2020 NFRF Transformation: LOI EDI Peer Editing Workshops (Mar. 11 only)

March 6, 2020 UPDATE: The first of two planned EDI Peer Editing Workshops - the one on Tuesday, March 10 from 2:00-4:30pm - has been cancelled due to low registration numbers. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is one of five selection criteria for Letters of Intent to Apply (LOIs) and Full Applications to the inaugural New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) Transformation competition. Given the pass/fail nature of this criterion and its relatively recent inclusion as a requirement of Tri-Agency research proposals, SPARC will host one in-person* EDI Peer Editing Workshop at UBC Vancouver to assist UBC-led teams in:

1. Understanding the scope of the criterion (team composition/recruitment, training/development, inclusion); and
2. Peer review and discussion of concrete EDI ideas for inclusion in applications.

The workshop will begin with a presentation covering (i) NFRF's guide for applicants on Best Practices in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research, (ii) EDI selection criterion and peer review process, and (iii) SPARC strategies for completing the EDI module. This will be followed by an opportunity for large-group discussion. All team members and associated support staff are welcome to participate in the presentation and large-group discussion (45 to 60 min.).

The second half of the workshop will comprise small-group discussion and peer editing of draft EDI modules (3-4 projects discussed per group; 60 to 90 min.). For a team to participate, the Nominated PI and/or Co-PI must be present in-person; other team members are welcome to observe, however the Nominated PI/Co-PI will represent the team in the small-group discussion. To facilitate this process, a draft of the EDI module must be submitted to SPARC by the date and time specified below.

Note: The EDI module is available in the Convergence Portal only after a team has submitted an NOI. The required content is described in the 2020 Transformation LOI instruction guide (scroll to "Required Information > 2. LOI content > e. EDI"). Additionally, here is an example of the 2019 NFRF Exploration EDI section, which NFRF has advised will be reused for 2020 Transformation.

• Session 1: Wednesday, March 11, 2020, from 10:00am-12:30pm
  • Please submit your draft EDI module to Danica Kell by 4:00pm the day before (i.e., Tuesday, March 10).

Location details will be emailed to registered applicants in advance of their session.

*Peer editing sessions work best when attended in-person. For interested offsite teams (i.e., Okanagan and affiliated hospital campuses) available during the Session 1 time slot, please notify SPARC Administrative Assistant, Sayre Tripp (604-827-4057), and we will do our best to make arrangements.

Please register below to secure your spot. For more information about the EDI peer editing workshop, please contact Danica Kell.

In addition to SPARC's LOI and Full Application Information Session (February 20), the following support is also available to UBC-led teams:

• SPARC-hosted NFRF LOI Webinar (February 26);
• Test Your Concept Sessions (February 24, 25 and 28); and
• LOI Reviews (March 23 to April 6).