Call for Nominations — University of Toronto President’s Impact Awards (PDAD&C #5)

From: Barbara Fallon, Associate Vice-President, Research
Date: August 5, 2022
Re: Call for Nominations — University of Toronto President’s Impact Awards (PDAD&C #5)

I am pleased to announce the sixth annual call for nominations for the University of Toronto President’s Impact Awards, which celebrate and honour faculty members whose research has led to significant impact beyond academia. This year, the competition will be open to both individual faculty members and to faculty teams of two or more, who may be nominated for impacts emerging from collaborative research. Demonstrated impacts can have been in any domain, including but not limited to arts and culture, community involvement, the economy, education, the environment, health, an industry, law, professional practices or services, public engagement, public policy, or quality of life; the development of products, processes or services from inventions; or scientific or technological innovation that has been translated beyond the lab.

President’s Impact Award winners receive an award of $10,000 per year for five years to be used toward their research. Recipients are determined by a process of nomination and internal review and selection by a committee chaired by the Associate Vice-President, Research.

Individual nominees for the President’s Impact Award whose research impact is related to public policy may also be considered as candidates for the Carolyn Tuohy Impact on Public Policy Award, a separate award that is presented annually under the banner of the U of T Awards of Excellence (AWEX).

President’s Impact Academy

Recipients of a University of Toronto President’s Impact Award are also designated by the University as members of the President’s Impact Academy for a minimum period of five years; those wishing to continue participation in the Academy after this term may elect to do so. The President’s Impact Academy meet to discuss matters relevant to research impact, offer advice to the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives, and function as advocates for sustained excellence in research and innovation impact within and outside of the University.

Who is eligible?

Individual faculty members and faculty teams of two or more are eligible for nomination. Nominees can work in any discipline but must hold full-time academic appointments (tenure-stream, teaching-stream, clinical faculty, or status-only faculty) and have completed research that had a significant impact beyond academia.

Teams of eligible faculty may be nominated for impacts that have emerged from their collaborative research. Nominated team members must include the director(s) or leader(s) of the collaborative research, and all nominated faculty must have significantly contributed to both the research and impacts.

The University of Toronto recognizes that diversity is essential to the creation of a vibrant intellectual community that allows our researchers to maximize their creativity, contributions and impact. The President’s Impact Awards are therefore strongly committed to recognizing diversity in research impact and especially welcomes nominations of racialized persons/persons of colour, women, Indigenous/Aboriginal Peoples of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ+ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas and impact.

Nominations should be led by a Chair, Academic Director, Vice- or Associate-Dean, Research, or Vice-Principal Research as appropriate, and must be endorsed by the nominee’s or team lead’s academic division.

Deadline

November 4, 2022. Please consult with your Divisional Awards Offices for earlier internal deadlines.

Further information

Information regarding Preparing a Nomination and the Selection Process is available at https://research.utoronto.ca/honours-awards/presidents-impact-award-academy