Winnipeg Foundation Martha Donovan Women's Leadership Development Awards

The Winnipeg Foundation Martha Donovan Fund is a $250,000 fund intended to provide leadership development opportunities for women in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. For the next five years, $50,000 will be made available on an annual basis. Once expended, unless renewed, the fund will terminate.

Women who are full-time or part-time academic faculty members with a primary appointment in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences are eligible to apply to the Winnipeg Foundation Martha Donovan Fund for support for academic leadership training.

OR

Women who are students or post-doctoral trainees (including residents) currently enrolled in a program of study within the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences are also eligible to apply for the fund for support for leadership training.

The number of awards may vary, but at most, there will be two student/post-doctoral awards on an annual basis for the term of the fund.

An online application form must be completed. The application requires:

A) Identification of a recognized leadership development course or program (may be local, national, or international). Indicate how the chosen program is relevant to the applicant's goals for leadership development.

B) A statement providing:

1. evidence of the applicant's leadership activities and initiatives
2. the applicant's goals in pursuing leadership training, and
3. a plan for applying new leadership skills to enhancing the applicant's academic career and/or using these skills in academic service to the University of Manitoba.

C) A detailed budget estimate that includes the cost of the course/program, travel costs, accommodation costs, and miscellaneous costs directly associated with accessing the course/program. If the cost of the program is more than the maximum award, indicate how the additional costs will be covered.

In addition to the application, the applicant must submit:

1. A curriculum vitae
2. A letter of support from the faculty member's department head/college dean, or the student's/post-doctoral trainee's program director or supervisor, including acknowledgement of potential absences, as required, to participate in the course/program of choice. The letter should address how the applicant's chosen program is relevant to their career path and will benefit their leadership development.

Support is provided for the direct costs of academic leadership development opportunities. All items must be essential to the completion of this training. Expenses will not be eligible for support if they are incurred prior to the fund start date. There should be no overlap with existing funds.

The Winnipeg Foundation Martha Donovan Leadership Fund is not intended for top-up of existing funding requests.

As the demand for funds is expected to exceed the funds available, not all meritorious proposals can be supported. The maximum award for faculty members will be $11,000, and for students, it will be $3,000. These figures may be less. In short, only reasonable requests for training programs can typically be met by this fund. Applicants must develop their proposed budgets with these figures in mind and provide a detailed budget justification. 

Applications for support will be reviewed and adjudicated by members of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Awards Committee.

Applications are assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

• Evidence of the applicant's experience in leadership activities: applications will be evaluated on the basis of the quality, rather than the quantity, of past experience.
• The applicant's potential as a future academic leader.
• For applications from faculty members: alignment between the applicant’s goals and the requirements of their academic unit
• Extent to which the request is consistent with the purpose of the Winnipeg Foundation Martha Donovan Leadership Fund.

One competition is held annually. The application deadline date is November 1. If this date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

The Winnipeg Foundation Martha Donovan Leadership Fund will be administered through the Office of the Vice Dean Academic Affairs, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

Professional development supported by the Winnipeg Foundation Martha Donovan Fund must comply with University policies related but not limited to leadership development programs, travel etc.

The award recipient is responsible for the use of the funds and for any over-expenditure.

Winnipeg Foundation Martha Donovan Leadership Fund awards normally terminate after one year of the date of the award notification letter and any unspent funds will automatically be returned to the Winnipeg Foundation Martha Donovan Fund.  

Awardees may request in writing to have the period of the award extended. The request should go to the appropriate contact person in the Office of the Vice Dean Academic Affairs not later than one month prior to the end date of the award. Such requests must include a justification for the extension. Extensions will be allowed at most for 12 months.

Within three months of the completion or termination of the award, the recipient must submit to the Office of Academic Affairs: confirmation of attendance (certificate or receipt) and a final report.

The report should not exceed one page and should describe what was accomplished, and a summary of the awardee’s plans for next steps in leadership development.

Award-holders are requested to acknowledge the assistance of the Winnipeg Foundation Martha Donovan Leadership Fund in all publications and media coverage resulting from this support.