Research-creation Support Program (RC) (2021-2022)

1. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

The Research-Creation Support program has the following objectives:

• Support quality research-creation within the context of projects carried out by an individual (Individual Project component) or a group (Team Project component). In both cases, the person in charge of the project (principal investigator) must have University Researcher status, (CGR, Definitions – Status and Roles) and must be recognized for his/her research-creation work;
• Support research-creators in the development and advancement of their careers;
• Contribute to the research-creation training of students at every level and improve the quality of their supervision while encouraging them to develop their own practices.
• Facilitate the transmission, presentation and dissemination of the experimentation and/or results of research-creation projects of all types to students, peers and the general public;
• Promote the integration of individuals with University Researcher status working in research-creation into institutional research and training missions, research-creation networks and relevant practice settings, on national and international levels;
• Contribute to the visibility and recognition of Québec research- creation and the people who are conducting it.

The Fonds uses the term research-creation to designate any research process or approach that fosters creation and aims at producing new easthetic, theoretical, methodological, epistemological or technical knowledge. All of these processes and approaches must include, to varying degrees (depending on the practices and temporalities specific to each project):

1) Creative or artistic activities (design, experimentation, technology, prototype, etc.)

AND

2) The problematization of these activities (critical and theoretical analysis of the creative process, conceptualisation, etc.).

As there can be no research-creation without give and take between the work of art and the creation process by which it exists, the Fonds requires that the creative or artistic activities and their problematization be carried out by the same person.

For the purposes of the Fonds, a research-creation approach is based on:

• A sustained creative or artistic practice;
• The problematization of this creative or artistic practice;
• The transmission, presentation and dissemination of the experimentation and/or results of research-creation projects of all types to students, peers and the general public.

Specifically, the research-creation activities carried out under this program must contribute to:

• The development of productions or works resulting from a creative or artistic practice, provided that they offer an element of renewal or innovation in terms of approach, process, technology, materials, form of presentation or experimentation, repertory or interpretative style. These productions must lend themselves to problematization leading to the development of new aesthetic, theoretical, methodological, epistemological or technical knowledge;
• The training of research-creation students;
• Greater recognition of individuals working on research-creation within their institutions and in national and international artistic and cultural environments and communities;
• The enrichment of the cultural heritage of Québec, Canada and/or the international community.

For the purposes of this program, performance in the context of a theatrical, choreographic or musical presentation is considered to be creation provided that it is innovative and gives rise to a problematization.

The following do not qualify for this program:

• Performance for the purpose of the interpretation or analysis of artistic works or productions;
• The development of productions resulting from an artistic or creative practice that are not accompanied by problematization leading to the development of new aesthetic, theoretical, methodological, epistemological or technical knowledge.

In keeping with its Knowledge Mobilization Strategy, the Fonds encourage funding recipients to carry out such activities (sharing, valorization, dissemination, etc.) for the general public, whenever such activities are relevant in the context of their research.

In accordance with the Fonds de recherche du Québec open access policy for the dissemination of research, all funding recipients must agree to provide open access to their scientific publications no later than 12 months after publication. To learn more about the FRQ’s requirements on this subject, please visit our page on open science.

Finally, the Fonds de recherche du Québec wish to contribute to supporting a research ecosystem based on equity, diversity and inclusion. Measures have been put in place to strengthen the integration of these principles. Funding recipients are also encouraged to consider them in the context of their research activities. For more information, please visit our website.

2. COMPONENTS

2.1 Team Project component

The purpose of the Team component is to promote and consolidate collaboration between individuals working on research-creation, research, creation or as professional artists in order to foster new research-creation initiatives.

This component’s specific objectives are to:

• Facilitate the networking of individuals with complementary expertise or training likely to lead to new research-creation perspectives;
• Increase Québec’s research-creation capacity by facilitating interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration.

The person in charge of the team project application (principal investigator) must be known to work in research-creation.

2.2. Individual Project component

The purpose of the Individual component is to support researcher-creators working individually, while encouraging them to train a new generation in their field.

3. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Eligibility of the principal investigator

With this program, the Fonds is targeting creators and artists working as university research professors who are able to present both a portfolio of productions resulting from an artistic or creative practice and a body of theoretical or scientific contributions.

The person in charge of the application (Individual or Team component) must have the status of university researcher (CGR, Definitions – Status and Roles), be recognized for his/her work in research-creation and meet all eligibility requirements set out in the CGR.

Only researchers corresponding to definition i)* of Status 1 of the CGR (university researcher) qualify for the role of principal investigator of a team.

* Researchers employed according to definition ii) of Status 1 of the CGR are not eligible to assume the role of principal investigator under this program.

3.2 Team configuration

To be eligible, a team must include, in addition to the principal investigator, one or more co-investigators with any of the statuses applicable to grants (CGR, Status and Roles):

• University researcher;
• Clinical university researcher;
• College researcher;
• Other research statuses: only c) Practitioner and d) Artist.

At least 50% of the co-investigators, including the principal investigator, must have one of the first three statuses applicable to grants:

• University researcher;
• Clinical university researcher;
• College researcher.

Teams that do not meet all these criteria are ineligible.

College-level co-investigators for whom a release from teaching duties and/or statutory supplement is being requested must be identified by the principal investigator in the completed application form. The following information must be provided for each college-level co-investigator invited to join the team (see also sections 4.1 Forms and 7.2 Supplements):

o   The name of the person receiving the release from teaching duties and/or statutory supplement and his or her home college institution,

o   An estimate of the amount claimed for the teaching release, if applicable,

o   The statutory supplement request, if applicable¹,

o   The role played by the recipient in the project,

o   Justification of the use of the funding allocated specifically for the recipient’s involvement in the project.

In addition to co-investigators, a team may include collaborators with any of the statuses applicable to grants (see CGR, Definitions – Status and roles) as well as researchers outside Québec. However, individuals with the training award statuses defined by the CGR are not eligible for the role of collaborator.

The activities of the research-creation project, under both the Individual or Team components, must include undergraduate, master’s and/or PhD student training.

3.3 Participation in more than one research-creation project

No individual can be the principal investigator for more than one funding application (Individual component or Team component). However, it is possible to be part of more than one funding applications as follows:

• as principal investigator under the “Individual component” and co-researcher in one or more teams under the “Team component”,

OR

• as principal investigator under the “Team component” and co-researcher in one or more teams under the “Team component”.

These possibilities are intended to enable teams to access all of the expertise required to carry out their research-creation projects. Individuals participating in two or more projects must clearly explain and justify their contribution to each project.

¹Reminder: this amount must not exceed 50% of the college-level co-investigator’s gross annual salary, or be greater than $40,000. For more details, refer to the Program to release college researchers from their teaching duties program rules

4. SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION

As indicated in Section 3 of the CGR, applicants attest that the information provided is accurate and complete and agree to respect the rules and principles set out in the Fonds de recherche du Québec Policy for the responsible conduct of research. Applicants authorize their institution to transmit any personal information in accordance with this policy, if applicable.

As indicated in Section 3.1 of the CGR, the application must be sent to the appropriate Fonds by referring to the list of Research areas of the three Fonds.

A grant application consists of:

• The application form available in the E-portfolio;
• Required documents, attached to the application form;
• A creation portfolio, uploaded to the FRQSC’s cloud.

4.1 Forms

Forms are available in the FRQnet portal no later than one month before the competition deadline.

It is the applicant’s sole responsibility to choose the right application form, the right funding program and the right Fonds for their application. In the event of an error in any of these respects, the Fonds will not transfer the application and the application will be deemed ineligible, either when assessed for eligibility or by the evaluation committee.

As indicated in the CGR (Section 3.6), forms may be filled out in French or English. However, the title and abstract must imperatively be in French. This information will be used by the Fonds for promotional and dissemination purposes.

Pages in excess of the number permitted in each section of the application will be removed from the application before submission for evaluation.

The Fonds recommends using the presentation standards set out in the Detailed Contributions file to format the research project description, bibliography and justification of planned expenditures.

Applicants may include links to web pages as bibliographic references, where relevant. These web addresses may also be listed in the bibliography. However, the application must not be based in whole or in part on online content available to members of the evaluation committee.

The following forms and documents are required:

• THE “RESEARCH-CREATION SUPPORT” FORM (Recherche-création / Individuel OR Recherche-création / Équipe);

• For co-investigators with statuses 1, 2 and 3 (CGR, Section Status and Roles), THE CANADIAN COMMON CV and DETAILED CONTRIBUTIONS attachment: The Canadian Common CV and “Detailed contributions” attachment file are available in the Toolbox section on the fellowship program page or directly in the “Activity details” box in the E-portfolio. The Canadian Common CV—”Fonds Société et culture” version—must be updated within the 12 months prior to the competition deadline. The Detailed Contributions file must be completed in due form and attached to the application in the appropriate section of the E-portfolio. To ensure that the attachment is properly transmitted to the Fonds, it must be saved in PDF format under “Canadian Common CV” in the E-portfolio.

Only the official “Research-Creation Support” form (in FRQnet, entitled “Recherche-création / Individuel” or “Recherche-création / Équipe”), the FRQSC version of the Common Canadian CV with its Detailed Contributions attachment, and the other required documents will be accepted.

NEW: as of this year, college researchers who are identified as co-investigators no longer need to complete a form at the full application stage. If the application is successful, and following the acceptance of funding by the principal investigator, a form to be completed by the college researcher will be made available in his or her e-Portfolio.

More information on this new procedure can be found in the Program to release college researchers from their teaching duties program rules.

4.2 Required documents

All required documents to be submitted with the application form must be grouped and scanned (PDF file) into a single document for each of the appropriate sections in the “Activity details” box.

The following documents must be transmitted from the ”Other documents” section:

1. For co-investigators in categories c) and d) of Status 4, an abridged CV (max. 3 pages).
2. Retired co-investigators must provide a letter from the university indicating that prior to retirement the researcher was a regular professor, and that for the term of the grant, he/she will have access to the facilities and logistical support required to carry out research activities and will continue to train/supervise students, where applicable. An insufficiently documented letter could render the retired researcher ineligible.
3. If the full realization of the submitted project is dependent on participation in an event, a detailed letter of invitation or agreement with the organization concerned must be included.
4. If the submitted project is dependent on a partnership, a letter demonstrating the existence of said partnership must be included. This letter can take different forms, ranging from a letter of support from the partner to a formal agreement co-signed by the applicant or the team and the partner. It is suggested that the documents submitted for this purpose be concise (a few pages at most) and explicit about the nature of the partnership and the role of the parties involved.
5. If applicable, proof of registration or invitation to participate in a workshop, lecture, colloquium, meeting, biennial arts festival, festival, symposium or any other event of this type.

THE APPLICANT MUST NOT FORGET TO TRANSMIT THE APPLICATION AFTER COMPLETING AND VALIDATING IT.

ATTENTION: At this stage of the application process, the Fonds requires the approval of the managing institution. It is the applicant’s responsibility to find out the internal deadline for submitting applications set by his or her managing institution and to ensure that the application is transmitted to the Fonds before the competition deadline.

At any time, applicants may verify the transmission status of their application in the “My forms” section of their E-portfolio:

• The form will be flagged “Transmis à l’établissement” once the applicant has transmitted the application to the managing institution;
• The form will be flagged “Transmis au Fonds” once the managing institution has transmitted the application to the Fonds.

4.3. Creation portfolio (mandatory)

A portfolio is required, illustrating the principal investigator’s creative achievements, as well as those of the co-investigators, in the case of the Team component. Each item in the portfolio must be related to the proposed project.

IMPORTANT: The compressed digital creation portfolio (ZIP file) must be identified as follows:

LAST NAME OF APPLICANT_APPLICATION NUMBER.

It must be uploaded before the competition deadline to the FRQSC’s cloud:

https://cloud.frq.gouv.qc.ca/u/d/d5505cc5bfd545eeb196/

The digital file must be smaller than 9.8 GB.

The creation portfolio must be transmitted in digital form, with all its component documents assembled into a single compressed file (ZIP file). It must include a brief description of the items presented (one-page PDF document), establishing the relationship between each item and the submitted project. This document must allow easy identification of the different items making up the creation portfolio. The creation portfolio may include files of various formats: PDF, MPEG, PNG, MP3, MP4, MOV, etc. A press kit may also be included (PDF document). It is not recommended to only provide links to one or more websites. The inclusion of internet references should be considered an exception.

The person evaluating the application should not need to spend more than twenty minutes reading and assessing the creation portfolio.

The Fonds will issue an acknowledgement of receipt within 5 business days after the transmission of the digital file to the FRQSC’s cloud. It is the applicant’s responsibility to verify and follow up if necessary, before the competition deadline. No documents will be accepted after this date.

Applicants are requested to send their accompanying documents only once, in their final version. In case of duplicate transmission resulting from a manipulation error, the most recent version will be considered for the evaluation.

If the portfolio cannot be transmitted in digital form, the applicant must notify the program officer and mail all documents being submitted for evaluation in triplicate to the following address:

Programme Appui à la Recherche-création
Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture
140, Grande Allée Est, bureau 470
Québec (Québec) G1R 5M8

The Fonds will keep the submitted documents for a period of 90 days from the date on the letter announcing the results of the evaluation. After this time, unless otherwise requested, they will be disposed of.

The Canada Post postmark or the dated stamp of a messenger service will be considered proof of submission before the deadline of October 9, 2020.

Any missing documents will render the application ineligible.

An incomplete application that does not contain the information necessary to establish eligibility or which cannot be evaluated will be deemed invalid by the Fonds. Applicants will not be notified of any information or documents missing from the application and no reminder will be made. Once an application has been transmitted to the Fonds, it cannot be updated. Any documents that are not required will not be submitted to the evaluation committee.

The FRQSC reserves the right to verify the authenticity of all documents and information provided in the application with the organizations concerned.

All applications received by the Fonds are assessed for eligibility. A notice will be sent via email no later than December following the competition deadline, informing the applicant of the status of his/her application and, where applicable, its transmission to the evaluation committee.

Applicants whose application package is deemed incomplete or invalid will be notified by email that their application has not been transmitted to the evaluation committee.

5. APPLICATION EVALUATION

As indicated in Section 4 of the CGR, the Fonds receives funding applications, checks their eligibility and submits them for evaluation by multidisciplinary committees whose members may be from Québec, elsewhere in Canada or abroad, and are known for their expertise in the artistic disciplines and practices concerned. The committee may call on outside experts if necessary.

Research-creation project descriptions must be written in such a way as to be easily understandable in a multidisciplinary context. The role of the evaluation committees and the conditions governing funding decisions are specified in the CGR (Sections 4.4 and 4.5).

Evaluation committees use the FRQSC Scores and Ratings Grid.

To be recommended for funding under either program component, an overall score of 70% is required. In addition, a score of 70% is required for the Research-creation project criterion.

Applicants are advised to attach equal importance to both the evaluation criteria and their associated indicators.

Funding applications are evaluated according to the following criteria, indicators and weighting:

5.1 Evaluation criteria, indicators and weighting for Team component

Research-creation project – 50 points

• Originality and impact on the development or renewal of the field, based on the state of knowledge* (15 points)
• Problematization of the creative or artistic practice, and appropriateness of the methodology for the stated objectives (15 points)
• Realism of the time frame and budget estimates and feasibility (10 points)
• Relevance of the dissemination plan (10 points)

* In the case where the submitted project is a continuation of previous research funded under this program, the added value of new funding must be shown.

Expertise of team members and relevance of the group – 30 points

• Quality of research-creation achievements and activities, peer recognition and renown (networking activities, scholarships, communications, student supervision**, exhibitions, organization of conferences or similar events, performances, publications, individual or group works, meetings, residencies or exchanges, shows, grants, symposia, etc.) (10 points)
• Alignment of group member’s expertise; complementarity and balance of skills (10 points)
• Efficacy of planned coordination and collaboration methods and leadership ability of the principal investigator (10 points)

** Depending on the potential for supervision offered by the institution.

Research-creation training – 20 points

• Educational value of the activities offered to research-creation students*** and diversity of the tasks and responsibilities planned for that purpose during the project (workshops, symposia, concerts, conferences, exchanges, radio broadcasts, exhibitions, festivals, rencontres, shows, etc.) (10 points)
• Measures proposed during the project to allow students to develop original or autonomous research-creation practices (10 points)

*** Beyond what is normally provided by the study program.

5.2 Evaluation criteria, indicators and weighting for Individual component

Research-creation project – 50 points

• Originality and impact on the development or renewal of the field, based on the state of knowledge* (15 points)
• Problematization of the creative or artistic practice, and appropriateness of the methodology for the stated objectives (15 points)
• Realism of the time frame and budget estimates and feasibility (10 points)
• Relevance of the dissemination plan (10 points)

* In the case where the submitted project is a continuation of previous research funded under this program, the added value of new funding must be shown.

Expertise – 30 points

• Quality of research-creation achievements and activities, peer recognition and renown (networking activities, scholarships, communications, student supervision**, exhibitions, organization of conferences or similar events, performances, publications, individual or group works, meetings, residencies or exchanges, shows, grants, symposia, etc.) (20 points)
• Relevance of the achievements, research-creation activities, experience and training to the project (10 points)

** Depending on the potential for supervision offered by the institution.

Research-creation training – 20 points

• Educational value of the activities offered to research-creation students*** and diversity of the tasks and responsibilities planned for that purpose during the project (workshops, symposia, concerts, conferences, exchanges, radio broadcasts, exhibitions, festivals, rencontres, shows, etc.) (10 points)
• Measures proposed during the project to allow students to develop original or autonomous research-creation practices (10 points)

*** Beyond what is normally provided by the study program.

6. TERMS OF THE GRANT

The conditions regarding the announcement of funding are set out in the CGR (Section 5).

IMPORTANT: Any significant changes made to the initial application during the funding period must be reported in the FRQnet E-portfolio and an email must be sent to the program officer, justifying the changes (CGR, Section 6.5).

The funding recipient is also required to approve the annual financial reports produced by his or her managing institution within three months after the end of the Fonds fiscal year (March 31), i.e. by June 30 (CGR, Sections 6.2 and 7.1). In addition, the recipient must update his or her file in the E-portfolio before the end of March each year, indicating any significant changes.

The funding recipient is required to complete and transmit a final report, available in the E-portfolio, within 12 months after the end date of the grant (CGR , Section 7.2). If a final research report is not submitted within the prescribed time, the funding recipient is not eligible to receive new funding from any of the three Fonds de recherche du Québec.

Finally, if at the end of the grant period, the funding recipient wishes to claim the right to obtain an additional year to spend the remaining balance of the grant, as set out in Article 6.10 of the CGR, he/she is invited to complete the section provided for that purpose in the financial report due in June following the end date of the grant period.

7. DESCRIPTION AND NATURE OF FUNDING

7.1 Operating grant

The financial support is an operating grant of up to $50,000 per year, for a maximum of $150,000 for 36 months. The grant is complementary to other sources of research funding (e.g. grants, contracts, sponsorships and other funds available for research).

The grant must be used to cover current expenses directly related to the production and dissemination of the results of the research-creation project.

All budget items listed in the CGR (Section 8) are eligible with the following exceptions:

• Expenses arising from the promotion or marketing of artistic works;
• Self-publishing costs.

Indirect costs of research (known by the French acronym FIR) (see Section 8.2 of the CGR) are transferred to the managing institution by the FRQSC. They are funded in addition to the amount awarded for the research-creation project.

7.2 Supplements

Each of these supplements, when presented in the budget, must be justified in a document attached to the application form.

Supplements for college researchers

These supplements are subject to budget availability under the  Program to release college researchers from their teaching duties (CHC). Individuals wishing to take advantage of this program are invited to read the complete CHC program rules.

1) Release from teaching duties

This amount of up to $40,000 per year, which is paid directly to the college institution, covers a portion of the salary related to a release from teaching duties for a college researcher involved in an application funded by the FRQSC.

Under no circumstances can the funding represent more than 50% of the college researcher’s gross salary¹.

A college researcher may be awarded several teaching releases, but their total must never exceed the maximum amount of $40,000 per year.

An application submitted under one of the programs that allow a release from teaching duties for college researchers may include several college researchers wishing to obtain a teaching release.

2) Statutory supplement

This supplement of $7,000 per year is awarded to a college researcher with the role of co-investigator in an application funded by the FRQSC.

A college researcher with or without a release from teaching duties is eligible for a statutory supplement, with no stacking limit².

The statutory supplement is exclusively intended for the college researcher, to cover research-related expenses that are not funded by the college.

• Interregional supplement*: $2,500 to $10,000 per year per interregional team. This supplement is intended to defray distance-related expenses (travel and living expenses, videoconferencing, etc.) between regular team members including students involved in the team’s work. To qualify as interregional, a team must include co-investigators working in different universities than that of the project leader and located in distinct administrative regions, as defined by the Government of Québec. Applications for the supplement for interregional teams are evaluated according to the justification for interregional team support in relation to expressed needs. Maximum $2,500 per university, excluding the managing institution, for a total of $10,000

* The Fonds reserves the right to analyze the geographic distribution of the co-investigators before awarding this optional funding.

• Supplement for knowledge mobilization: additional funding of up to $7,000 per year may be granted under the Individual Project or Team Project component to support transfer initiatives (e.g. dissemination activities, exchanges and knowledge-sharing between researchers and users, etc.). Applications for the supplement for transfer support are evaluated according to the justification for transfer support in relation to expressed needs.

• Equipment supplement: A supplement of up to $30,000 to be paid out in the first year of funding may be awarded under the Individual or Team component for the acquisition (purchase or rental) of equipment. Other expenses related to equipment acquired through this supplement may also be eligible; these are listed in the CGR (Sections 8.6 and 8.8).

Applications for the equipment supplement are evaluated according to the following criteria:

• The relevance of the equipment to the research-creation activities;
• The availability of similar equipment at the university or in other institutions in the area;
• The importance of the equipment to the researcher-creator’s institution;
• Anticipated equipment use time.

With the exception of the supplement for college researchers, supplement requests are assessed qualitatively by the peer committee during the application evaluation process. The committee makes a positive or negative recommendation for supplemental funding and, if positive, also recommends the amount to be awarded, which may be less than that requested.

8. DURATION OF FUNDING

Grants are awarded annually for the period from April 1 to March 31. They are awarded for a maximum of three years and are not renewable.

9. EFFECTIVE DATE

These rules apply to the 2021-2022 fiscal year.

Version updated on the website July 9, 2020.