For Professors – Overview – Chairs and Faculty Support Programs – Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering

Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering

Prairie and Atlantic Regions (only)

Guide for Applicants

October 2005

Table of Contents

Introduction

To enhance Canada's economic performance, we have to become more productive which, in a knowledge-based global economy, means becoming more creative and more innovative.

One of the major gaps in Canada's innovation system is the shortage of people with the skills and knowledge to make innovation happen. Specifically, we lack design engineers. Design engineers, in particular, are the enablers of innovation and, if we want to become more successful in innovation, we have to educate and train more of them.

To help universities meet the growing demand for design engineering talent, and to help them create and develop new and innovative designs, design concepts and design tools, NSERC is working to establish a total of 16 Chairs in Design and Environmental Design Engineering.

NSERC has allocated funding for regional Chairs in the Atlantic provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick), Quebec, Ontario, the Prairie provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta), and British Columbia.

The goal of the current competition is to award the open Chair for the Prairie region. Those interested in applying for a Chair in Environmental Design Engineering must first submit a preliminary application. Successful applicants will then be invited to submit a full proposal (see Deadline dates).

Each Chair has a term of five years and may be renewed for an additional five-year term. NSERC will provide up to $1 million over the first term of a Chair. An equivalent amount is to be contributed by any eligible source other than the federal granting agencies, including the university itself, industry, government or any other public or private sector organization. NSERC will consider matching in-kind contributions from industry.

The objectives of the program are:

• to educate and train more high-quality design engineers, and increase design education and training for all engineering students;
• to increase productivity and innovation in business and industry;
• to establish productive and effective collaborations between industry, design faculty and professional staff within the university and other design engineering Chairholders, faculty and experts across Canada; and
• to increase sensitivity to and awareness of the impacts of design and design decisions on the environment and on people's health and safety.

The key elements of the program objectives are training, followed by design and development. Applicants proposing a Chair that concentrates on graduate student training in a highly specific discipline must make a strong case for the industrial need for these graduates.

An important element of NSERC's design engineering strategy is the establishment of a national network of expertise in Canada's universities. Engineering faculties from universities across the country are presently collaborating in the development of the Canadian Design Engineering Network (C-DEN). This Network addresses design engineering education and research, promotes the sharing of design resources and the awareness of design in partnership with industry, and serves to foster design engineering innovation across engineering disciplines. It is a requirement of the program that Chairs established at different universities contribute to and work within C-DEN in the promotion of engineering design within their university and across Canada.

Context

The federal government is committed to the promotion of environmentally friendly and ecologically efficient products, processes and technologies, and is especially interested in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. The government is also committed to helping Canadian industry meet the growing demand for environmental goods and services through improvement of the environmental aspects of product design.

To tackle the environmental challenge, the development of renewable energy sources and the achievement of increased energy efficiencies must become priorities. The challenge goes well beyond simply reducing energy use; there is a need to encourage and support creativity in improving the products we use and in changing the way we do things. The creation of new environmental products, processes and technologies will not only help industry reduce emissions and pollution but will also make those industries more competitive in the face of more environmentally aware and increasingly demanding international customers.

To meet the challenge, we have to increase our investments in research and development and create new and improved products, processes and technologies that are environmentally sound, sustainable and efficient. We have to develop new designs that are environmentally benign and ecologically efficient, and that minimize or eliminate adverse environmental impacts and consequences. We have to educate and train more highly qualified environmental design engineers.

Environmental design engineering is concerned with the design and development of new and improved products, processes and technologies that are environmentally beneficial, sustainable and efficient.

Environmental design engineering includes the creation and development of:

• innovative tools, approaches, methodologies and standards to improve the environmental aspects of product and process designs, including life-cycle optimized products, recycling and reuse;
• state-of-the-art environmentally friendly and efficient designs of products, processes and process technologies; and
• creative approaches for using energy, water and natural resources more efficiently, reducing waste, and preventing pollution.

Design engineering is an enabler of innovation. It is the activity that creates the concepts and designs, and develops the new and improved products, processes and technologies that are needed in industry and in other sectors of the economy.

Regional focus

The shortage of design engineering experts who can make innovation happen has created a significant gap in our innovation system.

To help universities meet the increased demand for highly qualified design engineers, NSERC has undertaken to establish five regional Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering. These regions include the Atlantic provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick), Québec, Ontario, the Prairie provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta), and British Columbia.

The regional Chairs are expected to create linkages with other environmental design engineering faculty, professional staff, students and other design professionals in universities and educational institutions across Canada in a dynamic network. It is expected that C-DEN will provide an excellent forum and vehicle for all Chairs to contribute and provide leadership both locally and nationally.

Program goal

NSERC's goal in setting up the Chairs is to expand and improve Canada's capacity and performance in environmental design engineering.

Program objectives

The program objectives cover four interdependent and overlapping areas:

• Training;
• Design and development;
• Collaboration; and
• Promotion.

1. Training: to expand and improve Canada's capacity in environmental design engineering

This objective is aimed at increasing the number and the quality of environmental design engineers coming out of our engineering schools, and providing high-quality education and training in design engineering to all undergraduate and postgraduate engineering students. It focuses on innovation in teaching and learning, and on equipping engineering students with all the right skills (hard and soft skills), knowledge, and professional and personal attributes that the engineering profession and future employers require.

Applicants proposing to concentrate on training graduate-level designers in a program focused in a highly specific technical discipline must make a strong case for the industrial need for this level of training.

2. Design and development: to design and develop innovative products, processes and technologies that are environmentally friendly and efficient

This objective addresses innovative design activity, and innovation in design practice, tools, methodologies and approaches. It focuses on the creation of innovative designs and design concepts, tools, methodologies and processes, and on the design and development of new and improved products, processes, and technologies that are environmentally friendly and efficient.

3. Collaboration: to establish effective design partnerships, design teams and design networks

Design engineering is a multidisciplinary and multi-functional profession, and thus linkages to others inside and outside the university are a vital aspect of a Chair's work.

This objective is aimed at the creation and development of effective relationships leading to collaborative activity and synergies involving:

• design partnerships with industry, business and other receptors;
• design teams involving faculty, professional staff and students in other scientific and engineering areas from within the university and from other educational/training institutions, as well as experts and professionals from outside the university; and
• design networks linking other Chairs, faculty, professional staff and students in other Canadian universities through active participation in the proposed C-DEN and related opportunities.

4. Promotion: to promote environmentally friendly and efficient designs, design practices and design solutions

The aim of this objective is:

• to generate an intellectual and cultural framework of increased knowledge, understanding, awareness and sensitivity regarding the environment; and
• to promote and advocate the adoption and use of environmentally friendly and efficient design practices and design amongst design engineers, engineering faculty, professional staff and engineering students in universities, and design engineers and managers in industry, business, government, and other private and public sector organizations.

As advocates for design engineering, the Chairs give advice, teach, give specialized courses and lectures, and promote environmentally friendly and efficient designs, design practices and design solutions in universities, the private sector and government practices.

Discussion, description and guidelines for preparing proposals

Note: More details on the format, length and content of both the preliminary application and the full application appear in the Applications section at the end of this Guide.

1. Structure of the proposal

Apart from the basic structure outlined below, the proposal is free-form. It allows the university the flexibility to be creative and innovative in structuring the Chair and the Chair's Action Plan. The university should make the best possible case for the establishment of the best possible Chair to be in line with the university's goals, priorities, aspirations and resources.

Summary

The summary should clearly outline, in point form, the proposed activities and where they will have an impact with respect to the program objectives.

University’s design strategy (to be completed by the applicant)

The university should outline its design strategy in the context of the four objectives given above, noting:

• the general nature and level of current design engineering teaching, design activity and other design-related or design-oriented activities within the university;
• the vision and anticipated evolution of design engineering teaching and design activity, including plans for expansion, enhancements and other changes in current design engineering activities;
• strategies to enhance the prestige, status and profile of design engineering within the university;
• the positioning of the proposed Chair, and its role and importance with respect to the university's design strategy; and
• specific contributions to date by the university and/or the candidate in support of C-DEN.

Action plan of the Chair (to be completed by the candidate)

The Action Plan details the activities and contributions to be undertaken by the Chair in response to each of the four objectives (training, design and development, collaboration and promotion). The plan also outlines the anticipated results and the significance of their impact on achieving those objectives. The plan must include, in tabular form, a list of the milestones, initiation and completion dates, and performance indicators organized by objective. It is expected that some of the proposed activities will be in support of more than one objective.

Chairholder

This section explains and makes the case for the proposed Chair candidate and for his or her status, rank, title, terms of employment and remuneration.

The purpose of this section is to demonstrate that:

• the proposed candidate has the necessary level and quality of design and teaching experience, as well as the professional and personal skills and attributes to enhance the university's design activities and to accomplish the Chair's objectives and Action Plan; and
• the Chair arrangements and nature of the appointment will enhance the candidate's profile, prestige and credibility, and thus the Chairholder's effectiveness within the university and within the design community outside the university.

Design involves the application of engineering concepts to solve specific problems, therefore the candidate should have demonstrated significant design experience, preferably in the area of the Chair proposal.

2. Structure of the Chair

The basic role of the Chairholder is to be a proponent of good environmental design education and training in the university. He or she will be the champion and promoter of environmentally sound and efficient design and the environmental design conscience of the university.

Beyond that, the universities should design the specifics of their Chair to be in line with their particular needs, aspirations and circumstances. Please note that the design training anticipated should be at a level relevant to Canadian receptor industries. Thus, a significant component of a proposed Chair in Environmental Design Engineering is generally expected to address the training of bachelor’s-level engineers. Proposals which concentrate on graduate student training must make the case that this level of education is required by industry.

NSERC will entertain proposals for Chairs with single or multiple Chairholders. A Chair may have a number of "satellite" positions attached to it to allow the Chairholder to recruit different design experts from inside and outside the university for certain periods of time depending on need and opportunity. There may be a need for "horizontal" product- or problem-oriented Chairs (covering a number of disciplines and departments), or "vertical" discipline-based Chairs (dedicated to a single discipline or department).

Another variation might be a Chair and co-Chair arrangement, involving a tenured "academic" Chairholder with an adjunct professor from industry as the "industrial" co-Chair. There may also be opportunities to appoint prestigious part-time Chairholders from business or industry, a model that is highly successful in engineering schools in Europe. "Design engineer in residence" may be another interesting concept. Or, a number of universities could get together and make a joint proposal for a "shared" Chair in a particular specialized area.

Universities are encouraged to propose creative solutions to the challenge of designing the best possible Chair in line with their needs and aspirations.

3. Design partnerships: industry participation, involvement and commitment

The training of more top-notch design engineers who have the skills, knowledge, professional and personal attributes, and mindset that will make them sensitive to environmental issues and capable of developing environmentally friendly and efficient design solutions required by industry, is a priority. The Chairholders should develop their courses and teaching practices, including the design curriculum, in close consultation with industry. Partnership with industry will also ensure that the Chairholders and their students have access to, and can work on, realistic design problems.

It is important that industry work closely with the Chairholders and the students. The Chairholders will benefit from guidance, advice, input, collaboration and access to design environments for themselves, and, similarly, students will profit from case studies, realistic design ideas for projects, guest lecturers from industry, payment of prototype development costs, etc. Industrial participation will provide real-life intellectual and practical "infrastructure," and the realistic design experience will be invaluable to both faculty and students.

Although industry funding for the Chair is highly desirable, it is not mandatory, provided the total funding available is adequate to support the Chair and the Chair's Action Plan. NSERC will accept, for matching purposes, funding from any source other than the federal granting agencies, including the university itself, industry, government, or any other private or public sector organization. If the Chair successfully addresses the needs and concerns of the industrial partners, produces some early successes and is able to attract a growing number of companies, it is anticipated that industry funding as a percentage of total support will grow over time.

Cash and in-kind contributions from business and industry are both eligible for matching by NSERC. Industry, for instance, may pay for the salaries of industry engineers working directly with the Chairholder, perhaps in one of the Chair's "satellite" positions. Industry is also likely to contribute to the building of prototypes, provide work terms for students, provide case studies, create realistic design projects, provide resources for student projects, give lectures and courses and provide course material or perhaps up-to-date equipment.

It is also very important to develop strong linkages and connections between the Chair and the Chair’s partner companies. Industrial partners who have specialized design facilities are therefore expected to provide an office for the Chairholder at their facilities. It is important that the Chairholder be seen as a member of the company’s design team rather than a visitor.

4. Design teams: faculty participation, involvement and commitment

It is important for the Chair to motivate, attract and involve large numbers of other engineering professors, professional staff and students. Other faculty members should be invited to participate in the Chair’s activities as full members of multidisciplinary and multi-functional design teams.

Participation of specialists with special expertise in other areas, from inside and outside the university, on the Chair's design teams is important as well. For instance, collaboration with the university's technology transfer office or business school, community colleges, financial and legal experts, industrial designers, environmental experts, government policy experts, etc., can add significant value to the activities of the Chair.

5. Design networks

By and large, the universities do not have significant strength in design engineering. There is a need to increase the number of design faculty, make more time available for design activity for existing faculty and build a network of design experts within our universities.

Proposal evaluation

NSERC reviewers will rate the proposal and its major elements (the design strategy, Action Plan and Chair candidate) against the corresponding criteria, and rank it on quality and cost, relative to all other proposals. Preliminary applications will be rated on the same criteria as full applications, but will not be sent for external review.

1. Review process

The selection panel will include experienced and senior design engineers and environmental design engineering managers from Canadian industry, as well as experts from universities and other private and public sector organizations.

The selection panel will review the preliminary applications and make recommendations to NSERC as to which applicants should be invited to submit a full application. The selection panel will also highlight potential issues in the preliminary application and provide feedback to all applicants.

All full applications will be externally reviewed. The selection panel will then establish the rankings and make the final recommendations on funding to NSERC.

NSERC does not intend to conduct on-site reviews of each proposal, thus all proposals will be assessed by the selection panel on the basis of the written documentation only. However, in certain circumstances, site visits may be necessary to help in the decision-making process. If site visits are deemed necessary, the proposals in question will be reviewed on-site by a special ad hoc review committee. Site visits, if required, are anticipated to take place between January and April 2007, and universities to be visited will be contacted in January 2007 regarding the timing and the agenda.

2. Criteria

The evaluation criteria involve quantitative and qualitative assessments of the specific results, contributions and impacts to be achieved by the university's design strategy and the Chair's Action Plan in relation to each of the four (equally weighted) objectives. The evaluation criteria also cover the Chairholder, the Chair structure and other arrangements that may affect the Chair's success and effectiveness. The specific criteria are:

University's design strategy

• The relevance, significance and impact of the activities, contributions and expected results outlined in the university's design strategy in support of the program's training, design and development, collaboration, and promotion objectives; and
• The degree of innovation and creativity reflected in the university's design strategy.

Action Plan

• The relevance and effectiveness of the activities and contributions proposed in the Action Plan in support of the training, design and development, collaboration and promotion objectives;
• The significance and impact of the anticipated results of the Action Plan and their contribution to achieving the program objectives;
• The degree of innovation and creativity reflected in the Action Plan;
• The likelihood of success in carrying out the proposed activities, producing the expected results and achieving the objectives of the program; and
• The cost of the Action Plan in proportion to the scope and level of effort, and the significance, degree of innovation and likelihood of success of the Action Plan.

Chairholder

• The excellence, suitability and effectiveness of the candidate in terms of carrying out the Action Plan successfully (i.e., to undertake the planned activities, to produce the intended results and contributions, and to achieve all of the objectives set out for the Chair); and
• The suitability of position arrangements for enhancing the status, effectiveness and credibility of the candidate with industry, university colleagues and students.

The universities are required to provide quantitative and qualitative output measures and performance indicators that will be used to measure and assess progress and performance in the Chair's Action Plan and to judge the significance, relevance and impact of the Chair’s contributions to training, design and development, collaboration, and promotion.

Terms of support

NSERC will match cash contributions that are provided in support of the direct cost of a Chair from any funding source other than the federal granting agencies, including the university, federal, provincial or local government, industry, and any other private or public sector organizations, communities and individuals. NSERC will also consider matching in-kind contributions consisting of staff time, salaries, equipment and any other resources provided by the business and industry partners of the Chair.

NSERC will contribute an average of $200,000 per year, up to a maximum of $1 million over the five-year term of the Chair, regardless of the possibly higher funding levels that may be provided by other sources.

NSERC will not match the salary of an internal candidate since it is not considered a contribution to the cost of the Chair (the candidate is already employed by the university); funding provided by the university must be in addition to salary support.

The contributions from NSERC and the Chair's sponsors can be used to cover the Chairholder's remuneration (contract, retainer, honorarium, fee, salary and benefits, etc.) plus the cost of design teaching, design and development practice and design-oriented or design-related activities, including the promotional activities undertaken by the Chair. The university will be responsible for any salary increments over the course of the award due to merit, progression through the ranks and inflation.

Chairholders who meet NSERC's regular eligibility criteria applicable to university faculty members may apply to other NSERC programs and to other funding agencies for support of their research or for any other activities.

Once NSERC has approved a Chair, the starting date is at the discretion of the university and the Chair's sponsors. If additional financial commitments are secured after the Chair has started, NSERC will consider adjusting its level of funding (up to the maximum totals discussed above) on an annual basis. Requests for additional matching funding from NSERC (up to the maximum totals) should be made at that time. The request should be supported by a full description of the incremental impact that will result from the additional funding, and by a revised budget.

Proposals may be submitted by any university or combination of universities located in the open region(s); in this case, the Prairie region (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta) or the Atlantic region (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island).

Candidates for the Chair can be internal or external. Universities proposing an internal candidate must agree to allocate the candidate's released salary funds toward an equivalent salary commitment to additional environmental design engineering positions attached to, or collaborating with, the Chair.

Application procedures

The applicant must be the Dean of Engineering (or equivalent) with direct or ultimate responsibility for the Chair. The applicant cannot be the candidate for the Chair. There is no application form for this competition. Neither preliminary applications nor full applications can be submitted using the On-line System. Note that certificates or licenses may have to be obtained or special forms may have to be completed if, for instance, the Chair's activities involve working with hazardous substances, human subjects, animals, research activities having potential effects on the environment, etc. For additional information, refer to Requirements for Certain Types of Research in the Program Guide for Professors, or contact the Program Officer responsible.

1. Deadline dates

• Preliminary applications due: June 29, 2006
• Decisions on preliminary applications: August 11, 2006
• Invited full applications due: October 31, 2006  
• Decisions on full applications: January 2007

2. Number of copies

The original plus 11 copies of both the preliminary application and the full application must be submitted. Documents sent to NSERC should not be bound or stapled. Please use clips to hold copies together.

3. Where to send the application

Completed applications should be sent to the following address:

Research Partnerships Programs
NSERC
350 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1H5

4. Intellectual property

NSERC does not retain or claim any ownership of, or exploitation rights to, intellectual property (IP) resulting from your NSERC grant. Any right to this intellectual property is governed by your university's policy. However, as NSERC's role includes promoting the use of knowledge to build a strong national economy and improving the quality of life of Canadians, every effort should be made to have the results of NSERC-funded research exploited in Canada, for the benefit of Canadians. NSERC expects that any IP resulting from research it funds wholly or in part will be owned by the university or the inventor, according to university policy. Access to IP should be accorded to other sponsors in recognition of, and in proportion to, the sponsor’s contribution to the collaboration. Consult your university’s Research Grants Office or Industry Liaison Office for guidance on this subject. Read NSERC’s Policy on Intellectual Property. For additional information, contact NSERC.

5. Confidentiality of information

NSERC safeguards the information that it receives from applicants. It instructs reviewers to keep all information confidential and to use it only for review purposes. Applicants who have particular concerns about confidentiality should consult NSERC staff. For further information, please consult the document on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Decisions Dates

• Preliminary applications: August 11, 2006
• Full applications: January 2007

Public announcements

Refer to the General Guidelines for the Public Announcement of Major NSERC Awards in planning a public announcement of the award. NSERC will approve a public announcement only after a Chairholder has formally accepted the position and after all the conditions of the award have been addressed to NSERC's satisfaction.

Chair administration

1. Reporting

The Chairholder, the university and the sponsoring organizations are required to submit brief progress reports on an annual basis. Continued NSERC funding is dependent on favourable reviews of the progress of the Chair, in relation to the agreed-upon Action Plan, and continued contributions from the supporting organizations, which must be confirmed annually.

NSERC expects the university to provide the necessary infrastructure support, facilities, space, technical support staff, cash support and any other resources the Chair will need to accomplish what is set out in its agreed-upon Action Plan. There must be a strong and ongoing commitment on the part of the university to provide support for the Chair (over the entire five-year term) at the levels agreed to when the Chair was approved.

2. Renewal

Chairs are renewable for an additional five-year term (for a total of ten years) if their performance is satisfactory and financial support from sources other than the granting agencies continues. NSERC's renewal of support for the Chair will be based on the Chairholder's activities and progress in the first four years and the proposed Action Plan for the next five-year term. The four-year (48-month) Progress Report is one of the documents that will be used to determine whether a Chair should be renewed for another five years. If the evaluations of the first term’s progress and the renewal proposal are positive and the sponsoring organizations are willing to contribute financial support for a second term, NSERC may contribute up to $200,000 per year in support of the Chairholder’s salary and environmental design engineering program. The application for renewal should be submitted at least six months before the end of the Chair’s first term.

In the second term only, the maximum NSERC contribution to salary for each successive year will be: 45 per cent, 37.5 per cent, 25 per cent, 12.5 per cent, and five per cent, respectively, of the value of the Chairholder’s salary and fringe benefits at the beginning of the second term. The expectation is that the university will assume an increasing commitment toward the Chairholder’s salary. If the sponsoring organization(s) chooses to contribute an amount greater than NSERC’s grant towards salary, NSERC will not recognize, for leveraging purposes, these additional sponsor funds allocated to Chairholder salary support.

The remainder of NSERC’s contribution is allocated to the Chair’s environmental design engineering program.

The total funding provided by the sponsoring organizations during that same period must be equal to or greater than NSERC’s support.

It is expected that industrial contributions to the second term of a Chair in Environmental Design Engineering will be at least as significant as those during the first term.

For further information about renewal of Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering see the Renewal Policy on Chairs in Design Engineering and Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering.

3. Sabbatical Leaves

Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering usually have objectives that involve changes to undergraduate training activities at the university. These changes are generally challenging to implement, and often demand concerted attention from the Chairholder. As such, elements of the Sabbatical and Leave Periods in the Use of Grant Funds section of the Program Guide for Professors may not be relevant. 

The following outlines the general elements of NSERC’s approach to sabbaticals for Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering.

 Two possible sabbatical scenarios are envisaged:

1. NSERC continues to support the Chair (normal funding) during the term of the sabbatical. This scenario is particularly relevant if the Chairholder remains at the university during the sabbatical period. NSERC approval would be required in response to a formal request from the university applicant (i.e., the dean) outlining:
1. a plan for how the objectives for the Chair at the university would be met during the sabbatical;
2. the benefits to the university from such a sabbatical; and
3. letter(s) of support from the supporting organizations/partners of the Chair.

2. NSERC defers the Chair for a year in order for the Chairholder to take a sabbatical. This is particularly appropriate when the sabbatical is to be spent away from the home university of the Chairholder. Again, this will require an official request from the university and letters of support from the Chair’s supporting organizations/partners. NSERC would not provide salary support during the sabbatical period. During the deferral, NSERC would be willing to continue program funding for those activities that can clearly continue without the Chairholder’s active presence; however, such support would reduce future years’ funding. 

Note that a potential Chair renewal would still have to be judged on the achievements made during the period the Chair was funded.

Applicants needing clarification or additional information are encouraged to contact the NSERC Program Officer responsible for the program:

Bert van den Berg
Portfolio Manager
Research Partnerships Programs
NSERC
350 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1H5

Tel.: (613) 996-0519
Fax: (613) 992-5337
E-mail: bert.vandenberg@nserc.ca

Applications

1. The preliminary application

(Note that preliminary and full applications for Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering cannot be submitted on-line at this time.)

The purpose of the preliminary application is to provide information on the proposed Chair in relation to the goals and objectives of the Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering Program. The Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering Selection Committee will use the preliminary application in its screening process in order to determine which applicants will be invited to submit full proposals.

The preliminary application should be up to seven pages in length, in addition to the curriculum vitae (CV) of the candidate and budget pages, and also include:

• the title for the Chair;
• the names of the applicant and the proposed Chairholder;
• the estimated annual budget expenditures and sources of funds (e.g., requested from NSERC and estimated cash and in-kind contributions from the potential participating organizations); and
• signatures from the applicant and the candidate.

The preliminary application should introduce the philosophy for the proposed design Chair and the Chair's plans for:

• Training: Improving training in environmental design engineering;
• Design and development: Facilitating the design and development of innovative products, processes and technologies;
• Collaboration: Establishing effective multidisciplinary design partnerships, teams and networks inside and outside the university; outline the involvement of potential participating organizations, including industry; and
• Promotion: Acting as advocates for environmental design engineering, generating an increased awareness and appreciation in both the research and outside communities for all aspects of design engineering.

The preliminary application should also include a CV for the proposed Chairholder that clearly demonstrates his or her contributions to environmental design engineering and design engineering training.

Applicants are encouraged to consult with the Program Officer responsible for the program in preparing the preliminary application. Note that clear, well-planned contributions to design training are very important to a successful proposal.

Preliminary applications cannot be submitted on-line.

2. The full application

Applicants must be invited to submit a full application.

General application information

• General presentation
  The application is free-form (i.e., there is no special application form) and should be printed single-sided on  8 1/2” x 11” (21.5 cm x 28 cm) white paper using the following guidelines:
• Enter your name and your personal identification number (PIN) at the top of every page.
• Set margins to at least 3/4” (1.9 cm) all around.
• Print must be in black ink, and be of letter quality (minimum standard).
• Text must be single-spaced, with no more than six lines per inch.
• If you use a type size measured in points (pts), it must be no smaller than 12 pts.
• If you use a type size measured in characters per inch (cpi), it must be no more than 10 cpi.
• Condensed type is not acceptable.

Note: If your application does not meet these standards, NSERC may reject it.

• Title of the Chair
  Indicate the title of the Chair to be used for publication and communication purposes.
• Applicant
  Provide the name, title, position, university, address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address of the applicant (the applicant must be the Dean of Engineering or equivalent).
• Amounts requested from NSERC
  Indicate in a summary table the total amount (in dollars) requested from NSERC for each year of funding.
• Signatures
  The original of the application must be signed by the applicant (Dean of Engineering or equivalent), the candidate, and the President of the host university. The signatures confirm that the applicant, the candidate, and the university accept:
• NSERC's conditions governing grants, as outlined in NSERC's Program Guide for Professors applicable to any grants made pursuant to this application (refer to What do the signatures on the application mean?); and
• the commitment to provide the funds and other resources indicated in the application over the five-year term of any approved Chair.

The proposal

The proposal itself consists of five sections:

• Summary
• University's design strategy
• Chair's Action Plan – The Chair's Action Plan consists of four elements:
• Training;
• Design and development;
• Collaboration; and
• Promotion.
• Chairholder information
• Detailed budget

Summary (up to one page)

Outline, in point form, the proposed activities and their impact in relation to the objectives of the Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering Program.

University's design strategy (up to two pages)

Discuss:

• the university's design philosophy and strategy, including the objectives, activities, contributions and expected results in relation to training, design and development, collaboration and promotion;
• strategies and activities undertaken by the university to promote design engineering, enhance design engineering activity and raise the profile and prestige of design engineering within the university;
• the degree of innovation and creativity in the activities to be undertaken; and
• specific contributions undertaken to date by the university and/or candidate in support of C-DEN.

Note that a university can hold more than one design Chair from NSERC; however, the incremental benefit from awarding a second Chair in this area must be substantial (the Chairs must be complementary and synergistic). Multiple applications from a university to the current competition would tend to call the university’s design strategy into question.

Chair's Action Plan (up to 10 pages)

The four elements of the Action Plan include:

• Training (up to five pages);
• Design and development (up to four pages);
• Collaboration (up to two pages); and
• Promotion (up to two pages).

For each of the four elements of the Action Plan, discuss:

• the activities and contributions proposed to meet the program objectives;
• the anticipated results, outcomes and contributions the Chair will produce as well as the significance, relevance and impact of those results with respect to the objectives;
• the degree of innovation and creativity in each of the activities;
• any potential problems or risks that may delay or prevent completion of the proposed activities as planned;
• the scale and level of effort envisaged (people, resources, time, students involved, etc.) and the budget needed to carry out the activities; and
• quantitative and qualitative performance measures and progress indicators.

Outline the expected contribution to C-DEN over the Chair term.

Note that clear, well-planned contributions to design training are very important to a successful proposal. The plan must include, in tabular form, a list of the milestones, initiation and completion dates, and performance indicators organized by objective.

Chairholder (up to one page)

Summarize and explain why the university feels the proposed candidate is the best possible candidate. In addition to this one-page summary, include information and documents (such as a CV, letters of support and other evidence of contributions and performance) using as many pages as needed to make the best case for the nomination of the proposed candidate.

The proposed budget must provide the following details for each of the five years of the Chair:

Cash expenditures

List all expenditures for each line item in the operating budget and explain how the amount was derived. The following items are defined as direct costs and are eligible expenditures:

• the salary (including benefits), contract, stipend or other remuneration of the Chairholder, based on the amount established at the time of application and, for budgeting purposes, kept constant throughout the five-year period;
• salaries for professional staff, including remuneration for temporary appointments of design experts from outside the university;
• salaries for technical assistants;
• stipends for postdoctoral fellows;
• stipends for undergraduate and postgraduate students;
• other operating costs of the Chair and related activities; and
• allocation of the replacement salary for internal candidates.

Following approval-in-principle of the Chair by NSERC, the global budget and the proposed expenditures will be reviewed in detail, and the final amounts will be confirmed in negotiations between NSERC and the university.

NSERC's regulations regarding allowable expenses also apply to Chair funding. (Refer to Use of Grant Funds in the Financial Administration section in the Program Guide for Professors.) For clarification of eligible expenditures, contact NSERC.

Contributions

Cash contributions

List all cash contributions from NSERC, the private sector (itemize by company), the university (identify additional funding separately from the replacement salary of internal candidates), and other organizations.

In-kind contributions

In-kind contributions provided to the Chair by business and industry are eligible for matching by NSERC. In-kind contributions from other sources (while they may be essential to the success of the Chair) are not eligible for matching funds (but should be included in the proposal). Provide information (up to one page per sponsoring organization) on in-kind contributions of personnel, goods and services expected from each sponsoring organization. Describe the nature, level and estimated value of in-kind contributions.

Supporting documentation

All applications must include:

• a CV for the candidate and letters of support or evidence of contributions and performance;
• a letter from the university administration confirming their support of the Chair, including any cash contributions;
• a letter from each sponsoring company outlining their support of the Chair program, including cash and in-kind contributions. In-kind contributions should be described in detail. Cash contributions must be accompanied by an Information Required from Organizations Participating in Research Partnerships Programs (Form 183A) for each sponsoring organization;
• additional letters of support from collaborating faculty and/or organizations; and
• a list of suggested referees, including specialists from both the academic and industrial design communities.

1. Summary

Renewing Chairs can continue to leverage industry cash and in-kind contributions, government cash, and university cash.

NSERC’s contributions to the Chairholder’s salary will be at most 25 per cent of the salary (and benefit) costs. A decreasing scale of salary support over the five years is envisaged. An equal amount must be contributed by the Chair’s partners and is eligible for leverage. The remainder must be contributed by the University or partners, and is not eligible for leverage in the Chair.

The program objectives for renewing Chairs are the same as for new Chairs. Chairs in Design Engineering and Chairs in Environmental Design Engineering are focused on making a change in the training of design engineers at participating universities, and have a limited duration (ten years maximum).

The evaluation criteria are based on the same concepts as for new Chair applications; however, the progress made in the first term will be considered when evaluating the renewal application.

A two-step peer review process will be used – expert review and then panel review. The expert review is focused on understanding the issues and opportunities in the context of the proposed Chair. The panel review provides for a contextual comparison of the relative benefits of investing further resources in the proposed renewal, as compared to a new Chair or another renewal application.

• Expert review: NSERC will use either an external (paper) review, or a site visit. The choice of paper or site review is affected by such factors as progress in the first term, and complexity of the proposed renewal.   The reviewers will be selected from industry, university, and other design-involved organizations for their expertise relevant to evaluating the Chair renewal application.
• Panel review: The application, Progress Report, and external reviews (or site visit report) will be evaluated by a subcommittee of the Design Engineering Selection Panel. The subcommittee will not include current Chairholders as panel members.
• For cases where the renewal timing does not coincide with the annual meeting of the panel, the renewal application will be reviewed by teleconference.

2. Introduction

Chairs in Design Engineering are awarded for a five-year term. The central objective of this program is to improve the quality of design engineering training in Canada. The program’s funds allow universities to explore ways to achieve this, but are not intended as sustaining funding for design training activities. Given the typically four-year cycle of undergraduate training, one term is generally insufficient to demonstrate success with the Chair’s training initiatives, thus a single renewal for an additional five-year term is possible.

University contributions to the Chair’s salary, in excess of those potentially required to leverage NSERC’s contributions to the Chair’s salary, are not eligible for leverage in the second term of the Chair. Although the CDE/CEDE policy indicates that in the second term there is a gradually decreasing NSERC contribution to salary (e.g., 45 per cent, 37.5 per cent, 25 per cent, 12.5 per cent, and five per cent), any distribution over the five-year renewal term where NSERC pays at most 25 per cent of the Chairholder’s salary and benefits (and the University pays for at least half of the Chairholder salary and benefits) is possible.

NSERC’s support for a Chair in Design Engineering will be limited to ten  years (i.e., two five-year terms).

Industry benefits from the Highly Qualified People (HQP) trained by the Chairs in Design Engineering. It is important for the Chairs to involve Canadian industry in their programs. In the second term of a Chair, in-kind support from industrial partners (as a minimum) is required to demonstrate the close commitment of industry in the Chair program. 

In-kind contributions can include company involvement in student design projects, company personnel contributing to university; as well as material, equipment, and personnel contributions to other aspects of the Chair’s program. Note that neither government nor university in-kind is eligible for leverage.

Industry, government and university funds contributed to a Chair can be used in the second term; however, they are not eligible for leverage (matching) in any application for renewal. Similarly, cash and in-kind contributions made in the first term are not eligible for leverage.  NSERC funds remaining in the Chair accounts at the end of the first term can be used in the second term; however, NSERC will reduce the magnitude of its award at the start of a second term by the amount of funds available at the end of the first term. Alternatively, left-over NSERC funds can be returned to NSERC, and full contributions by NSERC for the first year of the second term can be expected.

3. Renewal Process

Chairs reaching the end of their first term will be sent a letter outlining the possibility of renewal, and the key elements of the renewal process, including the information required. This letter also includes an attachment with information on the required Progress Report.

Chairholders applying for renewal of should submit a 48 month Progress Report and an application for Chair renewal (the same application format as for new applicants). The renewal application is required a minimum of six months before the end of the first term of the Chair (eight months is recommended).

The review criteria will be similar to those for new applicants, but will consider the progress by the Chair in its current term (see Evaluation Criteria for Chair Renewals).

A two- step peer review process will be used – expert review and then panel review. The expert review is focused on understanding the issues and opportunities in the context of the particular area which the Chair proposes to concentrate. The panel review provides for a contextual comparison of the relative benefits of investing further resources in the proposed renewal, as compared to funding a new Chair or other renewal applications.

Expert review: NSERC will use either an external (paper) review, or a site visit. NSERC’s choice of paper or site review is affected by such factors as progress in the first term, and complexity of the proposed renewal. The reviewers will be selected from industry, university, and other design-involved organizations for their expertise with respect to the proposed Chair’s program.

Panel review: The application, Progress Report, and external reviews/site visit report will be evaluated by a subcommittee of the Design Engineering Selection Panel. The subcommittee will include panel members who are not currently Chairholders.

For cases where the renewal timing does not coincide with a meeting of the panel, the renewal applications will be evaluated by teleconference.

A decision from NSERC on the renewal of the Chair is normally expected at least two months before the termination of the first term of the Chair.

In the renewal application, the applicants should demonstrate how the second term will build on the first term’s work. The skill, background, and experience of the Chairholder must continue to be appropriate for these new objectives. A renewal application must have the same Chairholder. An application with a new Chairholder will be considered as a new application.

The renewal application should be supported by statements from the university, partner, student and other groups impacted by the achievements of the Chair’s first term. The renewal application must also be accompanied by letters of support from the partners for the Chair’s renewal, and an Information Required from Organization Participating in Research Partnerships Programs (Form 183A) for each partner.

4. Evaluation Criteria for Chair Renewals

(Note: Differences in the criteria for evaluating new Chairs are presented in italics.)

Background

Chairs in Design Engineering are expected to:

• establish a creative and innovative undergraduate/graduate training program that gives engineering students the opportunity to experience a functioning design environment and provides them with the skills and knowledge required by the profession;
• design and develop innovative products, processes and technologies;
• establish effective multi-disciplinary design partnerships, teams and networks; and
• act as advocates for design engineering, generating an increased awareness and appreciation in both the research and outside communities for all aspects of design engineering.

The evaluation criteria involve quantitative and qualitative assessments of the specific results, contributions and impacts achieved in the first term of the Chair, and to be achieved in the next term by the university's design strategy and the Chair's Action Plan in relation to each of the four equally weighted objectives. The evaluation criteria also cover the Chairholder, the Chair structure and other arrangements that may affect the Chair's success and effectiveness. The specific criteria are:

University design strategy criteria

In this criteria, the impact of the Chair in its first term, as well as the plans for the proposed renewal, will be considered.

• Relevance, significance and impact of the activities, contributions and expected results outlined in the university's design strategy in support of the program's training, design and development, collaboration and promotion objectives; and
• Degree of innovation and creativity reflected in the university's design strategy.

Action plan criteria

In this criteria, the impact of the Chair in its first term, as well as the plans for the proposed renewal will be considered.

• Relevance and effectiveness of the activities and contributions proposed in the Action Plan in support of the training, design and development, collaboration and promotion objectives;
• Significance and impact of the anticipated results of the Action Plan and their contribution to achieving the program objectives;
• Degree of innovation and creativity reflected in the Action Plan;
• Likelihood of success in carrying out the proposed activities, producing the expected results and achieving the objectives of the program; and
• Cost of the Action Plan in proportion to the scope and level of effort, and the significance, degree of innovation and likelihood of success of the Action Plan.

Chairholder criteria

• Excellence, suitability and effectiveness of the candidate to carry out the Action Plan successfully (i.e., to undertake the planned activities, to produce the intended results and contributions, and to achieve all of the objectives set out for the Chair); and
• Suitability of position arrangements for enhancing the status, effectiveness and credibility of the candidate with industry, with university colleagues and with students.

The universities are required to provide quantitative and qualitative output measures and performance indicators, to be used for measuring and assessing progress and performance in the Chair's Action Plan, and for judging the significance, relevance and impact of the Chair's contributions to training, design and development, collaboration and promotion.

The achievements of renewing Chairs against these measures and indicators should be documented in their 48-month Progress Report.