Application guide

Applications must be prepared and submitted by applicants. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the application is complete. This includes ensuring that all host institution documents and referee assessments have been submitted.

Information provided in the application package must be self-contained. Links to external websites or documents hosted on a drive should not be included in the application.

Applicants should read the Selection committee guide prior to commencing their application. This guide lists the three evaluation criteria and has useful information on how the criteria are evaluated. Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships selection committees are multidisciplinary, and applications should therefore be written with a non-specialist research audience in mind.

You must also review the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion page before beginning the preparation of an application.

DORA: The agencies have signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), a global initiative whose purpose is to support the development and promotion of best practices in the assessment of scholarly research. As signatories of DORA, the agencies recognize and value a broad range of contributions and emphasize their quality and impact.

Individual application documents can be submitted in either English or French. If another language is required to express a particular idea (e.g., specialized concept), be sure to provide an explanation in French or English.

NOTE: Applications submitted in French are allowed an additional page for the Research proposal.

This provision will ensure an equitable amount of space for research proposals written in either official language, as evidence demonstrates that documents written in French require approximately 20% more space than similar documents in English.

Any pages over the allotted page limit for the Research proposal (maximum of 4 pages for English applications and maximum of 5 pages for French applications) will be removed with no further notification to the Applicant.

Accommodations and accessibility

If you need help completing online application forms because of a disability, contact your institution (scholarship liaison officer, research grant office or other applicant support office) as early as possible in the application process to investigate available supports. If your institution cannot help, or needs the Secretariat to collaborate on a solution, contact support@cihr-irsc.gc.ca You can also contact VBS if you have questions or are seeking specific adaptation arrangements. You do not need to share your medical or sensitive personal information and, to protect your privacy, should avoid doing so.

Frequently requested accommodations include, but are not limited to:

An application is completed through the following tasks:

Table of contents

  1. Confirm eligibility
  2. Contact your desired host institution/supervisor
  3. Register for Canadian Common CV (CCV) account, ResearchNet account, and complete the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Self-Identification Questionnaire
  4. Create CCV (Vanier-Banting academic template) and link to ResearchNet application
  5. Start a ResearchNet application
  6. Identify area of research
  7. Identify participants
  8. Identify referees
  9. Enter degree information
  10. Enter proposal information and supporting documents
  11. Preview application materials
  12. Consent and submit application
  13. Ensure attached documents meet presentation standards

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. For those hoping to be hosted at a foreign institution, please follow the instructions in the application guide. 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.

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) account, ResearchNet account, and complete the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Self-Identification Questionnaire

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

Personal information submitted during the application process, will be made available to tri-agency personnel for the purposes of future program design and delivery, results measurement and reporting. This includes, but not limited to, information provided through applicant CVs, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Self-identification Questionnaire and other application documents required by this program.

For further information about the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Self-Identification Questionnaire and the use of personal information, see the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Self-Identification questions.

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.

Please read these instructions carefully to see important details about your CCV, including input limits: Completing the Common CV (CCV).

Failure to follow these instructions may negatively impact the evaluation of your application and could lead to it being withdrawn.

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.

Note: During peak periods, there can be a delay for the validation of the CCV confirmation number by ResearchNet. It is highly recommended that applicants enter their CCV confirmation number in their application well in advance of the competition deadline.

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 you are applying to NSERC, we encourage you to consult the Addendum to the guidelines for the eligibility of applications related to health, which has additional information and specific examples relating to subject matter.

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 banting@cihr-irsc.gc.ca 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. Applications submitted to the incorrect agency may be withdrawn from the competition.

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:

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.)

The agencies have signed DORA which recognizes that research contributions are not limited to published journal articles but include a broader range of contributions (e.g., research publications, reports, books, guidelines, datasets, code, tools, standards, software and commercialized products, article preprints, protocols, knowledge mobilization activities) and impacts (e.g., influence on policy and practice, societal outcomes, distinctions-based, meaningful and culturally safe research).

From your research-related contributions, 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 can refer to any of the entries listed in the following sections of your CCV:

This application element speaks directly to the following selection criterion: Applicant's research excellence and leadership in the research domain. Reviewers are asked to assess research excellence broadly and to avoid using journal-based metrics (such as Journal Impact Factors) as a surrogate measure of the quality of individual research publications. As stated in DORA, the "scientific content of a paper is much more important than publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which it was published".

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.)

Choose up to three activities and memberships 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:

If leadership opportunities in your research environment were not available to you, please mention this here.

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

Attachment: Fulfillment of degree requirements form

(Maximum of 1 page.)

Fulfillment of degree requirements form – PDF (67 KB)

Upload the Fulfillment of Degree Requirements Form that has been completed by the institution that conferred the PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree you have entered in the Enter degree information section.

Applicants who have not completed their PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree at the time of application but expect to do so on or before September 30, 2025, must also upload to ResearchNet a Fulfillment of Degree Requirements Form that has been completed by the institution that will confer the PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree entered in the Enter degree information section. Upon completion, applicants must once again provide a Fulfillment of Degree Requirements Form that has been completed by the institution that conferred the PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree entered in the Enter degree information section. This form must be scanned and sent by email to the banting@cihr-irsc.gc.ca address no later than 8:00 p.m. (EDT) October 15, 2025, or the application will be withdrawn.

Note: It is solely the applicant's responsibility to submit the form.

Attachment: Special circumstances

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

Career/research delays

The creation of an equitable, diverse as well as inclusive research community is the responsibility of every member of the community, including applicants.

The Secretariat acknowledges that certain circumstances may legitimately affect an applicant's record of research achievement. Applicants are encouraged to explain any personal circumstances in order to allow for a fair assessment of their research productivity.

Identify any circumstances that might have delayed or interrupted your academic and/or career advancement, scientific research, other research, dissemination of results, training, etc. Common examples of an interruption/delay are parental leave, child rearing, illness, disability, cultural, community or family responsibilities, socio-economic factors, access to research/leadership opportunities or relocation of your research environment. Applicants can include any post-degree training that is not research-focused (e.g., clinical training, residency) in this section.

Justification for extensions to the eligibility window for degree completion

Note that your eligibility window will only be extended by the duration of the eligible delay(s)/interruption(s), as indicated in the Eligibility section. It is essential that you provide specific dates for your delays and/or interruptions, including the exact number of months or days of these interruptions.

Justification for remaining in PhD research environment

Applicants who wish to undertake postdoctoral level research training in the same institution (or its affiliated hospitals, research centres and other laboratories) or within the same research environment from which they obtained their PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree must provide a strong justification for this exceptional circumstance which will be assessed as part of the selection committee review process. The more similar the proposed research environment is to that of the PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree environment, the stronger the justification is required to be. Examples of valid justifications are:

Justification for remaining in the same research environment (other than PhD)

At the time of application, if the applicant is affiliated for more than six months with the proposed host institution (e.g., postdoctoral position) they must justify the decision to continue at the same location. The longer the applicant has been at the same institution (or research environment), the stronger the justification is required to be.

Task 8 Identify referees

Applicants should refer their selected referees to the Information for Referees section for useful tips. It is the applicant's responsibility to provide referees with the information that they need to complete their assessments.

This task seeks to collect information on the three referees whose assessments will accompany the application. When referees are identified, the language specified will determine the language in which they will receive their assessment form; the assessments must be completed in either English or French.

Applicants should contact their selected referees to seek their assessment well in advance of the applicant's deadline date. For each referee, applicants are required to enter the name and contact information and to set the deadline date by which the assessments must be submitted through ResearchNet (see below). ResearchNet will then send two email requests to the referees, providing them with a secure link for completing their assessment. Referees must complete the various sections of the assessment online. They will not be able to upload documents to ResearchNet or submit their assessments offline.

Applicants can manage the deadline by which referees must submit their assessments. By default, the Assessment Required Deadline in ResearchNet is set for two days before the applicant's deadline. However, applicants can adjust this to any date prior to the applicant's deadline. It is the applicant's responsibility to follow up with referees to ensure the assessments are submitted in sufficient time prior to the applicant's deadline. Applicants will be able to follow the status of the assessment under this task and are encouraged to follow up with the referees if the task is not completed shortly before the deadline.

Applicants will not be able to submit their application until this task is completed. Prior to the application submission deadline, applicants can delete a referee from the list and add a new one, if needed.

Once an assessment is submitted, it will automatically attach to the application. Applicants do not have access to the content of the assessment submitted by referees.

Mandatory: Arm's Length Referee

At least one of the three referees must be at arm's length.

The purpose of the arm's length referee is to provide the selection committee with an impartial review of the application. The arm's length referee should be an expert in the field(s) of the proposed research and should be able to assess the research proposal and CV in that capacity. Examples of arm's length referees include, but are not limited to, the external examiner from the applicant's doctoral defense or a specialist that the applicant met at a conference. Note that it is not necessary for the applicant to have met the arm's length referee.

The arm's length referee cannot be:

Essentially, they must have no real or perceived vested interest in the success of the application. Therefore, the greater the distance between the applicant and the arm's length referee, the better.

Identify the referee as "Arm's length referee" in the Relationship to the Candidate question in the application/referee form.

This is a mandatory requirement. The absence of an arm's length assessment could therefore adversely affect the review of the application.

An assessment cannot be completed by the proposed supervisor unless that person is currently the applicant's supervisor or has been their supervisor in the past.

There are no other restrictions on who can serve as the other two referees, but applicants are encouraged to consider the full range of potential referees (e.g., from different institutions, with varied research expertise for multi-disciplinary applications, with appropriate expertise for applications involving and engaging with Indigenous communities). Referees should be chosen from individuals best able to provide relevant evidence, perspectives and insight to support the review of the application in light of the selection criteria. Note that all three referees are asked to be mindful of using the assessments to evaluate (versus advocate for) the application.

The referees' letters are governed by the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act. Applicants do not have access to the content of the assessment submitted by referees.

Task 9 Enter degree information

This task seeks to collect information on your PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree.

Task 10 Enter proposal information and supporting documents

This task has four sub-tasks to collect information related to your research project.

Overview

The Title of Research Proposal is used by the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program to identify your research project (maximum of 640 characters).

The Lay Title will be used to inform the public and Parliament about the valuable research supported through public funds. Provide a title that is accessible to a lay audience (maximum of 200 characters).

The Lay Abstract will be used for promotional purposes outside the research community to inform the public and Parliament about the valuable research supported through public funds. Provide a summary of your research proposal written in clear, plain language. It should be written in non-technical terms that can be clearly understood by non-specialist reviewers or readers with various areas of expertise (i.e., minimal academic terminology, abbreviations, and references to methodology).

Using simple terms, briefly describe the nature of the work to be done. Indicate why and to whom the research is important, the anticipated outcomes, and how your field and Canada will benefit (maximum of 2000 characters).

Research involving Indigenous Peoples in meaningful ways to ensure that respectful relations* are established: If your proposed research respectfully involves and engages Indigenous communities, please include "This research respectfully involves and engages Indigenous communities" at the beginning of the lay abstract (see note below). The program administrator for each selection committee (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) will then endeavour to ensure that the primary or secondary reviewer on these applications has expertise in Indigenous research.

*Note: Research respectfully involving Indigenous communities is defined as research in any field or discipline that is conducted by, grounded in, or engages with First Nations, Inuk (Inuit), Métis communities, societies and/or individuals and their wisdom, cultures, experiences and/or knowledge systems, as expressed in their dynamic forms, past and present.

Examples include:

NOTE: Should you flag your research as involving Indigenous communities, your application will be assessed by its academic merit as usual, with additional review on the Indigenous research component to ensure that it fulfills the pillars for meaningful and culturally safe research engaging with Indigenous Peoples.

See the "Research respectfully involving and engaging Indigenous communities" section of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion page for more information on how Indigenous research will be reviewed.

Details

Enter information on the Host Institution that is endorsing your application, your expected Start Date to take up the award and the Language in which your Research Proposal is written. Please note that the list of institutions provided in the lookup feature is not exhaustive. If the institution you are proposing does not appear on the list, please verify that it meets the criteria of an eligible host institution and then enter it into the Other box. If you are uncertain whether the institution is eligible, please send an email to banting@cihr-irsc.gc.ca to confirm.

Certification Requirements

Indicate the certification requirements as appropriate for your proposed research.

For the question, "CIHR must review proposed projects against the requirements of the Impact Assessment Act (IAA). To this end please indicate whether any phase of the proposed research will take place on "federal lands" as defined under IAA, which includes land owned by the Government of Canada, including reserves created under the Indian Act; or outside of Canada?" trainees are exempt and should answer "No".

For the question, "In order to carry out the proposed research in this application, is an exemption from Health Canada under Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act required?" trainees are exempt and should answer "No".

Does this application propose research involving Indigenous Peoples?

Indicate if the application proposes research involving Indigenous Peoples. This information will be used for statistical purposes only.

Applicants, whose proposed research will involve First Nations, Inuk (Inuit) and Métis Peoples, must ensure to work and engage with Indigenous communities in a meaningful and culturally safe way. Please, also consult Ethics of Health Research Involving First Nations, Inuit and Métis People.

For details, please review the guidelines and resources provided in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion page.

Are sex (biological) and/or gender (socio-cultural) considerations taken into account in this study?

Indicate if sex (biological) and/or gender (socio-cultural) considerations are taken into account in this study. For guidelines to sex and gender based analysis, please review the guidelines and resources provided in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion page. Also describe how sex and/or gender (SGBA+) considerations will be considered in your research design or are not applicable (limit of 2000 characters, including spaces). For many types of research, the integration of this analysis will positively impact the feasibility, scientific rigour and usefulness of the proposed research.

Descriptors/keywords

Provide descriptors/keywords to describe your research proposal. Complete all subsequent fields using the drop-down menus; choose one that most closely matches your proposal.

Attachments

Under this sub-task, you will attach the following documents:

Attachment: Research proposal

(Maximum of 4 pages for English applications and a maximum of 5 pages for French applications including graphs and images; must follow the specifications found in the instructions provided in the Ensure attached documents meet presentation standards section.

All applicants, including those in the areas of applied research, research-creation, or knowledge translation, must provide a detailed description of their proposed research, addressing the following elements, as applicable:

If the proposed research is closely related to, or a continuation of the PhD thesis, explain how it will develop and expand on the thesis. If the proposed research is outside your documented expertise, outline the steps taken to address this to ensure feasibility of the research.

Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis+ (SGBA+): You are also encouraged to take into account, when applicable, diversity (gender, sex, age, culture, religion, etc.) in your proposed research (from its design to the analysis of the research findings). Incorporating the principles of SGBA+ in research has the potential to increase the rigour and usefulness of the research.

You must review the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion page for more information.

Applicants whose proposed research involves and engages with Indigenous communities must ensure that it fulfills the pillars for respectful research engaging with Indigenous Peoples.

For research respectfully involving and engaging Indigenous Peoples, consult the following resources:

The research proposal should reflect that you and your supervisor are aware of and referring to relevant principles and protocols established for this kind of research, such as, following the Principles of OCAP® (i.e., ownership, control, access and possession/protection), the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance, and/or other principles as determined by relevant communities.

This application element speaks directly to the following selection criterion: Quality of applicant's proposed research program.

The proposal must be written by the applicant and with the understanding that it will be reviewed by a multidisciplinary selection committee (i.e., a non-specialist audience). Your communication skills are reflected in the clarity of this writing and speak to the following selection criterion: Applicant's research excellence and leadership in the research domain.

Attachment: Bibliography

(Maximum of 4 pages; must follow the specifications found in the instructions provided in the Ensure attached documents meet presentation standards section.)

Provide a bibliography that includes citations for all sources referenced in the research proposal, as well as a literature review if appropriate for your area of research. These citations should be in the format used by the primary discipline of the proposed research. Ensure that all citations are clear and complete to allow reviewers/readers to easily locate the sources.

This application element speaks directly to the following selection criterion: Quality of applicant's proposed research program

Attachment: Institutional letter of endorsement – to be completed by the host institution

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

  1. Describe the process by which the institution chose to endorse the applicant, including the number of applications that were reviewed.
  2. Confirm agreement with the supervisor's statement of synergy between the institution's strategic priorities and the applicant's proposed research program.
  3. Confirm the institution's commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and outline the existing equity involvement in the endorsement process. The endorsement must be aligned with both the Banting program's commitment to EDI and the institution's EDI initiatives.

Achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential for creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to seize opportunities and for responding to global challenges.

The creation of this equitable, diverse and inclusive research community is the responsibility of every member of the community, including applicants, selection committee members, referees, institutions and the three agencies.

Institutions can contribute to tri-agency efforts to counter systemic barriers, explicit and unconscious biases, and inequities by promoting the recruitment of groups underrepresented in sciences and by ensuring a strong level of institutional support is provided to these candidates in their application process.

This document must be signed by the institution's president (equivalent or designate) and must be on the institution's letterhead. If signed by someone other than the president (or equivalent), it should be clearly indicated in the letter that the signee has this institutional authority. All applications involving a given host institution must be signed by the same official – president (or equivalent) or a single official delegate.

In the rare instance when the institution's president (or equivalent or designate) is also the proposed host supervisor, the applicant should contact the Vanier-Banting Secretariat for guidance.

This application element is for administrative use to determine eligibility to apply to the program and will not be sent to the selection committee for review.

Attachment: Supervisor's statement – to be completed by the proposed supervisor

(Maximum of 4 pages; must follow the specifications found in the Ensure attached documents meet presentation standards section.)

You must select a primary supervisor from the proposed host institution. If your research could benefit from having a co-supervisor, you may include details about both supervisors here. The level of detail included about each supervisor depends on the extent of the co-supervision.

Note: Whereas the primary supervisor must be affiliated with the host institution (in accordance with the host institution eligibility criteria), a co-supervisor can be affiliated with any institution that is relevant to the proposed research (e.g., non-governmental organizations (NGO), not-for-profit organizations, Indigenous community groups and/or organizations, such as cultural institutions, arts centres, youth councils).

If the proposed supervisor is also providing a referee assessment (see Identify referees), there should be minimal duplication of information between the two documents.

The supervisor must provide specific details organized according to the sections outlined below.

  1. Supervisor's biography

    Describe the supervisor's academic and research background, key contributions/accomplishments and funding to date. This section must be concise and include only information that is relevant to the application.

  2. Appropriateness of the supervisor(s)

    Describe the fit between the research interests/background of the supervisor and applicant, and the anticipated mutual benefits. In the description, provide specifics about how the proposed research complements the supervisor's ongoing projects and/or new research directions. Detail the contributions of the supervisor and applicant in the design and development of the proposed research.

  3. Research environment

    Provide details concerning the applicant's proposed research environment, clearly stating the supervisor's and laboratory/department's commitment. Examples of commitment include (but are not limited to) mentorship, opportunities for collaboration, dissemination, and/or knowledge translation, resources (e.g., funding, facilities, personnel) that will be available to support the applicant as they carry out their proposed research and develop their leadership potential.

    In the case of applications in which the proposed research respectfully involves Indigenous communities, describe how respectful relationships are being developed to engage with relevant Indigenous communities in the proposed research and to promote reciprocity in terms of the benefits derived from the research process and outcomes that are meaningful and culturally appropriate. Describe any support provided to facilitate collaborations between the applicant, the host institution and Indigenous communities/partners. The supervisor must provide details corroborating information provided in the research proposal.

    For more information, see our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion page.

  4. Professional development

    Describe the institution's commitment to the applicant's professional leadership development, clearly indicating the resources and/or mentoring activities that are available through the institution to support career development. These could include, but are not limited to:

    • career counselling
    • training in preparing grant proposals, publications and presentations
    • training in knowledge translation/mobilization
    • training in intellectual property regulations
    • guidance on ways to improve teaching and mentoring skills
    • guidance on how to effectively collaborate with researchers and knowledge users from diverse backgrounds and disciplinary areas
    • opportunities for collaboration and networking
    • training in responsible professional practices
    • teaching opportunities

  5. Institutional synergy

    Describe the institution's documented strategic priorities and demonstrate the synergy between these priorities and the applicant's proposed research program. Clearly justify the institution's endorsement of the applicant in light of the institution's strategic priorities and articulate how the institution and applicant will benefit from this engagement.

This document will be used to assess the degree to which the institution and supervisor are committed to the applicant, their capacity to enable the applicant to become a future leader in their chosen field, and their potential to build upon the institution's strategic priorities.

Supervisors should be highly selective and recommend only the highest-caliber postdoctoral researchers. Certain circumstances may legitimately affect an applicant's record of research achievement (e.g., availability of research/leadership opportunities). This should be factored into the selection process.

This document must be on the institution's letterhead and signed by the supervisor.

This application element speaks directly to the following selection criterion: Institutional commitment and demonstrated synergy between applicant and institutional strategic priorities

Task 11 Preview application materials

Review your application. If a task is incomplete, you must provide the missing information to successfully submit your application.

Note: If any of the documents provided (including attachments) do not conform to the requirements stated above and/or if they exceed the page limit, the additional pages will be removed from the application prior to selection committee review.

Task 12 Consent and submit application

You must indicate your consent to the terms listed in ResearchNet before you submit your application.

You must click Submit to send your application to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program. If you performed this task correctly, you will receive an email entitled "Successful Submission – Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program / Soumission acceptée – Programme de bourses postdoctorales Banting." No further confirmation will be provided.

Submission of an application will continue to serve as a formal attestation that the applicant has provided true, complete, and accurate information in the application and its related documents.

Task 13 Ensure attached documents meet presentation standards

All attachments to your application must be prepared according to the standards provided. Applications submitted that are not prepared according to the instructions provided may be deemed ineligible.

If you have supporting documents written in a language other than English or French, you are required to submit a certified translation of these documents.

Formatting instructions to prepare your documents:

Date modified: