2012 RDC Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Award Program

The Manitoba RDC is offering grants for Masters and PhD students who are ready to begin their thesis or dissertation research, based on confidential Statistics Canada microdata. Awards are also open to postdoctoral fellows.

The Manitoba RDC offers researchers in Manitoba free access to confidential Statistics Canada microdata, as well as the workspace, software and equipment needed to analyze these data. There are no costs associated with the RDC; recipients can use the grant for anything they like including living expenses. Information about the RDC program, the process for accessing the data, and the datasets available can be found at: http://www.statcan.ca/english/rdc/index.htm.

Eligibility

Applicants must be:

1.      Registered as a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow at a university in Manitoba.

2.      Ready to begin their thesis/dissertation research or postdoctoral research, based on one or more of the Statistics Canada databases available at the RDC.

3.      Recipients may hold these grants in addition to other funding, when allowed by the terms of their other funding.

4.      Students who have received an RDC Graduate Student Award in the past ARE NOT eligible.

5.      Students who were supported by the RDC on faculty-led projects in the past ARE eligible.  

Amount and Number of Grants

A number of grants of $5000 will be offered in 2012, depending on the availability of funding.

Application Procedure

Interested students/fellows must submit the following documents:

1.      A description of the research project, with details on the research question, methodology used, the dataset to be accessed, and when the planned research will take place;

2.      A current transcript;

3.      A letter of support from the supervisor;

4.      A cover letter, with contact information (name, home and departmental address, telephone number and email address).

All documents must be received by the RDC not later than March 16, 2012. For further information, contact:

Ian Clara, RDC Analyst

rdc@cc.umanitoba.ca

Modes of Payment

There will be one lump sum paid once all the necessary procedures have been completed:

1.      The research project has been approved. The approval procedure for student projects is described on the RDC website  http://www.umanitoba.ca/centres/rdc/

2.      The contract with Statistics Canada has been signed. Note that if the contract is not signed before 17 September 2012, the award will lapse and no payment will be made.