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I believe the most important thing to be done to better understand the impact of the postdoctoral fellowships, and the future path it should take, is to track those who have held a fellowship. Did they get jobs? Did they get good jobs? Did they get jobs in Canada? Which aspects of the experience worked and which were disappointing or frustrating? To what degree did the choice of postdoctoral institution and sponsor help or hinder subsequent career stages? Further, new applicants should be asked (confidentially, of course, with their response being detached from the application itself) to indicate why they are seeking the fellowship. Is it a back-up plan, just in case no job offers materialize? Or is the postdoctoral fellowship the candidate’s first choice for a next step? If so, why? What are the perceived advantages and disadvantages to delaying entry into a traditional academic career path? Without such vital information from both past and current applicants, no rational decisions can be made about what, if any, changes to SSHRC’s Postdoctoral Fellowships program should be contemplated.
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