Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program provides funding to the very best postdoctoral applicants, both nationally and internationally, who will positively contribute to the country’s economic, social, and research-based growth.

The objective of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program is to:

attract and retain top-tier postdoctoral talent, both nationally and internationally
develop their leadership potential
position them for success as research leaders of tomorrow

Task 1 Confirm eligibility

Confirm that you meet the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program’s eligibility criteria. Applications that do not meet all the eligibility criteria will not be accepted.

Task 2 Contact your desired host institution/supervisor

Applicants must contact institutions/supervisors that they think will be a good fit for them and their research and confirm that the desired institution is eligible to host a Banting postdoctoral researcher. For those hoping to be hosted at a Canadian institution, please see the Universities Canada website for a list of Canadian academic institutions and their research areas. Applicants are responsible for establishing these connections. Many institutions have a page dedicated to this program on their websites.

Applicants already affiliated with the proposed host institution must provide justification for remaining in the same research environment (for further instructions see Special circumstances).

Applications must be completed in full collaboration with the potential host institution.

Applicants must be endorsed by the institution’s president (equivalent or designate).
In order to select the most meritorious applicants for endorsement, many institutions have their own internal deadlines. These deadlines are established by the institution so that appropriate representative(s) can review all applications and select the applicants who will be endorsed. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all deadlines are met. We recommend that applicants contact the institution’s department in charge of postdoctoral affairs as soon as possible to begin this process.
Applicants are responsible for supplying their proposed institution and referees with the documents necessary for them to write their respective letters. ResearchNet does not grant the referees or host institutions access to view the application or its attachments.
From the outset of the application process, applicants and their host institution should discuss:
- the details of the fellowship appointment
  - any benefits offered to the Banting postdoctoral researcher
  - any financial obligations associated with the appointment (union dues, insurance premiums, etc.)
  - the availability of any research and/or other support
  - the rights and responsibilities of postdoctoral researchers
  - any other institution-specific policies that might apply to a Banting postdoctoral researcher
- any established research-related policies and protocols (e.g., protocols for conducting research involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada; approvals for research involving the use of humans, animals or biohazards)
The applicant and supervisor must carefully consider which selection committee should review the application. For more details on choosing the area of research, please see Identify area of research.

The host institution must provide the applicant with two documents that will be included in the application. Applicants are responsible for uploading the documents to ResearchNet as part of their complete application submission. For more information on these documents, please refer to the appropriate sections found at the end of Enter proposal information and supporting documents.

Task 3 Register for Canadian Common CV (CCV) and ResearchNet accounts

Make sure you have the following or click the links to register:

ResearchNet account – a web-based application tool and funding opportunity/decision database that is used by the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program
CIHR PIN – unique personal identifier required to apply for this program
CCV account – a web-based tool that allows you to manage your CV data in a single repository and generate CVs as needed for all member organizations.

Task 4 Create CCV (Vanier-Banting academic template) and link to ResearchNet application

You must create a Vanier-Banting academic CCV on the Canadian Common CV (CCV) website and link it to your ResearchNet application.

Free-form CVs are not accepted. A CCV is required regardless of the citizenship of the applicant.

The CCV website stores data in a secure database that you can access at any time and from any computer. You may save your CCV (Vanier-Banting academic template) in progress and return to complete it at your convenience. The data you enter can be reused in future applications that use the CCV.

The CCV website will validate your CCV (Vanier-Banting academic template) and provide you with a confirmation number. You must input the confirmation number in ResearchNet in order to link your CCV to your Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship application.

To create a CCV (Vanier-Banting academic template) and link it to your Banting application on ResearchNet:

Refer to these instructions for some important details regarding your CCV, including entry limits.

Task 5 Start a ResearchNet application

After launching an application in ResearchNet, you will be presented with the ResearchNet login screen. If you login using your ResearchNet account, you will arrive at the main Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships application menu. This menu lists a series of tasks that must be completed before you are able to submit your application. Information on how to complete these tasks is provided in the sections below.

You should only have one Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships application. If you have already started an application, login to your ResearchNet account. You will find your Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships application in the Current Activities tab under the Applications heading. Clicking on it will bring you to the main Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships application tasks list.

Task 6 Identify area of research

The Proposed Field of Research serves to determine to which selection committee your application will be assigned. Applications related to health research will be channeled to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) selection committee, those related to natural sciences and/or engineering to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) selection committee, and those related to social sciences and/or humanities will go to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) selection committee. For more information, please refer to Selecting the Appropriate Federal Granting Agency. If selecting “Social Sciences and/or Humanities,” please also consider the information found on SSHRC’s website.

If you aren’t sure of the most appropriate field of research, please send an email to [email protected] with a one-page summary of the proposed research to get a recommendation; this process can take up to 5 business days. Please note that it remains the applicant’s responsibility to select the field of research that best suits their application.

Task 7 Identify participants

In this task, you will enter information about yourself (including a CIHR PIN, if not auto populated) and the institution you are affiliated with at the time of application. You must also input the confirmation number of the CV you created in the Canadian Common CV system in order to link your CV to your Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships application.

Under this task, you will attach the following documents:

Significance of research contributions
Significance of leadership contributions
Fulfillment of degree requirements form
Special circumstances

Attachment: Significance of research contributions

(Maximum of 1 page; must follow the specifications found in the instructions provided in the Ensure attached documents meet presentation standards section.)

From the research-related contributions listed in your CCV, choose up to three that you judge to be your most important, and describe their significance in terms of influence on the direction of thought and activity within the target community and in terms of significance to, and use by, other researchers and knowledge users.

Research-related contributions refers to any of the entries listed in the following sections of your CCV:

Publications
Artistic Contributions
Presentations
Interviews and Media Relations
Intellectual Property

This application element speaks directly to the following selection criterion: Applicant’s research excellence and leadership in the research domain.

Attachment: Significance of leadership contributions

(Maximum of 1 page; must follow the specifications found in the instructions provided in the Ensure attached documents meet presentation standards section.)

From the activities and memberships listed in your CCV, choose up to three that you judge to be the most significant and relevant to your proposal and your professional intent. Describe their significance in terms of demonstrating your leadership (see note below) and level of influence at the institutional level and beyond. Discuss the impact and importance of these activities in terms of your career aspirations.

Note: Be sure to provide clarification, as needed, for how “leadership” is being defined.

Activities and memberships refer to any of the entries listed in the following sections of your CCV: