This award recognizes an individual under the age of 35 who proposes an innovative and compelling evidence-based policy proposal that will make a positive difference to Canadians. Proposals should be connected to one or more of the themes for the 2023 CSPC Conference listed below:

CSPC 2023 Conference Theme: Science and Innovation in a Time of Transformation.

Track 1: Science and Policy
Track 2: Science and Society
Track 3: Innovation and Economic Development
Track 4: Science, International Affairs and Security
Track 5: Science and the Next Generation
Track 6: Grand Challenges

For a detailed description of the conference theme, please visit here.

This award is designed not only to highlight innovative, evidence-driven policy ideas by policy students and young professionals, but also to encourage young people not currently studying, or working in public policy to share their policy ideas. Eligible recipients include all young Canadian residents under 35, regardless of their field of study or work. The CSPC is fully committed to the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion and encourages all qualified participants to apply.

The CSPC award winners will be recognized prominently at the 15th Canadian Science Policy Conference, CSPC 2023, Gala Dinner to be held in Ottawa on Nov 13th. The Award winner will receive free admission to the CSPC Gala 2023  along with accommodation for two nights at the designated hotel for the CSPC Gala 2023. The award winner will also receive a trophy and certificate from CSPC.

Two runners-up will also be selected, and will be entitled to free admission to CSPC 2023.

The required elements for a successful application are listed below. Upon submission, please ensure your application is fully completed and that it adheres to the stated word limit. Accompanying videos (of not more than 10 minutes), posters or presentations (in PowerPoint or Prezi) are also welcome in addition to the completed web form. Files must be less than 8 MB and any of the following file types is acceptable (gif, jpg, jpeg, png, bmp, eps, tif, pict, txt, html, pdf, doc, docx, odt, ppt, pptx, odp, xls, xlsx, ods).

Proposals will be reviewed anonymously by the award selection committee. 

Citations for sources of evidence should follow IEEE style with square brackets for in-text citations. Citations are not included in the word count.

Application Elements

1. Applicant’s Personal Information.
2. Brief Biography (In 150 words or less)
3. Proposal Inspiration (In 150 words or less)
4. Connected Conference Theme(s)
5. Title of Policy Proposal (In 10 words or less)
6. Need/Opportunity for Action (In 300 words or less)
7. Proposed Solution/Policy Change (In 600 words or less)
8. Novelty/Creativity of Proposed Solution/Policy Change (In 300 words or less)
9. Lay Abstract (In 200 words or less)

Rules and Eligibility

1. Applications must be made by an individual under the age of 35 at the time of submission.
2. Applicants must be resident of Canada (Be a Canadian citizen,  permanent resident or have valid study / work permit.
3. Scores and feedback provided by the award selection committee will not be disclosed for any reason.
4. All applicants give the right to the CSPC to profile their submission in all Conference materials before, during, and after the event.
5. The CSPC and the judges will not release any information in the application that is specified as confidential (marked above with an *asterisk).
6. The current CSPC Board, management, staff, volunteers and members of the Awards Selection Committee, may not apply for the Science Policy Youth Award.

If you have any issues in submitting your proposal or any questions regarding the submission, please email awards.prix@sciencepolicy.ca.

Proposals will be scored on the basis of the following criteria:

• Effective use of evidence – 25%
• Expected impact of the proposal – 25%
• Novelty and creativity – 25%
• Presentation and clarity of writing – ability to be understood by a general public audience – 25%