CAGS is pleased to offer a NEW workshop for graduate students, postdocs, and early career researchers to develop their research project management skills and advance the progress of their thesis or dissertation.

Tens of thousands of project teams around the world draw upon the same set of tools and processes to manage their projects. However, the tools and processes that work very well in many other settings must be adapted to work for research and other projects with high uncertainty. On top of this, the sheer volume of project management guidance available can make it challenging for research team members to determine which project management tools to apply, and when and how to apply them.

This 90-minute webinar, developed by Dr. P. Alison Paprica, PhD, PMP, explains how to use three one-page project management tools to plan and manage research:

1. The work breakdown structure (WBS): a one-page tool to establish a common high-level understanding of research scope expressed in terms of deliverables.

2. The deliverable-based Gantt chart: a one-page tool to describe when and how the deliverables of the research will come together.

3. The deliverable-based tracking sheet: a one-page tool to identify emerging risks and drive progress at a more granular level during the implementation phase of the research.

These project management tools will be useful for graduate students looking to build transferable skills, researchers who want to simplify research program management and strengthen grant applications, and research administrators who are responsible for planning and managing research and teaching at the institutional or departmental level.

The webinar concludes with a ~20-minute question and answer session with participants.

Tickets will be sold for $15.00 CAD (no tax), and will include participation in the 90-minute training session, all associated materials, and an official certificate of completion. CAGS is a registered charity, and all ticket proceeds will go towards covering the costs of the workshop series.

Tickets are available to graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and other interested parties from CAGS member institutions, and will be sold until the capacity of the workshop has been reached.

NOTE: Une version en français du webinaire sera offerte le mercredi 28 janvier de 13 h à 15 h (HE). A French-language version of the webinar will be offered on Wednesday, 28 January from 1:00-3:00 PM (ET).

Registration closes on Friday, 23 January 2026

Dr. Alison Paprica, PhD PMP, is a Senior Fellow and Professor (adjunct) at the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and the Principal of Research Project Management (RPM).

She holds a PhD in Chemistry (Western, 1994), an Honours Combined BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry (McMaster, 1989), and, most recently, a BA in Philosophy (McMaster, 2025).

Previously, Alison was a member of the Executive Committee at Health Data Research Network Canada; the inaugural Vice President, Health Strategy and Partnerships at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence; and Director, Strategic Partnerships at ICES. From 2010 to 2013, she was the Director of the Planning, Research and Analysis Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Health, where she was responsible for up to $60 million annual applied health research investment and in-house knowledge mobilization activities to bring research findings into policy and practice. Before working in the public sector, Alison held scientist and management positions at three international pharmaceutical R&D companies.

Alison is an early adopter of project management and among the first 3% of the more than 1.4 million people who hold Project Management Professional (PMP) certification worldwide. As a strong supporter of research, and expert practitioner of project management, she has developed and delivered courses, webinars, and workshops focused on the leadership and management of research to over 1,700 people, including for the University of Toronto, the Canadian Evaluation Society, CIHR Health System Impact Fellows, NSERC-funded CREATE programs, the SSHRC Partnerships Grant Start-Up Meeting, and many others.

In partnership with University of Toronto Press, Alison published Research Project Management and Leadership: A Handbook for Everyone in 2024.