David Phipps, assistant vice-president, Research Strategy & Impact, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation at York University and director of Research Impact Canada (RIC), was awarded two major honours this spring for his exceptional work and leadership:
- the top research administration award in Canada from the Canadian Association of Research Administrators (CARA); and
- the foremost international award from the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS).
“These awards are testimony to David’s decade-long development of research leadership, management and administration, knowledge mobilization and research impact at York University and with Research Impact Canada, Canada’s knowledge mobilization network,” said Amir Asif, vice-president research & innovation.
The Walter Hitschfeld Award
In June 2020, Phipps was bestowed the top honour from CARA, the Walter Hitschfeld Award, in recognition of his dedicated and outstanding contribution to CARA. For his exceptional impact on the enhancement of the research management setting in Canada and he will also be granted Honorary Lifetime Membership in CARA.
In order to be eligible for this award, the nominee should have at least seven years of professional research administration experience; the nominee's activities have made a significant contribution to the development of research administration in Canada; and the nominee has consistently contributed to the profession through active participation in CARA or on behalf of CARA, or to the corpus of research administration.
“David is a visionary leader and internationally acclaimed expert. His efforts and expertise have been instrumental in society's progression from seeing impact and Knowledge Mobilization in terms of traditional metrics like citation factors, to examining how research leads to change in organizations, communities and the wider world. This shift in how we see impact has not just been in relation to our roles as administrators in grant development and research dissemination, but for faculty as well, particularly in the social sciences and humanities,” said Deborah Zornes, president CARA.
“David is also a tireless supporter of excellence in research administration and its vital role in the research process. He richly merited CARA’s highest award and we are grateful to him for his successes, which not only advance research and the profession of research administration but also reflect back on York University and CARA,” Zornes added.
INORMS Award for Excellence in Research Management Leadership
Phipps’ second honour was the INORMS Award for Excellence in Research Management Leadership. This award, bestowed to him in May 2020, was established to recognize outstanding examples of research management leaders who have made substantial contributions to the research management profession internationally.
Nominated candidates for this award must be a current signed-up member of an INORMS association; able to show that their contributions are congruent with the objectives of INORMS; able to provide evidence of outstanding contributions to the research management profession; and able to provide evidence of how they will continue to provide visionary leadership in research management internationally.
“David has done much to internationalize the body of knowledge on research management, leading the way in the relatively new areas of knowledge mobilization and research impact. He has published widely, speaks around the world and has chaired many international committees and working groups. His visionary leadership in research management, on an international scale, makes him a deserving winner of this prestigious award,” said Stephanie Bales, Chair, INORMS 2020 Planning Committee.
To learn more about RIC, visit the website. Information about the Walter Hitschfeld Award can be found here. Information about the INORMS Award can be found here.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new animated video, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.
By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, York University, muellerm@yorku.ca