One helpful resource for a “ballpark” award amount is looking at the average awards for the GSC in previous competitions. The 2008 competition results are available here, slide 37 to 42. There is a lot of information in these slides. If you can take the time to attend the presentations of these slides at your institution (2008 Info Sessions) – do it! You’ll glean many tidbits of information from the NSERC speakers.

You can also contact your research services office to obtain information on the average awards for your GSC for your institution. Some institutions have better record keeping than others and may not be able to calculate this rapidly (or at all). Your department may also keep records. If you have the time and are very curious, you can also access the NSERC Awards Search Engine and calculate the stats yourself.