RIC Award


The 2026 RIC Engaged Scholarship Award for Graduate Students is now OPEN!

Research Impact Canada (RIC) is excited to announce that applications for the 2026 RIC Engaged Scholarship Award are officially open! This annual award celebrates outstanding examples of collaborative, community-engaged research that create real-world impact across Canada and beyond.

The application deadline is March 1, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET.

To check for eligibility, please view our list of eligible member institutions here.

This year (and moving forward), we’re broadening the invitation to non-university member organizations within the RIC Network.*

* Important Note: Graduate students affiliated with the non-university institutions in our network must be currently enrolled in or recently graduated within one year from a graduate program at one of RIC’s member universities to be eligible.

A magnifying glass held by a hand outdoors at sunset, focusing on exploration.

About Award

The Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award for Graduate Students (RIC Award) recognizes graduate students that conduct research projects following engaged scholarship principles. These principles lead to increased awareness of audiences beyond academia or changes in stakeholder actions, practices, guidelines or policies. This award recognizes engaged scholarship (“making research with the people who benefit from it”), co-creation of knowledge or integrated knowledge translation efforts among graduate students of our Canadian member institutions, regardless of discipline.

Join our mailing list to receive Research Impact Canada announcements in your inbox, including the call for applications for next year’s Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award.

2024 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award Winner (Master’s Category): Ronessa Dass

Ronessa Dass was awarded the 2024 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award for her project, Defining the impacts of brain fog in Veterans with chronic pain. About Project What did we study? Canadian Veterans are twice as likely than civilians to experience chronic pain. Despite a higher likelihood of experiencing chronic pain and comorbid conditions […]

Read More… from 2024 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award Winner (Master’s Category): Ronessa Dass

Celebrating Leadership in Knowledge Mobilization: Announcing the Winners of the Peter Levesque Award!

Research Impact Canada is excited to announce the winners of the Peter Levesque Award for Knowledge Mobilization Leadership. This award recognizes individuals and teams who have made significant contributions to advancing knowledge mobilization and building capacity for impactful research. The award was presented at the Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum 2024, held at the Grande Bibliothèque […]

Read More… from Celebrating Leadership in Knowledge Mobilization: Announcing the Winners of the Peter Levesque Award!

Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award – Master’s category

On May 24, 2023, Elisabeth (Lis) Huang, Research Impact Canada’s Bilingual Knowledge Mobilization Specialist, moderated a webinar from 1pm to 2pm ET. In this Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award webinar, our award recipients, Ashley Kyne, Jasmine Kowalewski, and Vida Forouhar, presented their research projects. Name Research project Ashley Kyne A Culturally-Informed Examination of Correlates […]

Read More… from Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award – Master’s category

Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award – PhD category

On May 15, 2023, Elisabeth (Lis) Huang, Research Impact Canada’s Bilingual Knowledge Mobilization Specialist, moderated a webinar from 1pm ET to 2pm ET. In this Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award webinar, our award recipients, Erin Ratelle, Indira Riadi, and Yehudis Stokes, and honourable mention, Yi Chien Jade Ho, presented their research projects. Name Research […]

Read More… from Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award – PhD category

2023 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award Winner (Master’s category): Ashley Kyne

Ashley Kyne was awarded the 2023 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award for her project, “Canada’s National Disgrace”: Identifying Risk and Protective Factors for Indigenous Offenders. About project Did you know Indigenous Peoples represent 4.5% of the Canadian adult population, but 26.3% of new admissions to federal prison? Compared to non-Indigenous offenders, Indigenous offenders are […]

Read More… from 2023 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award Winner (Master’s category): Ashley Kyne

2023 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award Winner (PhD category): Yehudis Stokes

Yehudis Stokes was awarded the 2023 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award for her project, Identifying, Measuring, Implementing, and Evaluating Trauma-Informed Care in Practice. About project Decades of evidence has demonstrated the enduring impact of trauma on individuals, families, and communities.  “Trauma-informed care” (TIC) is a philosophy that involves addressing the needs of individuals with histories […]

Read More… from 2023 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award Winner (PhD category): Yehudis Stokes

2023 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award Honourable Mention (Master’s category): Sarah Law

Sarah Law’s project, Resistance and Resilience in the Era of Ecological Grief, has earned her an honourable mention for the 2023 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award. About project Climate justice is a movement that fights for futures where no one is disposable or left behind. We fight for the equitable redistribution of wealth, the return […]

Read More… from 2023 Research Impact Canada Engaged Scholarship Award Honourable Mention (Master’s category): Sarah Law

Congratulations to the 2023 RIC Award Winners!

Congratulations to the winners and honorable mentions for the 2023 edition RIC Award!   The Award is dedicated to graduate students’ efforts in conducting research according to engaged scholarship principles. In 2023, the projects of three Masters students and three doctoral students are recognized. Meet the winners and honorable mentions!   Masters recipients   Doctoral recipients   Honorable Mentions   […]

Read More… from Congratulations to the 2023 RIC Award Winners!

Congratulations to the 2022 RIC Award Winners!

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners and honorable mentions for the 2022 edition RIC Award!  The Award is dedicated to graduate students’ efforts in conducting research according to engaged scholarship principles. In 2022, the projects of three Masters students and three doctoral students are recognized. Meet the winners and honorable mentions!  Masters recipients  Doctoral recipients  Honorable Mentions  […]

Read More… from Congratulations to the 2022 RIC Award Winners!