2024 Cameron Mustard Early Career Accelerator Award

About the award

The Cameron Mustard Early Career Development Award supports and accelerates the research program of an early career researcher in the area of work and health. This award is named after Dr. Cameron Mustard, who was president and senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health for 20 years between 2002 and 2022. During these two decades, Mustard cemented IWH’s reputation as one of the top workplace health and safety research organizations in the world. Key among Mustard’s core commitments during his presidency was that IWH must play an important role in mentoring future generations of work and health researchers. This award pays tribute to the role he has played in strengthening the work and health research ecosystem, by supporting early career researchers in the field of work and health.

The award currently stands at $20,000 CAD. It is provided with the support of The Foundation for Research and Education in Work and Health Studies. 

Eligibility

An early career researcher is defined as someone who:

• has completed their PhD in the last five years or a postdoctoral fellowship within the last three years.
• has not yet received more than $100,000 in research grant funding as a principal investigator or a co-principal investigator (excluding salary awards). 
• is working in Canada in a research role, and is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or holder of a current Canadian work visa.

Allowable Expenses

The award can be used to support any activities that help promote, develop and/or accelerate the applicant’s research career. These activities could include 

• data collection costs,
• data access fees for secondary data analyses,
• conference travel,
• open access publications. 

Allowed expenses do not include capital assets (e.g., laptop purchases) or indirect costs. 

How to apply

Applicants must complete an online application form.

The following materials are required to complete the online form:

• Covering letter and curriculum vitae in PDF format.
• Confirmation that the applicant has an ongoing research appointment in an independent research organization or university (e.g., an employment letter; or a letter from the head of a university department) in PDF format. 
• Research statement (in PDF format, maximum 1,000 words) describing how the award would support a new or ongoing area of research for the applicant. The statement should include a clear outline of what the funding would be used to support, and the overall objectives of the current research program of the applicant. This statement will be evaluated based on feasibility, alignment with the research priorities of IWH, and evidence that the use of the funding will promote, develop and/or accelerate the applicant’s research career. 
• Quotations for proposed expenses. Expenses associated with the award should generally be budgeted to occur within a 12-month period from the receipt of the award. Any proposed exceptions to this should be fully justified in the application.

We encourage applications from racialized persons/persons of colour, Indigenous people, women, LGBTQ2S+ persons, persons with disabilities, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. 

Complete applications must be submitted by 4:00pm EST on Sunday December 8, 2024.

For further details, please read the application instructions.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The online application form cannot be saved. Please have all required materials ready before you begin your online application and save a copy for your records.

Go to application form

Enquiries

If you have any questions, please contact:

Lyudmila Mansurova
Assistant to the Office of the President
Institute for Work & Health
lmansurova@iwh.on.ca