The Open Academy:
Royal Society of Canada Atlantic Region

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC), which counts among its members distinguished Canadian artists, scholars, and scientists, is committed to promoting learning and research in the arts, humanities, and sciences. The RSC embraces three responsibilities: to promote Canadian culture and scholarship; to recognize excellence in research and scholarship; and to provide advice on matters of importance to Canadians.

New Initiative: RSC Open Academy
Atlantic Canada Institutional Members

An “Open Academy” involves a small gathering of people in a public environment, the goal of which is to increase knowledge through the presentation and discussion of a stimulating topic of current interest arising from the arts, humanities, or sciences. The Open Academy is held in community-accessible spaces such as coffee houses, restaurants, recreation centres, provincial archives, museums, art galleries, Graduate Houses, or local libraries. In a sense, the organizers of the Open Academy form a partnership with their prospective venues, each of them benefitting from the opportunity to bring engaged members of the academy and the general public together to debate and discuss topics ranging from spirituality to ecology.

Open Academies are publicly advertised and are free to the general public. They will be organized around 2-4 experts in the field (for example, artists, scientists, scholars, or teachers) who have specialized knowledge of the topic under consideration. These individuals will act as a catalyst for public discussion, most frequently making short presentations themselves before engaging the audience and fellow presenters in an active analysis of issues. However, opportunities for engagement in the Open Academy do not exclude creative presentations such as plays, readings, art exhibitions, and visual showings that focus on a topic of current interest and generate public discussion in the context of the Open Academy.

Up to 15 Open Academies will be funded annually to Atlantic Canada host institutions (which must be RSC institutional members) in the next few years. See www.rsc-src.ca for a complete list of Institutional Members in the Atlantic region. The allocated budget per event is a maximum of $3,000.

Successful Applications Must Meet the Following Criteria:

• The topic must be of interest to the general public.
• The discussant(s) must have the relevant expertise to address the topic.
• The proposed budget must be realistic and avoid extravagance. The budget must be consistent with the candidate’s institutional travel policy (as applicable).
• The principal applicant must be at an institution that has RSC institutional membership.
• While the involvement of an RSC Fellow in the organization or actual discussion of an Open Academy is not essential, the RSC welcomes the participation of such fellows.
• Deadline for Submissions Applications are adjudicated on a continuous basis. Applicants can expect response from the committee within 30 days. Awards are to be used within 12 months of notification of a successful application and will require a brief follow-up report.
• After being filled out, the application form should be submitted using the ‘Submit’ feature on the form itself. If you have trouble with this they can be sent as a pdf by email to: spouliot@rsc-src.ca

1. Evaluation Criteria
2. Application Form