectives for the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships;
Guidelines for the Preparation and Review of Applications in Engineering and Applied Sciences; and
Guidelines for the Preparation and Review of Applications in Interdisciplinary Research.

Information on the following topics is provided below:

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Conflict of Interest

If you are in a conflict of interest or for any other reason unable to act as an external reviewer, contact us directly or send us an email at referee.steacie@nserc-crsng.gc.caas soon as possible. In order to identify yourself and the application(s) you are unable to review to NSERC, indicate your Personal Identification Number and the application number in the SUBJECT line of the electronic message followed by your message.

Suggested external reviewers should not be in a conflict of interest. Refer to the Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy of the Federal Research Funding Organizations for more information. In addition, external reviewers must sign the Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Agreement for Review Committee Members, External Reviewers, and Observers before they access the application material.

Allegations of Policy Breaches

Allegations of policy breaches, as described in the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research, must be treated separately from the peer review process. Should your review reveal concerns of possible policy breaches, report any allegation separately to the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research. Your evaluation should only address the application you have evaluated according to the selection criteria and make no mention of the breach concerns.

Collection and Use of Personal Information

The information you provide is collected under the authority of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Act and stored in a series of NSERC data banks described in Info Source Publications. Details on the use and disclosure of this information are described in the Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to NSERC. The information is used in accordance with the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

How to Evaluate the Nomination

The selection committee for this prestigious award is a multidisciplinary group of distinguished scientists and engineers and relies heavily on the opinions of external reviewers in reaching a final decision on each nominated team. Therefore, when preparing your appraisal, bear in mind that you are writing to non-specialists. The selection committee would greatly benefit from specific as well as general comments about the nominee's specific accomplishments within his/her field as well as the importance, scope and impact of their contributions.

In assessing the merits of the nomination, comment on the following:

The candidate's stature in the scientific or engineering community, both national and international;
The importance and scope of the candidate's research and its impact on the field;
The candidate's specific accomplishments within his/her field; and
The candidate's overall suitability for this award.

Notes:

Comparisons with researchers of similar calibre working in the same discipline would be very valuable to the committee; and
Because the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship is one of NSERC's most prestigious awards for research excellence, the successful candidate should be a truly outstanding and highly promising scientist or engineer.