CRTC Prize for Excellence in Policy Research: Terms of Reference

Purpose

• Recognize and honour the most promising research articles in the fields of communications, information, and media studies.
• Promote scholarly excellence in the fields of communications, information, and media studies.
• Raise the profile of graduate-level and post-doctoral research activity in communications, information, and media studies programs across Canada.
• Stimulate advanced research by graduate students and post-doctoral researchers to enhance the CRTC’s evidence base.
• Promote a new generation of researchers working on issues of relevance to the public interest in the fields of communications, information, and media studies.

Description of awards

The total estimated value of the Prize ranges from approximately $6,000 to $8,000 per winner.

Each award includes:

• A monetary award (Master’s: $1,500, Doctorate: $2,500, Post-doctoral researchers: $1,000).^{Footnote 1}
• Travel^{Footnote 2} and attendance to the annual Canadian Communications Association (CCA) conference at Congress.
  • For winners living in the region hosting the CCA, the CRTC will not reimburse travel fees (transportation and hotel). However, the CRTC will reimburse the conference registration fees, local transportation and meals. The definition of "region" is at the discretion of the CRTC.
• A one-year membership to the International Institute of Communications (IIC) Future Leaders Network.
• A one-year membership with the CCA.
• Presentation of your paper at the CCA annual conference.^{Footnote 3}
• Translation and publication of the winning papers in both official languages on the CRTC’s website.^{Footnote 4}
• Remote presentation of winning papers before CRTC commissioners.

Who is eligible?

• Students enrolled in a graduate program in communications or a related field (e.g., public policy, law, engineering, information studies) at a Canadian university, and Canadian students (including permanent residents and landed immigrant students) enrolled in a graduate program in communications or a related field in another country. Applicants who have completed a graduate degree (Master, Doctorate) within the previous calendar year are also eligible.
• Post-doctoral researchers (including permanent residents and landed immigrants) in communications or a related field affiliated with a Canadian university.
• Applicants must submit their paper to the category relevant to their status at the time the work was completed, rather than their current registration status (e.g., a current PhD student may submit work from their Masters to the Masters category).
• Papers with multiple authors (two or more) are welcome. However, papers co-authored with a Faculty member are not admissible. Co-authored papers from students with different statuses (e.g., a PhD student and a MA student) are eligible; this work will only be considered for the higher level category of the Prize (e.g., a co-authored submission from a PhD student and a MA student is only eligible in the PhD category).
• In the case of a multi-authored article being awarded the Prize, it is up to the co-authors to advise the CCA in writing as to which individual the monetary award should be transferred.^{Footnote 5} The CRTC will pay for only one co-author to attend the CCA annual conference, and for only one co-author’s membership to the IIC Future Leaders Network.

How to participate

• Articles can be submitted in either official language.
• Participants must submit their article to the head of the selection committee (President of the CCA or their allocated representative) by the deadline set out in the annual call for papers from the CCA and as indicated on the CCA and CRTC websites.
• Articles must be submitted as Word documents.
• Only articles between 6,000 to 8,000 words (bibliography and appendices included) that adhere to a recognized scholarly presentation format will be considered. Please include a word count at the end. Submissions exceeding the word count will not be considered for the Prize.
• All submissions must include an Abstract of no more than 100 words written in the same language as the submission that clearly answers the following questions:
  • What is the background of this work?
  • What methodology was used to complete this work?
  • What are the main conclusions or implications of this work?
• The cover page must include the title of the article, as well as the author’s name, contact information (i.e., email address, postal address, and telephone number), university affiliation and degree status.

Winners will be asked to provide, in the official language of their choice, a short description of any images, including any charts and graphs, appearing in their prize-winning paper. This text provides alternative information for an image if a user cannot view it online (e.g., because of a slow connection, or if the user uses a screen reader) and is a required feature of all Government of Canada web publications.

Conflict of interest

CRTC employees are not eligible for the program. However, former CRTC employees (casual, term, and indeterminate) are eligible for the Prize as long as their contract with the CRTC ended one year prior to the submission deadline.

Selection committee

• The committee will be made up of no less than three members, including the CCA President or their allocated representative.
• A CRTC representative will participate as an observer and will not have voting rights (ex-officio status).
• Selection committee decisions will be final and without appeal.
• Selection committee deliberations must adhere to the principle of collegiality.
• Committee deliberations will be completely confidential.
• Winners will be announced at the annual CCA meeting.
• In the event that there is no winner in a prize category, the selection committee may award that prize to an additional winner in the other categories.

Selection criteria

Research projects selected by the committee must comply with the following criteria:

1) Engagement in the communications/information/media studies fields and the public interest:

• Research makes a clear and direct contribution to communications and information policy studies.
• Interdisciplinary work will be readily accepted, but must be linked to communications, information, and/or media studies in terms of the theoretical and/or methodological framework.

2) Detailed, original approach:

• Stimulating argument and analysis that brings new perspective to the subject addressed.
• The research engages and/or challenges existing streams or scholarly debate in the field.

3) Contribution to communications/information/media studies:

• Research presents clear links to existing research and topics covered.
• Arguments and evidence from the work are applicable to and/or challenges other communications scholars in a variety of contexts.
• The author makes exciting connections across fields of research and analysis.

4) Potential opportunities for other research projects and relevance:

• The work signals the author’s potential to make a significant contribution to communications, information, and/or media studies in Canada.
• The article opens the door to more in-depth examination of certain subjects or to the development of full research projects on related subjects.
• Theoretical or methodological strategies offer new approaches to research in communications, information, and/or media studies.

5) Maturity and sophistication of the argument:

• The readability of the work in terms of writing style.
• The analysis is clear and does not compromise theoretical complexity.

Date modified:

2021-09-15