Adjudication Criteria

External reviewers for internship proposals receive the following questions to guide their assessment of the proposal:

1. Mitacs Accelerate supports research-based internships. Does the proposed project qualify as research in its discipline?
2. Is the project appropriate for the academic degree level of the intern(s)?
3. Are the objectives clear?
4. Is the methodology appropriate to achieve the objectives?
5. Is the timeline realistic?
6. Other comments and suggestions for the applicants. For example, is there prior work that should be considered by the researchers?
7. Confidential comments for Mitacs:
8. Will the research work potentially have adverse effects on the environment? Do you recommend that an additional environmental impact review be conducted?

Proposals for large and long-term projects may sometimes involve significant technical or scientific uncertainties, complex project management plans, or highly structured intern recruitment, supervision, and training plans. In these situations, Mitacs reserves the right to hold a review meeting between applicants and reviewers to support the assessment of such proposals before arriving at a final funding decision. The need for such a review meeting will be determined as part of the review process, and applicants will be notified as soon as possible if a review meeting needs to be scheduled.

All Mitacs Elevate fellowship proposals undergo a two-stage review process:

• Stage 1: an administrative review to confirm program eligibility, followed by
• Stage 2: an external review based on peer assessment of the research project proposals.

Peer assessment criteria are grouped into two (2) broad categories: the technical merit of the proposed research project; and the excellence of the proposed fellow.  For these categories, Mitacs seeks arm’s length expert reviewers to answer the following questions:

A. Technical merit of the proposed project

• Does the project significantly contribute to the advancement of knowledge or the development of new applications, and is there an appreciable element of novelty?
• Are the objectives achievable, given the current state of the art and the expertise of the project team?
• Are the methods and techniques appropriate for the objectives?
• Is the proposed project at an appropriate level for a postdoctoral fellow?

B. Excellence of the proposed fellow

• Relative to other researchers at the same career stage, how would you characterize the achievements of the proposed fellow (e.g. publication record, patents, awards and scholarships, mentoring, accomplishments in teaching, related industry or entrepreneurial activities, etc.)?
• The Elevate program offers training opportunities to develop leadership, communication and business skills. Does the candidate demonstrate commitment to this professional development?

Mitacs Globalink Research Award proposals will be reviewed based on the following criteria:

1.      Quality of the research proposal
2.      Level of supervision and mentorship committed by the host supervisor
3.      Relevance to society and industry
4.      Expected benefit to Canada 

External referees for internship proposals receive the following questions to guide their assessment of the proposal:

1. Mitacs Accelerate International supports research-based internships. Does the proposed project qualify as research in its discipline?
2. Is the project appropriate for the academic degree level of the intern?
3. Are the objectives clear?
4. Is the methodology appropriate to achieve the objectives?
5. Is the timeline realistic?
6. Other comments and suggestions for the applicants. For example, is there prior work that should be considered by the researchers?
7. Confidential comments for Mitacs:
8. Will the research work potentially have adverse effects on the environment? Do you recommend that an additional environmental impact review be conducted.

In addition, Mitacs will review proposals to ensure that projects demonstrate sufficient benefits to Canada. Benefits will be considered under categories such as:

• training of Canadian citizens and permanent residents
• bringing talent to Canada
• creating new research relationships
• growing research activities in Canada
• foreign investment in Canada
• creating IP held in Canada (joint or full ownership by Canadian organizations, allowance for Canadian industry to commercially exploit the IP)
• creating markets for existing Canadian IP

A project does not need to demonstrate benefits under every category – a weakness in one category can be compensated by strengths in others.  However, projects that demonstrate little or no benefits across all categories will not be approved by Mitacs.

Applicants wishing to appeal the decision of the Mitacs Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) on their internship application may send a letter of appeal to the MRIC Chair (Mitacs Chief Research Officer and Scientific Director) by email to mrc-chair(at)mitacs.ca. Appeals must be received within 60 days of the notice of decision and must include the original signed proposal.