Competition year : 
2020-2021

Deadline (application) : 
March 1st, 2020 at 16:00 (EST)

Amount : 
1 000 $

Duration : 
Un versement

Attention

These program rules are now out of competition.

The call for applications for the theee Relève étoile Awards has been standardized during Fall 2022 and will now be offered only once a year.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The link to the FRQ electronic Portfolio can be accessed under Portal access on the website. More details are available in the About FRQnet section.

Note: In the event of a discrepancy between the English and French versions of this program, the French version prevails.

The Relève étoile Paul-Gérin-Lajoie Award is presented to research students by each of the three Fonds de recherche du Québec. This program refers to the Common General Rules (CGR). Only the special terms and conditions applicable to the Relève étoile competition are indicated in this document, and these prevail over the CGR.

An application that is incomplete at the competition deadline will be deemed ineligible by the Fonds.

Version updated on July 10, 2019

1. OBJECTIVES OF THE COMPETITION

The objectives of the Relève étoile Paul-Gérin-Lajoie Award are as follows:

  • Recognize the exceptional research contributions of university students (master’s, doctorate), postdoctoral fellows and members of professional bodies who are enrolled in advanced research training programs in the areas covered by the three Fonds de recherche du Québec;
  • Promote research careers in Québec;
  • Develop strong ties between the Fonds de recherche du Québec and the province’s student community.

2. AWARD

  • $1,000 awarded every month by each Fonds;
  • An overview of the recipient’s work (article, book or chapter, patent creation or performance) and a photo of the recipient will be featured on the website of the awarding Fonds www.frqsc.gouv.qc.ca.

3. COMPETITION FREQUENCY

  • Two competitions are offered per year, with deadlines on September 1 and March 1. When these dates fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is extended to the next business day;
  • Every month, each Fonds will announce a recipient from among the competition winners.

4. ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must meet all eligibility requirements on the competition deadline of March 1, 2020, 4 p.m. If the deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is extended to the next business day.

To be eligible for the competition, the applicant must meet the general requirements regarding citizenship and residence set out in Section 2 of the CGR and submit a project that has been released to the public for less than 7 months at the competition deadline. The project must be in the form of an article (in a journal with an editorial review board), a book or book chapter, a patent, a creation or a performance of which the applicant is the author.

Articles published electronically are eligible. Eligibility will be determined based on the electronic publication date; in the case of publication in paper form following publication of the electronic version, eligibility will be determined based on the online publication date.

For publication with several authors, the following rules apply:

If several students collaborated on a project in the same capacity and the published article explicitly states that the authors all equally contributed to the work, the students shall share the award;

If several students collaborated on a project in the same capacity (without being mentioned in the article) and their contributions are explicitly stated by the applicant on the application form, the students shall share the award.

Oral presentations and posters are not eligible.

Articles that are accepted or submitted for publication are not eligible.

One application per student per competition. A project may only be submitted once.

A student may receive the award only once.

5. EVALUATION CRITERIA

  • Demonstrate the project’s contribution to the advancement of knowledge in a sector covered by one of the three Fonds de recherche du Québec;
  • Demonstrate the project’s social relevance and /or benefits;
  • Demonstrate the ability to explain the subject matter in plain language;
  • The quality of the written language, the applicant’s actual contribution to the project and, in the case of an article, the quality of the journal, will be taken into consideration

6. EVALUATION PROCESS

Applications must be submitted to the Fonds that oversees the research sector identified by the applicant. Applications are assessed by a selection committee set up by the Fonds.

7. APPLICATION PROCESS

IMPORTANT NOTE: Applicants are advised to prepare their application well in advance to ensure that it is submitted before the deadline, given the large number of applications and requests received by the Fonds at the end of the competition period.

As indicated in the CGR (Section 3.1), the application must be sent to the appropriate Fonds by referring to the lists of research fields of the three Fonds. Should an error occur, the Fonds will not transfer the application to another Fonds and the application will be deemed ineligible.

The e-forms are available in FRQnet at least one month before the competition deadline.

Applicants must create an E-portfolio on the Fonds website before applying, if they have not already done so. Individuals who already have a personal identification number (PIN) have direct access to a FRQnet account and must update their E-portfolio profile.

As indicated in Article 3.6 of the CGR, the form may be completed in French or English, but the overview presenting the submitted project must imperatively be written in French. This may be used by the Fonds for promotional and dissemination purposes.

Documents to be attached electronically:

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

Important note: PDF documents must not be read protected or have special double tab configuration.

In addition to completing the various sections of the form, the following documents are required and must be transmitted from the “Other documents” section using the drop-down menu:

  • A copy of the project in .PDF format;
  • Documents for assessing the eligibility of the submitted project, clearly indicating*:

– the exact publication date of the project;

– its review by a review board (in the case of a journal article).

* Copy of an email or letter from the publisher, screen capture of the journal’s website on which the article is presented and/or the peer review report, or any other relevant supporting document.

  • PROOF OF ENROLMENT or CERTIFICATE

A document attesting that, at the time of application, the applicant is enrolled as a student at a Québec higher educational institution or at a higher educational institution outside of the Province of Quebec.

In the case of a postdoctoral fellow, a postdoctoral research certificate from the host environment is required.

  • VALID RAMQ CARD OR PROOF OF ELIGIBILITY FOR RAMQ OR OTHER OFFICIAL DOCUMENT

An applicant who is resident in Québec within the meaning of the Act respecting the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) must provide a copy of their medical insurance card, valid at the competition deadline, or proof that a new card has been requested from the RAMQ. A copy of an expired card is not accepted.

If the applicant does not have a RAMQ card, or a proof of eligibility for RAMQ, the applicant must provide:

o   Master’s and doctoral student: proof that he/she has been enrolled at a Québec university on a full-time basis (or equivalent) for 2 of the 3 academic terms prior to the competition deadline.

o   Postdoctoral fellow: copies of at least two documents proving that he or she has been living in Québec for at least 6 months of the 7 months prior to the competition deadline. Consult the List of accepted documents in the Toolbox.

The applicant is responsible for ensuring that all required documents have been included and submitted with the application. No document other than those listed here will be accepted. Any missing document will render the application ineligible.

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

At any time, applicants may verify in their E-portfolio that the most recent version of their application has been successfully submitted. The application file in “My forms” should be flagged as “Transmis au Fonds” before the competition deadline. This indicates that the application has been received by the Fonds.

Once the application form has been submitted, it will not be possible to resubmit or modify the application in any way regardless of the transmission date, even if it is before the competition deadline.

No reminder will be made, and no documents can be added after the competition deadline of March 1, 2020 at 4 p.m.

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. Any documents that are not required will not be submitted to the evaluation committee. Applicants will not be notified of any information or documents missing from the application. No documents received after the application deadline will be considered.

Documents to be sent by mail in a single shipment:

  • If it is materially impossible to transmit the project electronically in the E-portfolio, the applicant must mail three copies of the submitted project to the Fonds. The copies must be clearly identified with the applicant’s name. For all documents submitted by mail, the postmark or dated stamp of a messenger service will be considered proof of delivery before the deadline.

To receive their award, successful applicants will be asked to provide the following documents:

  • A photograph;
  • Administrative information.

8. MAILING ADDRESS

Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC)

Prix Relève étoile Paul-Gérin-Lajoie

140, Grande Allée Est, 4e étage

Québec (Québec) G1R 5M8

9. ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS

Award recipients will be contacted by the FRQ. A monthly announcement will also be made by news release.

10. RESEARCH DISCIPLINES

See the Discipline classification table  to learn more.

11. Research Areas

Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC)

  • Arts, Literature and Society
  • Writing and Fine Arts
  • Cultures, Religions and Civilizations
  • The Development and Functioning of Individuals, Communities and Social Living
  • The Economy, Employment and Markets
  • Education, Knowledge and Skills
  • Fundamental Issues and Meaning of Life
  • Organizational Management
  • Language and Languages
  • Media, Communication and Information
  • Living Environments, Planning and Appropriation of Human Spaces
  • The Nature, Transformation and Governance of Society and Institutions
  • International Relations and Development

Source: https://frq.gouv.qc.ca/en/society-and-culture/mission-and-research-fields/