The University of Toronto's (U of T's) President’s Impact Awards (PIA) celebrate and honour faculty members whose research has led to significant impact beyond academia. The awards recognize contributions that emerge from academic scholarship and have fully realized, demonstrable impacts in any domain, for example on arts and culture, community involvement, the economy, education, the environment, health, an industry, law, professional practices or services, public engagement, public policy, or quality of life; the development of products, processes or services from inventions; or scientific or technological innovation that has been translated beyond the lab.
The PIA recognizes both individual U of T faculty members and teams of faculty members for demonstrable, sustained research impacts that may result from a single influential contribution or from an ongoing commitment to research translation.
We encourage and welcome nominations of colleagues university-wide in the arts and humanities, life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences and professional disciplines, whose outstanding impacts beyond academia are deserving of recognition.
U of T recognizes that diversity is essential to the creation of a vibrant intellectual community that allows our researchers to maximize their creativity, contributions and impact. The President’s Impact Awards are therefore strongly committed to recognizing diversity in research impact and especially welcomes nominations of racialized persons/persons of colour, women, Indigenous/Aboriginal Peoples of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ+ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas and impact.
Recognizing the breadth and depth of scholarship at the U of T, multiple PIAs may be awarded annually; the Selection Committee will seek over time to achieve a balance across disciplines and types of impact.
Nominations are prepared by Department Chairs, Academic Directors, Vice- or Associate Deans Research, or Vice-Principals Research and are to be endorsed by the individual nominee’s or team lead's academic division.
Recipients are determined by a process of internal review and selection by a committee chaired by the Associate Vice-President, Research.
President’s Impact Award winners receive a monetary award of $10,000 per year for five years to be used toward their research. Laureates are also designated by the University as members of the President’s Impact Academy, which advocates for sustained excellence in research and innovation impact within and outside of the University.
The Carolyn Tuohy Impact on Public Policy Award is one of the Awards of Excellence, an award program stewarded by Alumni Relations on behalf of the U of T Alumni Association. Due to their common aim to honour research impact, the Carolyn Tuohy and President’s Impact Awards share the same nomination process and are adjudicated by the same committee. Individual PIA nominees whose research impact is related to public policy may be considered for both awards, and the two may be won concurrently.
- Provide guidance on the nomination process
- Manage the online nomination form and selection process
Staff
Sarah Carson
