Working for a funding agency:

A career for you?

Heidi BanduletSenior Programs Officer, Canada Foundation for Innovation

University of Ottawa, 30 August, 2012

Key points

• My career path: from linear to alternative • Why it is good to have a backup plan• What’s a funding agency and what do they do?• Pencil pushing? Is this really for me? • Salary, Benefits , etc…• Would they hire me? Where do I start? • Additional resources

My career “path”: as linear as it could possibly get, until…

3 yrs BSc. Physics, Universite de Montreal 2 yrs MSc. Physics, INRS/Polytechnique (France)4 yrs PhD Physics, Ecole Polytechnique (France)5 yrs 2.5 year Postdoc + 2.5 years as Research

Associate at INRS (Montreal) in laser-matter interactions

with full scholarships, 25+ peer-reviewed publications… Faculty position??

But do I really want to be an academic, or even do R&D at all?

Why do I need a backup plan ? • Number of new faculty positions at an all time low

while number of awarded PhDs continually increase• Temporary positions on the rise• Over 80% of PhDs in the US and Canada will not

become professors • 27:1 chances for a PhD holder to land a faculty

position• In the end…60% of S&E graduates (USA data) work

outside S&E

My personal plan : Career opportunities outside R&D

• Working as editor for a science journal (Nature, Science, Physical Review, etc) or book editor (e.g. Wiley)

• Research support officer at a University or NRC• Award administration in a funding agency

– Tri-Councils (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR)– International Development Research Centre– Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI)– European Science Foundation (FR)– Agence Nationale de Recherche (FR)– National Science Foundation (USA)– UK Research Council, etc.

PARLIAMENT

Prime Minister

CABINET Minister of Industry

Science, Technology and Innovation Council

Research FundingNational Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)Canada Revenue Agency’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development(SR&ED) tax credits

Research Funding Granting Agencies: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC),Social Sciences &Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR)

Foundations: Canada Foundation For Innovation (CFI), Genome Canada, Canada Foundation for Climate andAtmospheric Sciences (CFCAS)

$ towards Academia $ towards Industry

Industry Canada

Federal S&T Structure

Research Performed in LabsNational Research Council (NRC) Science-Based Department and Agencies e.g., Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Health Canada

Typical Objectives of Funding Agencies

• To expand research and job opportunities by providing financial support for :– research infrastructure (Canada Foundation for Innovation)– direct cost of research (Tri-Councils)

• To increase Canada’s capacity to carry out world-class scientific research.

• To promote productive networks and collaboration among Canadian post-secondary educational institutions, research hospitals and the private sector

• To support economic growth and job creation; as well as health and environmental quality through innovation.

Typical role and activities of funding agencies

• Development of programs with specific objectives and merit criteria

• Conduct peer-review of proposals • Administration of programs / project management• Monitoring and evaluation of programs /projects• Inform stakeholders about programs and

investments• Consultations with stakeholders

Job prospects for scientists• After BSc, but preferably MSc or more:

- Program Officer- Program Evaluation Officer - Policy Analyst/international relations- IT services (e.g. business analyst)

• With more admin/management experience: - Senior positions of the above, Account /Portfolio

Manager, Operations Manager, Team Leader, Director• Partnerships programs at NSERC and NCE require

experience working with industry• A PhD + Postdoc is mandatory for PO positions in

agencies outside CanadaIn Canada, only 15% of employees are PhDs but most have MSc.

My role as Senior Programs Officer at the CFI

One-stop shop for all things CFI for a portfolio of 35-40 institutions across Canada + 1 province

• Develop and design CFI policies and programs• Manage application and review processes • Track progress and manage risk in

implementation of infrastructure• Represent the CFI at events and meetings• Initiate special projects, get involved in work

groups across the organization

CFI work environmentPresident

VP Finance

VP Programs

Director, Programs

Director, Programs Evaluation

IT servicesVP Communications

CFI: ~65 employeesNSERC: ~350 employees

Senior Programs Officers x9

Programs Officers

Adminsupport

HR

Programs

Finances

Board of Directors (13 members)

Basic Job Requirements for NSERC and CFI

• University degree, preferably a post-graduate degree• Fluency in both official languages• Experience in the administration of research and/or

award funding programs,• Knowledge of Canada’s research community• Knowledge of other levels of government, non-

government, public and private sectors• Analytical, problem solving and decision-making

skills• Knowledge of industrial R&D for some positions

Soft skills are of paramount importance • Team work and leadership • Time management and organizational skills• Strong interpersonal and communication skills• Ability to conduct multi-party negotiations

and to resolve conflicting interests• Sound judgment and diplomacy

Basic Job Requirements (continued)

Your selling points

• Science literacy!• Strong analytical and computer skills• Better understanding of the research process

and scientific community• Credibility and trust from the science

community

So…How $ much?

Rates of pay in Canadian funding agencies

+ benefits, 4-5 weeks vacation, Flexible working hours, telework, professional development, work-life balance, 1-year maternity leave, etc…

Program Officer (Entry-level ) $60-75k

Senior Program Officer, Portfolio Manager$75k- 110k

Average Postdoc salary in Canada: $38k (50k in the US)

Academic salaries

Start preparing today• Learn how your university operates at the higher levels• Serve on a board or committee • Gain some grant-writing experience• Work on your communication skills: stop speaking in tongues!• Get involved in the management of awards (e.g. progress reports),

including finances• Volunteer to organize a conference , workshop, guest lecture• Gain special knowledge in areas such as Technology and Knowledge

Transfer or Intellectual Property • Take courses in Project Management and/or Risk Management• Read about Science Policy and issues (see the big picture!) • Hire a career consultant to highlight your transferable skills• Of course, learn about Funding agencies.

Knowing that the majority of S&E graduates work outside their field:

• Know yourself and your possibilities• Acquire extra skills as if planning for an

alternative career even if you do end up in R&D, whether academia or industry

• Assign a value to your time spent at the bench and don’t procrastinate!

Summary

Additional resources

Career advice: sciencecareers.sciencemag.org

Articles and information:• universityaffairs.ca • Council of Canadian Academies• Science.gc.ca • Policy journals (e.g. Research Policy, Science and public Policy, Review of Policy

Research, Research Money )• Statistics Canada, OECD publications and statistics portal, Unesco Institute for

Statistics• American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Science

Foundation• British Royal Society, European Science Foundation, International Council for

Science , Science, Technology and Innovation Council

Contact me: Heidi.bandulet@innovation.ca

Questions?