Wall Research Awards (Faculty)
Wall Research Awards (Faculty) are available annually to UBC faculty members through the Peter Wall Legacy Fund, an endowment established by Peter Wall, to support research excellence at UBC and invest in those who will help move BC and the world forward.
Wall Research Awards for tenured and track faculty members are available as individual and group awards.
- Team awards of up to $200,000, awarded to a group of three to five faculty members over a maximum term of up to three years
- Individual awards of up to $80,000 over a maximum term of three years.
The Wall Research Awards focus on enabling good future work, rather than as rewards for past work, and are intended to support a range of scholars at different career stages. Projects supported by these awards may be exploratory or derived from established programs of inquiry.
Unless specifically indicated otherwise, all information on this page pertains to both individual and team awards.
Applications for the 2024 competition are now closed.
On this page
Areas of interest
The Wall Research Awards (Faculty) are awarded to UBC faculty whose research relates to one of three areas:
- Sustainable approaches to and development of the general urban environment, including water, energy and transportation infrastructure in British Columbia;
- Environmental protection of oceans, beaches and waterfronts that impact British Columbia; and
- Sustainable approaches to resource-intensive industry in British Columbia.
Projects within these areas of interest will principally relate to British Columbia, but may also apply to and address other Canadian and international regions.
ELIGIBILITY
All UBC tenured and tenure-track faculty, from both campuses, are eligible to apply. For Wall Research Awards (Team Faculty Awards), all co-applicants must be tenured / tenure-track UBC faculty. Individuals are eligible to apply to hold a maximum of two concurrent Wall Research Awards and be the primary applicant on only one. (i.e. the primary applicant of an individual award and a co-applicant on a team award; a primary applicant on one team award and a co-applicant on another team award; or a co-applicant on two team awards.)
Team Faculty Awards must include three to five UBC faculty (i.e., one primary applicant and 2 to 4 co-applicants). Early- and mid-career faculty are strongly encouraged to apply. Scholars from all disciplines, including the social sciences and humanities, are encouraged to apply.
APPLICATION PROCESS
To apply for a Wall Research Award, starting May 27, 2024, applicants must log in to VPRI’s online application system UBC Research + Innovation Apply using their campus wide login (CWL), and follow the instructions provided. Once the full application has been initiated, the applicant may invite others with a CWL to contribute (e.g., co-applicants, administrators, grant facilitators, etc.) using the “add collaborator” button located in the left side block. For team awards, one applicant must be designated as the primary applicant. Applications can be saved and completed at a later date before final submission and can be downloaded as a PDF at any time. Each section must be marked as complete before the application can be submitted.
Applications should include the following components:
- Notice of Intent (NOI) due June 29, 2024
(An NOI is required to provide time for eligibility review and enable the recruitment of reviewers. It is not adjudicated, but is required in order to submit a full application.) - Applicant Information
- Research Proposal (3 pages)
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) (200 words)
- Additional Criteria; applicants must choose 3 of the 5 criteria below to address (200 words each)
- Interdisciplinarity
- Multi-sectoral research
- Geographic reach
- Indigenous engagement
- Catalysis of research
- Role of team members (for Team awards only) (300 words)
- Budget and budget justification
A completed and signed Research Project Information Form (RPIF) must be uploaded as part of the application.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
To be eligible for peer review, the proposed research must:
- Be deemed relevant to BC
- Align with one or more of the Wall Legacy Fund areas of interest
The following assessment criteria will be used:
Research Proposal (60%)
- The proposed research program is clearly outlined, providing a distinct purpose and clear attainable objectives
- The main methods used are relevant and well-defined
- Includes a clear plan on how the research program will involve trainees, and benefit their training and career advancement
- The relevant expertise needed to do this work is present, or there is a feasible plan in place for its recruitment
- A plan how the outputs of the work will be disseminated to both academics, and other audiences is described
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (10%)
- The application illustrates how the research is informed by or will contribute to the promotion of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in academia and society
Additional Criteria (choose three of the five criteria to address):
The Wall Research Awards recognize that high-quality research comes in various forms. Thus, applicants must choose three of the five additional criteria below that best align with and showcase their work.
Interdisciplinarity (10%)
- The application describes what the “added value” of the interdisciplinary approach is
- The perspectives of all relevant disciplines have been considered in the development of the proposed project, and the required expertise is available
Multi-sectoral research (10%)
- The proposed research demonstrates strong synergy among participants from different sectors
- The combination of participants is justified and makes it likely that planned outcomes will be achieved
Geographic reach (10%)
- Potential impact in jurisdictions beyond BC is described
- Lessons for, or impact on, other jurisdictions is described
Indigenous engagement (10%)
- Engagement and reciprocity with First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis Peoples is present and clearly described
- Considerations addressing Indigenous research have been incorporated into the methodological approach and or theoretical framework of the project
Research catalysis (10%)
- The impact on long term research plans is clearly described
- The benefit of proposed high-risk work on longer-term research is outlined
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
REPORTING
Recipients are required to submit a final report to the Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation no later than six (6) months following the end of the award term that includes the following:
- standard financial reporting
- brief summaries describing the following:
- trainees involved in the research
- the work conducted during the term of the award
- how the work has been disseminated
- how the work supported EDI
- statements addressing performance against each of the 3 applicant-selected criteria from the original proposal
A report template will be provided to recipients.
PUBLICITY
Recipients of Wall Research Awards may be asked to participate in media events and other proceedings that recognize their achievement and bring awareness to the Wall Legacy Fund at UBC.
For further information on this competition, contact Leslie Grad, Manager, Strategic Initiatives (leslie.grad@ubc.ca).
For issues pertaining to UBC Research + Innovation Apply, the VPRI’s online application system, please contact Stacey Herzer, Manager, Internal Research Competitions (stacey.herzer@ubc.ca).
TIMELINE
| May 27, 2024 | Applications open |
| June 4, 2024 2:00-3:30 pm PT | Wall Research Award information session (Optional) |
| June 6, 2024 10:00-11:30 am PT | Wall Research Award information session (Optional) |
| June 29, 2024 11:59 pm PT | Notice of intent (NOI) due |
| September 20, 2024 11:59 pm PT | Full application due |
| Early November 2024 | Wall Research Award recipients announced |
| December 1, 2024 | Funds distributed |
Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility
Any tenured or university tenure-track faculty member from either UBC campus is eligible to apply.
Individuals can be named on at no more than two concurrent Wall Research Awards but can only be named as the primary applicant on one award (i.e., one Individual Faculty Award and one Team Faculty Award, or two Team Faculty Awards).
Yes, but if an applicant is successfully awarded a Wall Fellowship, they are not eligible to take up the Research Award as a primary applicant.
No. Only eligible UBC faculty are eligible as applicants for Wall Research Awards (Faculty).
Application Process
To apply to the Wall Research Awards, applicants must log into UBC Research + Innovation Apply using their campus wide login (CWL), and follow the instructions provided. A Notice of Intent (NOI) must be submitted by June 29, 2024 to progress to the full application.
The primary applicant should be the one to initially launch an application (i.e., not a designate). Once the full application has been initiated, the applicant may invite others with a CWL to contribute (e.g., co-applicants, administrators, grant facilitators, etc.) using the “add collaborator” button located in the left side block. For team awards, one applicant must be designated as the primary applicant.
References and figures are not required, but may be included in the application as optional uploaded PDFs. There is no limit to the number of references that can be provided. Figures and tables are restricted to one page. All must follow the formatting guidelines stated within the application.
No. The focus of these awards is on enabling good future work, rather than rewarding past work, and are intended to support a range of scholars at different career stages. Therefore, applicants are not asked to include CVs or standard bibliometric evidence of research quality or impact as part of the application. Reviewers will remove all non-required appendices
Yes. A completed Research Project Information Form (RPIF) signed by the applicant’s Unit Head, and if applicable, Centre Director and/or Dean, must be included within the application. A prompt to upload the RPIF is present in the application.
Yes.
The Wall Legacy Fund supports research focused on “sustainable approaches to and development of the general urban environment” and “sustainable” approaches to resource-intensive industry in British Columbia”. For the purposes of this award, sustainability refers to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Projects aligning with the Wall Legacy Fund research areas may also apply to and address Canadian and international regions outside of British Columbia, provided that such projects will principally relate to British Columbia.
All awards funded through the Wall Legacy Fund are intended to be offered on an annual basis.
No. Applicants must choose only three of the five criteria that best align with and showcase their work. If more than three of the additional criteria are responded to, reviewers will only look at the first three and discount others.
Budget
The Wall Research Awards are meant support the direct costs of research, following the Tri-Agency Guide on Financial Administration for grant funding.
Yes. Research does not happen in a vacuum. It takes the support of many to bring a research program to fruition, thus, Wall Fellowship funds may be used to support research trainees. This must be reflected in the budget section of the application and reflected in the research proposal.
Award funds will be provided as a single payment upon the start of the award term. Recipients will have up to three years to spend the funds.