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 impact to Canadian society, economy, and/or environment. Proposals should be connected to one or more of the tracks of the 2026 CSPC Conference listed below:

CSPC 2026 Conference Theme and Tracks:

Theme: Sovereignty by Design: Mobilizing Action to Reshape Canada’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Capacity.

Tracks:

• Track 1: STI, Sovereignty, and National Capability
• Track 2: The Challenge of Implementation – Coordination and Collaboration
• Track 3: Productivity, Competitiveness, and Economic Transformation
• Track 4: Civil Society, Public Trust, Social Cohesion, and Democratic Resilience
• Track 5: Talent Development and Future Skills
• Track 6: Science and Innovation Diplomacy and Geopolitical Shift
• Track 7: Northern and Arctic Knowledge and Innovation – Key to Canadian Sovereignty?

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

Eligible recipients for the Science Policy Youth Award include all individuals under 35 years old who are residents of Canada, or Canadians living abroad, 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 Science Policy Youth Award winner will be recognized prominently at the Gala as part of the 18th Canadian Science and Innovation Policy Conference (CSPC 2026), held in Ottawa from November 25-27, 2026. The Science Policy Youth Award winner will receive free admission to CSPC 2026 along with accommodation for two nights at the designated hotel for the conference. The award winner will also receive a trophy and certificate from the CSPC. Travel support will be available for eligible students. Please see the previous Award Winners and the Award ceremony here.

Applications must be in English or French and submitted by Sunday June 14, 2026 before midnight (applicant’s local time).

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. Citations for sources of evidence should follow IEEE style with square brackets for in-text citations. Citations are not included in the word count and should be included in the References section. Proposals will be reviewed anonymously by the award selection committee. 

Please note that the use of AI tools in generating and drafting policy proposals and/or in completing this application is strictly limited to basic proofreading or grammar correction and must be disclosed.

Application Elements

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

Rules and Eligibility

1. Applicants must be under the age of 35 at the time of submission.
2. Applicants must be a resident of Canada or a Canadian citizen studying or working abroad.
3. Policy proposals must have an expected positive impact for Canada.
4. Scores and feedback provided by the Award Selection Committee will not be disclosed for any reason.
5. All applicants give the CSPC the right to profile their submission in all conference materials and/or on the CSPC website before, during, and after the event.
6. The CSPC and the Awards Selection Committee members will keep the personal  information of applicants confidential.
7. The current CSPC Board, management, staff, volunteers and members of the Awards Selection Committee, may not apply for the Science Policy Youth Award. 
8. The winner will be required to provide a brief biography prior to the award ceremony.

If you have any issues in submitting your proposal or any questions regarding the submission, please email [email protected].

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%