Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/04/2025 - 29/05/2025
All Day

Emerging from the Royal Society of Canada’s (RSC) commitment to reconciliation and its Tri-Academy Partnership with New Zealand and Australia, the RSC Prize for Indigenous Engagement recognizes outstanding contributions including research/scholarship, advancement of Indigenous knowledge, and engagement with reconciliation.

The RSC Prize for Indigenous Engagement will be awarded biennially to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis who are either Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada, in recognition of outstanding contributions to their respective field and toward advancing The Right to Participate, as outlined in Article 18 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:

“Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their own indigenous decision-making institutions.”

Recipients will have demonstrated visionary thinking that has resulted in significant advances to academia, to community, and to society.

NOMINATION DOSSIER REQUIREMENTS

The nomination must consist of the following elements:

1. Nomination form (click here to download)

2. Letter of nomination from the Primary Nominator 
   NOTE: The Primary Nominator can be a Member of the Society, either a Fellow or a current Member of the College of New Scholars. There is no limit on the number of nominations any Member may submit each year. The Primary Nominator can also be an institutional member, but the Nominator must be the President, Vice-President, or CEO of the university or organization

3. Citation (max. 70 words, or 85 in French)

4. Detailed appraisal (max. 1200 words, or max 1450 in French)
5. Three letters of reference (max. 750 words per letter, or max 900 in French)
6. Three bios from referees (max. 250 words, or max 300 in French)
7. Curriculum Vitae (max. 20 pages)

For more information, consult the RSC’s Guide to Preparing a Nomination.  

NOMINATION SUBMISSION PROCESS

Internal (McMaster) Process

Please inform your Faculty’s Associate Dean, Research by April 10, 2025 if you wish to nominate a colleague or be nominated for the 2025 RSC Prize for Indigenous Engagement. The OVPR Prizes & Awards team will reach out to Faculty-endorsed nominees after this date to discuss next steps in the nomination process.

NOTE: Due to the tight turnaround for submitting nominations for the 2025 RSC Prize for Indigenous Engagement, there will be no formal internal Notice of Intent (NOI) process for this award this year.

RSC Nomination Submission Requirements for all medals/awards

Completed forms and accompanying documents must be submitted by email at: nominations@rsc-src.ca on or before 8 pm ET on May 29, 2025. 

KEY DEADLINES

• Prospective nominators/nominees must inform their Faculty’s Associate Dean, Research of their interest in nominating a colleague or being nominated for the 2025 RSC Prize for Indigenous Engagement by April 10, 2025

• Nominees’ draft dossier documents due to the OVPR Prizes & Awards team by May 1, 2025

• Referee letters/biographies and finalized nomination dossier due to the OVPR Prizes & Awards team by May 22, 2025

• Medal/Award nominations due to the RSC via email (nominations@rsc-src.ca) on or before 8 pm ET, May 29, 2025

The OVPR P&A team is happy to support nominators/nominees in the preparation and submission of award nomination dossiers. Please contact us at awardmgr@mcmaster.ca with any questions and/or requests for support pertaining to the RSC Prize for Indigenous Engagement.