Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa

Academic and Professional Development Fund (APDF) – Toronto/Windsor Unit

The purpose of the APTPUO Academic and Professional Development Fund (APDF) is to promote research and scholarly activities by part-time professors who are members of the APTPUO.

PLEASE NOTE, on May 8, 2023, the university began the transition to Workday, a human resource and financial management software solution. As you probably noticed, we’ve encountered a number of problems since the introduction of Workday. Among them is the procedure for submitting a request to the APDF. 

Since the fund’s creation, the Association has always been included into the application process, receiving a full copy of every application. In this way, the Association could ensure that the money intended for members was spent according to the fund’s guidelines.

However, the employer unilaterally modified the development fund procedure.  In doing so, the employer also cut off access to all documentation for the Association and its members.

A grievance was therefore filed to ensure that the Association again receives a copy of the documents relating to the development fund. 

The following procedure is therefore intended to be temporary, pending the outcome of the grievance.

INTERIM PROCEDURE

Pending a favourable resolution, here is the interim procedure for submitting a request to the Academic and Professional Development Fund. 

You must create a spend authorization via Workday to request funding from the Academic and Professional Development Fund. 

Please find below the user guide to help you create your spend authorization. Click here to download the guide. 

Managing-Academic-and-Professional-Development-Fund-Requests

To fully access Workday, you must connect to the university’s VPN. Click here for more information on the VPN.

If you encounter any issues with the creation of your spend authorization, you can contact the reimbursement team at: remboursement@uottawa.ca.

In your application, you must make sure that the following information is included:

General Information:

  • Name, employee number, email address;
  • Type of grant requested (conference or research/publication);
  • Proof of APTPUO teaching in the last 24 months;
  • Detailed budget and other sources of funding, if applicable;
  • Updated CV.

For a Conference Request:

  • Conference name, type, dates, location, relevance, etc.;
  • Type of participation (presenting or attending);
  • Proof of acceptance, if applicable;
  • Excerpt from the presentation, if applicable.
  • Pertinence of the conference to the applicant’s teaching and research.

For a Research Request:

  • A two-page description of the research project (objectives, methodology, research schedule, importance, link with applicant’s current teaching and/or research activities or dissertation);
  • A letter of support from the applicant’s department chairperson or from an established researcher in the field stating that the research being proposed is a valid and meaningful contribution;
  • An itemized budget for funds requested (with justification): the budget may include items such as research supplies, photocopying, postage, and research travel; if a research stipend is requested either for the applicant or for a research assistant, the applicant must follow the rules for payment of stipends (Appendix “F”);
  • Other sources of funding to which application has been made and results of such application.

For a Publication Request:

  • A two-page description of the work to be published, importance, link with applicant’s current teaching and/or research activities or dissertation;
  • Information about publication grants requested from other agencies, as well as the reports of expert evaluators requested by such agencies, or where the texts of such expert evaluations are not transmitted to the person requesting the grant, at least the granting agency’s decision on the application, together with its reasons for accepting or rejecting the application;
  • An itemized budget, or where the work has been published, full details of publication costs, amounts paid, and sources of these amounts;
  • Other sources of funding to which application has been made and results of such application.

Deadlines

For conferences: 

  • Normally, requests must be submitted two (2) months in advance and no later than 21 days prior to the conference;
  • An application may be taken into consideration if you can demonstrate that you were unable to submit your request in a timely manner.

For publications or research: 

  • No retroactive funding will be approved; 
  • Applications must be submitted in advance and you must wait for approval before disbursing any funds.

 

Limits of the APDF According to the Toronto/Windsor Unit’s Collective Agreement

On September 1 of each year, the Employer will provide an annual fund of $5,000 for the purpose of the Academic and Professional Development Fund. It is understood that the Employer reserves the right to approve additional amounts where the quality and number of applications are such that the fund is clearly shown to be insufficient. 

References: Article 18  (ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND) of the Collective Agreement.