Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships (QES) 2021

Following four very successful Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships program (QES) calls for proposals through which 95 projects managed by 44 Canadian universities have been funded, Universities Canada is pleased to announce a fifth call.

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Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships

Thanks to the generous financial support from the International Development Research Centre, up to $3 million CAD will be allocated via the expansion of the QES Advanced Scholars program, which will support doctoral researchers, post-doctoral fellows and early career researchers from eligible West African countries and Canada.

This call will support projects contributing to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with preference given to proposals that focus on or clearly integrate SDG 5 (gender equality) as a crosscutting or mainstream goal. QES-AS West Africa projects will focus on one or more of the following areas: climate resilience and sustainable food systems; education and innovation systems; ethics in development research; health equity; inclusive governance; and sustainable inclusive growth.

The program will require all scholars to participate in leadership development and community engagement activities and in the network of Queen Elizabeth Scholars.

Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships Eligibility

Eligible Proposals

Canadian universities which have recognized provincial degree granting powers, or their affiliates, may submit a proposal to QES-AS West Africa. Universities may partner with one or more other Canadian university(ies) for a joint proposal however, each university may only be the lead applicant in one submission to the program.
Projects will support specialized training and/or research activities for doctoral researchers, post-doctoral researchers and early career researchers from Canada and West Africa and each award must include a non-academic research placement with industry/civil society.
Each scholar must be undertaking research in one or more of the following areas of focus:

Climate resilience and sustainable food systems
Education and innovation systems
Ethics in development research
Health equity
Inclusive governance
Sustainable inclusive growth

Eligible projects will demonstrate a partnership between a Canadian university and an institution in at least one of the eligible countries and if available at the time of application, will include information on the non-academic research placement partner(s). Non-academic research placements must be confirmed before the funded researchers travel to/from Canada.
The program will require all scholars to participate in leadership development and community engagement activities and to participate in the network of Queen Elizabeth Scholars.

QES-AS West Africa will prioritize the following:

Women researchers – overall, 60% of the researchers should be women.
Francophone researchers – applications focusing on Francophone countries will be prioritised.
Institutional strengthening – proposals which make a convincing case that scholar exchanges, beyond advancing individual scholars` own careers, will deliberately be used by Canadian and West African universities to strengthen their own institutional capacity (research areas, curriculums, partnerships etc.) will be prioritised.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Each project will involve incoming West African scholars, outgoing Canadian scholars, or a mix of both.
The program is targeting an overall participation rate1 of:
• 50% West African incoming scholars
• 50% Canadian outgoing scholars

Value of Award: Applicants may seek up to $300,000 CAD in funding. Funding is available to support doctoral researchers, post-doctoral researchers, and early career researchers only. There is no limit to the number of incoming or outgoing scholars that can be included in a project. An activity fund of up to $2,000 per scholar, can be included in the project budget to support project administration, partner relationships,
community engagement, leadership development and networking activities.

Cost Sharing:

To be considered for funding, applicants must demonstrate that Canadian universities, West African institutions, and/or non-academic research placement partners will contribute to project costs. This program aims for an overall 50% contribution from universities, West African institutions, and/or non-academic research placement partners.
Contributions may include in-kind contributions such as administrative costs , cash contributions such as salary paid while the researcher is undertaking their QES award, tuition waivers or discounts, other discounts or waivers to academic, living or travel costs, and financial contributions from other sources including foundations, placement partners and other funding agencies.
A higher proportional contribution will be viewed more favorably by the selection committee.