Evaluation and decision process
A total of 29 Impact Round applications were submitted by the deadline of February 28, 2025: 24 Impact Project proposals and 5 Living Lab proposals. Each proposal was then reviewed by the Volt-Age team for technical and eligibility errors and a report was issued back to the Principal Investigator of each proposed project. Teams were given three days to resubmit their applications correcting these errors.
Each proposal went through a rigorous two-step evaluation process that involved two distinct and independent adjudicating bodies: 1) Master Reviewers, and 2) Adjudication Jury.
Master Reviewers
The international pool of Master Reviewers was developed by the Volt-Age team. Master Reviewers were selected to participate for their experience and knowledge, including but not limited to: past involvement as chairs of NSERC and/or SSHRC evaluation committees, technical expertise in various fields relating to electrification (batteries and energy storage, smart buildings and grids, transportation, renewable energy systems), expertise in social innovation, entrepreneurship, and community partnerships, experience with Indigenous community engagement in research, experience with Living Labs, and expertise in environmental impact and resource management.
Master Reviewers were required to state conflicts of interest with the Volt-Age program as a whole, and also with each individually submitted proposal. Master Reviewers were not assigned to evaluate projects that they declared a conflict of interest with.
Two Master Reviewers were selected to evaluate each project – one with the expertise necessary to assess the technical aspects and a second with a complementary perspective. Each Master Reviewer completed a separate, independent evaluation of each proposal assigned using the Impact Project or Living Lab Project evaluation criteria (published December 2024) with space to add notes or comments
Evaluation Report and Proposal Analysis
Results of Master Reviewer evaluations were compiled by the Volt-Age team into a synthesized report. The report included a summary table of the Master Reviewer evaluations, as well as a brief analysis of the proposals looking at themes and platforms, areas or research and fields of study, and team makeup. This report, along with the full proposal dossiers (summary sheet, full proposal submission, and full evaluations), was sent to the Adjudication Jury. This report did not offer any commentary of any kind on the selection process or make any recommendations as to the projects that should be chosen for funding.
Adjudication Jury
The Adjudication Jury was comprised of representatives of the host and partner institutions, the Volt-Age Advisory Board, and topical experts, and have not been involved in other aspects of the adjudication process. The Adjudication Jury met virtually on March 25, 2025 and discussed the process and outcomes of the evaluation as well as the various elements to consider in selecting a balanced group of projects to fund through the Volt-Age Impact Round. The Jury requested additional qualitative and strategic assessment of some projects by senior Volt-Age leadership, with final recommendations of the VPRII of Concordia to be sent via email. A final decision was reached by consensus via email on April 1, 2025.
Adjudication Jury members
Tim Evans (chair) – Conflict of Interest form
Troy Jerome – Conflict of Interest form
Shelley Brown – Conflict of Interest form
Eva Keyhayia – Conflict of Interest form
Steven N. Liss – Conflict of Interest form
Xiaodong Liang – Conflict of Interest form
William A. Ghali – Conflict of Interest form
Sheldon Williamson – Conflict of Interest form
Norman Hébert – Conflict of Interest form
Volt-Age is grateful to the Master Reviewers and Adjudication Jury members for their time and support of the Impact Round evaluation and decision process.
