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Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award for Graduate Students
2026 Competition

Research Impact Canada (RIC) is committed to maximizing the impact of research for the public good in communities. RIC aims to develop the capacity for knowledge mobilization and support activities related to the impacts of research in Canada and beyond. The network is dedicated to developing institutional capacity to support creating and assessing the impacts of research, scholarship, and creative activities by developing and sharing best practices, services, and tools.

Overview of the RIC Engaged Scholarship Award for Graduate Students
Prize
  • A cash prize of $3000 CAD for doctoral students and recent doctoral graduates or $2000 for Master’s students and recent Master’s graduates
  • Invitation(s) to present on their engaged research project
  • A post on the RIC website featuring their engaged research project
  • A social media post on LinkedIn and BlueSky directing people to the post on the RIC website featuring their engaged research project
Application Deadline March 1, 2026 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time
How to Apply To apply, please submit the following through the online application system:
  • A completed online application form
  • An application letter (2 pages maximum)
  • A CV (3 pages maximum)
  • 2 letters of support (2 pages maximum per letter of support):
    • A letter from project knowledge users, participants, collaborators, or partners describing the importance of your contribution to changes or impact in their actions, practices, guidelines or policies, etc.
    • A letter from an academic supervisor describing your journey, evolution, lessons learned from this engaged scholarship experience.
Applications are accepted in English or French.

Objective

The RIC Engaged Scholarship Award for graduate students recognizes engaged scholarship (making research with the people who benefit from it), co-creation of knowledge or integrated knowledge translation efforts among graduate students of RIC's Canadian member institutions, regardless of their discipline.

A successful project meaningfully incorporates:

1. The principles of engaged scholarship

The principles of engaged scholarship focus on high-quality scholarship, reciprocity, identified community needs, democratization of knowledge, and boundary crossing. Engaged scholarship leads to increased awareness of research by diverse audiences beyond academia or changes in actions, practices, guidelines, or policies. Engaged scholarship consists of doing research in deep collaboration with the people who can benefit from it.

2. Knowledge mobilization

Knowledge mobilization refers to the multidirectional flow and uptake of research knowledge between researchers and knowledge users in order to accelerate and increase the impact of research. Knowledge mobilization activities support engagement, collaboration, and knowledge exchange throughout and beyond the research process

Engaged scholarship refers to deep collaboration during research processes. Often, this goes beyond presenting at an academic conference, publishing in academic journals or writing op-eds. For some resources on knowledge mobilization, please visit the following links:

You may also wish to take a look at the projects of our 2025 RIC Engaged Scholarship Award winners for examples of knowledge mobilization activities:

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, the applicant must:

  • Be a graduate student registered at one of RIC’s Canadian academic member institutions, at any stage of their program (Master's or Doctorate candidate), in any discipline, or be a recent graduate (up to 1 year after graduation date) from one of RIC’s Canadian academic member institutions. Click here for the list of eligible institutions.
  • Be leading or have led a significant research project (e.g. research for a thesis or dissertation) following engaged scholarship principles (high-quality scholarship, reciprocity, identified community needs, democratization of knowledge, and boundary-crossing) that resulted in increased awareness of targeted audiences or changes in actions, practices, guidelines or policies.
  • Demonstrate knowledge mobilization activities that have been implemented or executed to some degree or are at least in the process of being implemented or executed.

Selection Process & Criteria

RIC is seeking projects that can demonstrate evidence of integrated knowledge mobilization and/or knowledge user or stakeholder engagement, or public outreach either at the local, regional, national, or international level. The project should provide evidence of increased awareness of targeted audiences beyond academia or changes in actions, practices, guidelines, or policies.

All eligible applications will be reviewed by the review committee. The review committee consists of staff who work at RIC member institutions. Each application will be assessed based on the following criteria (please make sure you are providing examples for each selection criteria as appropriate):

Selection Criteria Description Weight
Relevance, importance, and clarity of the application Indicators include:
  • The research project is relevant and important.
  • The engaged scholarship activities are relevant and important.
  • The application is well written, clear, and easy to understand.
 25%
Engaged Scholarship Indicators include:
  • The applicant provides relevant evidence of the engaged scholarship or knowledge mobilization activities implemented in the project through a demonstrated history of or planned initiatives.
  • The applicant demonstrates how principles of engaged scholarship were considered and implemented throughout the project.
  • The applicant demonstrates meaningful involvement of knowledge users, relevant parties and/or partners throughout and beyond the research process.
  • The applicant demonstrates the benefits or potential benefits of engaged scholarship for all relevant parties and partners.
 30%
Desired/Potential/Promise of impact and outcomes Indicators include:
  • The applicant demonstrates leadership for creating impact or potential impact with the project.
  • The impact or potential impact of the project is clear and relevant.
  • The applicant demonstrates the value of collaboration and engagement with partners to create impact or potential impact in this project.
 25%
Relevance of lessons learned Indicator includes:
  • The applicant provides a reflection on lessons learned.
 10%
Contributions to equity, diversity, and inclusion Indicator includes:
  • The applicant thoughtfully reflects upon how their projects might relate or contribute to equity, diversity, and inclusion, including reconciliation and decolonization.
 10%

Contact

For questions or further information, contact Sandy Chan at sdychan@yorku.ca. Thank you.

Peter Levesque Award for Leadership in Knowledge Mobilization 2026

Presented by Research Impact Canada

This award recognizes individuals or teams who have made significant contributions to advancing knowledge mobilization (KMb) as a profession and is named in honor of Peter Levesque, a pioneer in the field. Among many achievements in his career, Peter founded the Institute for Knowledge Mobilization and launched The Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum. His work in the field has set the stage for much of the subsequent knowledge mobilization work across Canada.

While there are awards for KMb scholarship and graduate student research, there are no awards recognizing the contributions of professional staff to diverse aspects of knowledge mobilization with a focus on building professional careers. We're excited to fill this gap and celebrate those who have dedicated their careers to advancing the field.

Overview of the Award

Deadline: March 1, 2026 at 11:59 pm ET

Prize: This is an award of recognition. There is no cash value associated with the award.

How to Apply: To apply, please submit the following through the application system.

  • A completed application form
  • A nominee letter
  • A CV (narrative and non-traditional CVs are encouraged!)
  • Two letters of support

Objective

The goal of this award is to recognize the achievements of an individual or a team that has helped establish and/or support professional knowledge mobilization. This award specifically recognizes those whose efforts have built the capacity of others to do knowledge mobilization work, whether through training, mentorship, program development, tool creation, and other methods.

We define 'professional knowledge mobilizers' as those who have a job dedicated to one or more aspects of knowledge mobilization, including but not limited to: engaging with community and other partners, planning, collaborating, disseminating and/or evaluating knowledge mobilization activities.

We welcome nominations that reflect the diversity of knowledge mobilization and research impact practices among RIC member institutions.

Eligibility

  • Eligibility for this award is limited to staff at a Research Impact Canada member institution. For a list of members, see our website.
  • Nominations should be submitted via an online application form, which includes details about the nominee's work and contributions to capacity building in the field of knowledge mobilization.
  • Individual or team nominations (including self-nominations) are welcome.
  • This is an award of recognition; there is no cash value to the award.
  • This award is specifically for non-commercial knowledge mobilization activities (e.g., not tech transfer or entrepreneurship)

Application Process

To apply, please submit the following through the online nomination system:

  1. A completed online nomination form
  2. A nomination letter (2 pages maximum)
    • The letter should provide a description of the activities or initiatives, evidence of its quality, and evidence of the impact/meaningful change
    • The letter should include a case study demonstrating evidence/capacity building/evaluation
  3. A CV or Resume (3 pages maximum)
    • Traditional CVs, narrative CVs, and professional resumes are welcome
  4. Two letters of support (2 pages maximum per letter of support)

Selection Process

Review

All eligible nominations will be reviewed by a committee comprised of members of the RIC Network.

Selection Criteria

Each nomination will be assessed on the following criteria:

Selection Criteria Description Weight
Relevance, importance, and clarity of the nomination Indicators include:
  • The nominee’s capacity-building initiatives are relevant and important – effectively addressing critical gaps in the knowledge mobilization field.
  • The nominee showcases a remarkable degree of innovation in addressing challenges related to capacity building, highlighting creative and effective solutions that push the boundaries of knowledge mobilization practice.
  • The nomination is well written, clear, and easy to understand.
 10%
Capacity Building Indicators include:
  • The nominee provides relevant evidence of the capacity building initiatives that were considered and implemented throughout the project. These may include development of training programs, mentorship and coaching, creation of tools and resources that enhance capacity, or the growth of knowledge mobilization networks and communities.
  • The nominee demonstrates meaningful involvement of knowledge users, relevant parties and/or partners throughout the process.
 30%
Demonstrated impact and outcomes Indicators include:
  • The nominee demonstrates evidence of strong outcomes and/or potential of long-term impact with the project (e.g., outcomes show realistic potential for KMb activities to facilitate long-term change)
  • The nominee showcases evidence of strong outcomes through a documented case study that illustrates how the project has led to changes in policies, practices, or attitudes.
  • The nominee demonstrates evidence of evaluation and assessment of the project. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative data is used as evidence of impact.
  • The nominee provides testimonials and endorsements that offer specific examples of how the project directly influenced positive outcomes.

Note: We don’t want to be prescriptive about what ‘counts’ as evidence, we leave it up to the nominees to demonstrate how they have measured or evaluated impact.

 30%
Relevance of lessons learned Indicators include:
  • The nominee provides a reflection on lessons learned throughout the process and how these lessons have been or can be integrated into ongoing initiatives.
  • The nominee reflects on dissemination of best practices in knowledge mobilization.
 20%
Contributions to equity, diversity, and inclusion Indicators include:
  • The nominee thoughtfully reflects upon how their projects might relate or contribute to equity, diversity, and inclusion, including reconciliation and decolonization.
  • The nominee reflects on the degree to which they have contributed to fostering an inclusive and equitable knowledge mobilization environment and specific actions taken to promote inclusivity, such as the development of guidelines or policies.
 10%

Official Languages

Applicants may submit their application in the official language of their choice – English or French.

Contact

For questions or further information, contact Sandy Chan (sdychan@yorku.ca).

Process

1. Register

Click on the "Register" button to complete and submit the registration form.

2. Login

Login with your email and password.

3. Create

Create your online application.

4. Save

During the call for applications period, your application can be saved as draft by clicking the 'Save work in progress' button. As each section is complete, you will see a appear in the category tab when the application is saved. At any time, you can download and print your application by clicking on the icon in the Application Summary section.

5. Submit

Upon completion, click on 'Submit final application'. Download and print a copy of your application for your records by clicking on the icon in the Application Summary section in the right column. Note: If an update is required prior to the application deadline, you can make update(s) and resave it as a final application.

If you require assistance or additional information, please email urbanik@yorku.ca

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Contact Information

Research Impact Canada
Kaneff Tower, York University
4700 Keele St, Room 625
Toronto ON
M3J 1P3

Contact Email:
Sandy Chan: sdychan@yorku.ca
Website: https://researchimpact.ca
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