ENGAGE – 2026-2027

1. Background

The ENGAGE program is back. The Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) is once again offering this competition that places citizens unfamiliar with the research community at the heart of the scientific process and encourages Québec researchers to develop innovative citizen research and participatory science practices.

For the purposes of the ENGAGE Program, the FRQ uses the term “scientific process” to refer to all the steps aimed at producing new knowledge about a research problem, following a procedure based on the principles of neutrality and rigor and recognized by the scientific community.

The FRQ considers citizen research to consist of research activities that actively involve citizens and that generate new knowledge or a better understanding through the contribution of experiential knowledge.

Bridging the gap between science and society

The ENGAGE program allows citizens who are unfamiliar with research to familiarize themselves with, or even appropriate, the scientific method. The question proposed by the citizen (hereinafter referred to as the Citizen Question) serves as a starting point for forming a Duo with a researcher around a topic of common interest. The Duo co-constructs a project plan and an implementation plan drawing on both citizen and academic knowledge and the exploration of new research perspectives.

Recognizing the significant impacts of the projects funded to date and the great potential for knowledge mobilization by and for citizens, in 2023 the FRQ began offering the possibility of a third year of funding. This additional support allows Duos to hold various types of dissemination activities, especially with the general public, aimed at sharing their experiences and findings and the new knowledge generated by their project.

See the funded citizen science projects from previous years.

2. Objectives

ENGAGE is a science culture initiative with the following specific objectives:

• To initiate citizens who are largely or completely unfamiliar with the scientific process and actively involve them in research activities related to a question that interests them;
• To support the development of new citizen research and participatory science practices and help stimulate diverse research in Québec;
• To promote the democratization of scientific knowledge within Québec society.

The ENGAGE Program consists of 3 phases:

1.  – Startup phase (1 year): up to $15,000
2.  – Action phase (1 year): up to $30,000
3.  – Sharing phase (1 year): up to $15,000

The Startup phase focuses on the development of a participatory science process around the Citizen Question. The citizen is introduced to the scientific method, while the researcher learns about the citizen perspective. This phase involves:

• Integration of the citizen into the research team;
• Co-construction of the proposed Plan with the citizen, with a view to its implementation;
• Adaptation of research approaches and methodologies in line with the proposed Plan.

After presentation of a status report on the Startup phase (see Section 7), Duos can, if they wish, begin the Action phase. The main thrust of this phase is:

• The implementation of the Plan with the aim of increasing scientific knowledge related to the Citizen Question.

After presentation of a status report on the Action phase (see Section 7), Duos can, if they wish, move on to the Sharing phase. This final phase provides support for:

• Events, activities and initiatives for knowledge mobilization and exchange, particularly with the general public, in order to share the Duo’s experiences and findings and the new knowledge generated by their project.