Elements

DiscoverResearch is a new online tool to highlight, celebrate and promote U of T's scholars. It provides faculty with a customizable online profile, allowing them to share their achievements with the public. Faculty are able to control what is publicly visible on their profiles by logging into Elements, which is the back-end environment that populates DiscoverResearch.

You need an Elements profile to have a public profile on DiscoverResearch. Faculty can input data into Elements, while having control over what is publicly viewable, and take advantage of the multiple fields that are connected to a direct data feed. Items like publications, and research grants are all automatically updated on the Elements profile. Elements also offers report extraction options for CV’s and bio sketches. With the release of the reports, Elements can be used as an online CV tool, where faculty can include all the details they would include on an academic CV and DiscoverResearch is the limited public view of those activities. Faculty also have the option to use Elements in the background for CV purposes and not have a public profile on DiscoverResearch or have a very limited public profile.

In August 2025, MedIT released the custom TFoM CV Report in Elements, marking the first release of eight standardized reports aligned with TFoM promotion formats. This release is accompanied by a comprehensive suite of training materials and a new delegate access process to assist faculty in updating their profiles. 

Training resources are organized by report type, in order of rollout. Download the guides relevant to the reports you are currently working on.

CV Report  --  Released August 25, 2025

• Elements TFoM CV Report – A Data Entry Guide -- A comprehensive guide to entering data in Elements to populate your TFoM CV Report.
• Understanding Your TFoM CV: Template and Mapping -- See how your Elements data maps to each section of the TFoM CV template.
• Understanding Your TFoM CV: Template and Mapping (DoM Only) -- Department of Medicine-specific version of the CV template and mapping guide.
• Elements Modules Mapped Infotypes: CV Report -- A reference showing which Elements modules and infotypes feed into the CV Report.

Creative Professional Activities (CPA) Report  --  Released September 22, 2025

• Elements TFoM CPA Report – A Data Entry Guide -- Step-by-step guidance for entering Creative Professional Activity data in Elements.
• Understanding Your TFoM CPA: Template and Mapping -- See how your Elements data maps to each section of the CPA Report template.
• Elements Modules Mapped Infotypes: CPA Report -- A reference showing which Elements modules and infotypes feed into the CPA Report.

Annual Activity Report (AAR)  --  Released March 9, 2026

Training materials for the AAR will be published here as each report is released.

• Understanding Your Elements TFoM AAR: Template and Mapping - See how your Elements data maps to each section of the Annual Activity Report template.

• Elements TFoM Annual Activity Report (AAR) - A Data Entry Guide - Guide for entering Faculty of Medicine Annual Activity Report data

Teaching & Education Report (TER) -- Coming March 2026

Training materials for the TER will be published here as each report is released.

• Understanding Your Elements TFoM TER: Template and Mapping - See how your Elements data maps to each section of the Teaching & Education Report template.
• Elements TFoM Teaching and Education Report (TER) - A Data Entry Guide - Guide for entering Teaching and Education Report data in Elements

Coming in Early 2026

The following summary reports are in development. Training resources will be added as they become available:

• Refereed Publication Data Summary Report
• Research Award Data Summary Report
• Research Supervision Data Summary Report
• Teaching Data Summary Report

Other Helpful Resources

• Elements Modules Mapped Infotypes (All Reports) -- An overview of all Elements modules and their corresponding infotypes across all report types.
• Export All Records Within an Elements Module -- Instructions for exporting your data from any Elements module.
• Community & Support (SharePoint) -- Access the broader U of T DiscoverResearch community space for peer support and updates.

Faculty members who work with non-UofT personnel -- such as hospital-based assistants -- can authorize a delegate to assist with managing their Elements profile. Delegate access includes:

• Provisioning of a UTORid for the delegate
• Access to the faculty member’s Elements account
• Profile linking between the faculty member and their delegate
• Enrollment in DUO Multi-Factor Authentication

All delegate requests are reviewed and approved by MedIT. To request delegate access, complete the form on the Elements Support page.

Elements training webinars are being offered to the Department of Medicine as early adopters of the system. Training for other TFoM departments as well as sessions tailored for Elements Champions are expected to be announced in Summer 2026.

• General webinar sessions -- open to DoM faculty and staff with an Elements profile

Sign Up for Training

• Elements Webinar Sign-Up form

• Elements Champions webinar sessions -- tailored for Champions
  • Session date/time: To be announced
  • Registration: To be announced

Elements Champions

We’re looking for faculty and staff at clinical sites interested in becoming Champions for the Department of Medicine of the Elements platform -- acting as a point of contact within their division or clinical site to support colleagues in adopting and using this CV curation tool. Champions will receive focused, additional support to set them up for success.

By volunteering as a Champion, you agree to the following:

Key Responsibilities

• Your contact information will be shared with colleagues within your division and/or at your clinical site.
• You will serve as a point of contact for questions about basic functionality and troubleshooting within Elements.
• You will act as the liaison between your colleagues and MedIT (TFoM) for bug reports and change requests -- submitting them on behalf of colleagues and following up once MedIT responds.

Support Provided to Champions

• Invitations to all general Elements Webinar training sessions.
• Invitations to Elements Webinar training sessions tailored specifically for Champions.
• Access to a dedicated Elements Community of Practice -- a space for Champions to share best practices, ask for help, and connect with one another. The Community of Practice is moderated by MedIT staff, who will also provide direct support to Champions when needed.

To become a DoM Elements Champion, please complete the Elements Champion Sign-up form.

Provide Your Feedback

We want to make sure we continue to improve the way we support you as we transition to the Elements platform. Your feedback is critical to helping guide our efforts.

Please take a few minutes to complete the Elements Community Feedback form to help us understand what’s working well and how we can continue to improve.

Thank you for your continued engagement as we continue to roll out the Elements platform!