FRQ Public-Private Partnership Research Chairs program (C3P) (pilot) 2022-2023

1. Objectives

In line with Québec’s economic recovery, the FRQ C3P program aims to support sustainable partnerships between private companies and Québec universities by developing research capacity and supporting a new generation of researchers in order to generate significant economic benefits for Québec.

The specific objectives of the C3P program are to:

• Support long-term partnerships between university researchers and private companies in Québec for the purpose of conducting high-calibre priority research;
• Strengthen the critical mass of researchers in Québec by supporting the competitiveness and career development of emerging university researchers with high research potential;
• Offer an inclusive, highly integrative training environment connected to the research needs of Québec’s private sector;
• Boost the leadership of Québec universities and private companies that implement innovative industry-focused research programs with a long-term, large-scale structuring effect;
• Contribute to Québec’s economic recovery while promoting the well-being of Québec society.

2. Nature and characteristics of a C3P

2.1 Nature

A Public-Private Partnership Research Chair (C3P) consists of two university researchers (principal investigators) acting as co-chairholders within the framework of a partnership established between a Québec university and at least one private company. One of the principal investigators is an early-career researcher. The C3P grant takes the form of two grants, one of which is held by each principal investigator.

2.2 Characteristics

At the time of submitting the notice of intent, the research program of the C3P is led by a principal investigator (PI1) who meets the eligibility requirements indicated below (Section 3.2). The first grant is awarded to the PI1.

Thereafter, the research program must be co-led by the PI1 and an early-career researcher (PI-EC). The eligibility requirements for the PI-EC are indicated below (Section 3.3). The second grant is awarded to the PI-EC.

To complete the CP3, the PI-EC must be brought on staff during the first fiscal year of the PI1 grant by the same managing institution as the PI1 in accordance with the institution’s internal procedures. The managing institution must therefore hire and make the first grant payment to the PI-EC in the same fiscal year as the awarding of the PI1 grant.

3. Eligibility requirements

The eligibility of the research program and of both co-chairholders must be maintained for the duration of the grant. Eligibility is determined based on the information and documents received in the funding application by the competition deadline (see Section 5).

The program rules and the CGR apply throughout the grant period. The eligibility requirements are detailed in the following sections and must be met throughout the evaluation process and for the duration of the grant.

3.1 Research program

The C3P’s entire research program must fall within one of the sectors covered by the Fonds de recherche du Québec.

3.2 dentification of the principal investigator (PI1)

The eligibility requirements for the PI1 listed below apply from the time the funding application is submitted.

The PI1 must:

• Be a Status 1 or 2 researcher as defined in the CGR AND
• Have assumed a career position¹ in a university on or before January 1, 2016 AND
• Occupy a permanent position in a managing institution recognized by the FRQ to manage funding AND
• Never have held an industrial research chair during his or her career as a university researcher.

¹A career position involves supervising students and conducting research in an autonomous fashion. Similar positions held outside Québec within this eligibility period must be included.

3.3 Identification of the early-career principal investigator (PI-EC)

The eligibility requirements for the PI-EC listed below apply from the time he or she is hired by the managing institution (after the awarding of the PI1 grant).

 The PI-EC must:

• Be a Status 1 or 2 research as defined in the CGR AND
• Have completed his or her doctoral and/or postdoctoral studies outside the managing institution AND
• Occupy a tenure-track position at the same managing institution as the PI1.

The PI-EC may be identified at the time of application or after the application is submitted. In either case, the PI-EC must be hired during the same fiscal year in which the PI1 grant is awarded.

IMPORTANT: The PI1 and PI-EC must be from the same Fonds (e.g., PI1-NT and PI-EC-NT).

3.4 Collaborators

Collaborators may contribute to the research program of the C3P. The definition of this role and CV requirements are provided in the CGR. Collaborators may be practitioners, government or private sector researchers, institutions, or international researchers. The PI1 should describe the role of the collaborator(s) in the C3P research program description. Collaborators may work in any of the research areas covered by the three Fonds de recherche du Québec.

3.5 Managing institution

The research program of the C3P must have the support of a university-level managing institution as defined in the CGR, which is considered a public partner. The details of the contribution of the university-level managing institution are defined in Section 3.8.

3.6 Industry partners

The research program of the C3P must have the support of one or more private companies, referred to as industry partners. An industry partner is a Québec organization as defined in the CGR. Industry partners must be registered with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec and must not be listed in the register of companies not eligible for public contracts (RENA).

The industry partner(s)’ commitment to the C3P includes cash and in-kind contributions (Table 1, Section 3.8). Industry partners participate in the development and implementation of the C3P research program and in the training of HQP. They will also be able to use and exploit the research results produced by the C3P.

The absence of a financial, legal or other relationship between each private company and the principal investigators is critical to enable the industry partners to provide an objective assessment of the progress of the C3P research program. Therefore, any PI who has a financial, legal or other interest in an industry partner will be considered to have a conflict of interest and will deemed ineligible.

By way of example, without being exhaustive, there is a financial, legal or other relationship between an industry partner and a principal investigator if the principal investigator:

• Is an owner or co-owner of the private company;
• Acts as an employee or consultant for the private company in any capacity, with or without compensation;
• Is a member of the board of directors of the private company;
• Is a family member of an officer of the private company or of a member of the board of directors of the private company (a family member may be related by blood, marriage, common-law relationship or adoption)
• Is in a position where there is a tension between his or her obligations to the research and his or her personal, professional, institutional or financial interest in the private company.

Each partner will be required to provide a Declaration of Interest identifying any relationship between them and the principal investigators. The FRQ expect transparency from both PIs and private companies and reserve the right to determine if there is a potential conflict of interest or to investigate in case of doubt.

3.7 Other partners (optional)

Other partners, either public or private, may also join the C3P (NPOs, government departments, etc.). Financial or in-kind contributions from these partners is optional and will not be included in the matching funds.

3.8 Financial contributions

Industry partners and the managing institution are expected to contribute as follows:

4. Contents of the funding application and required documents

This program has a two-step application process: the submission of a notice of intent (pre-application; Step 1) followed by the submission of a full application (Step 2). The notice of intent (pre-application) is a registration, and no eligibility assessment will be made at this stage. To access the funding application form, a prior notice of intent (pre-application) must be submitted before the deadline (Section 5).

All supporting documents attached to the electronic forms, including the Detailed Contributions, must comply with the standards presented in the Application Presentation Standards document of the Fonds. Failure to adhere to these standards could render the application INELIGIBLE.

The PI1 must update his or her profile by completing the self-identification questionnaire in the FRQnet portal. Canadian Common CVs must be updated in the appropriate FRQ format corresponding to the field of research of the principal investigators.

This program requires the CP1 to create a form at the time of application. Another form will be available by invitation only for the PI-EC once he or she has been hired by the managing institution.

The following documents are required with the application submitted by the PI1:

Electronic application form, duly completed including the following tabs:

• Description of the C3P (15 pages maximum): it includes a description meeting the 5 criteria for scientific evaluation (12 pages maximum including the list of references, tables and figures), followed by a description meeting the 3 criteria for benefits evaluation (3 pages maximum including the list of references, tables and figures if needed);
• Budget: Attach a PDF file containing a justification of planned expenditures (2 pages);
• Other documents:
  • A. Description of the candidate profile and recruitment process for the PI-EC (2 pages);
  • B. A letter from the managing institution indicating the alignment of the C3P’s research program with its strategic priorities, and confirming its support and contribution to the C3P;
  • C. A statement from the PI1 certifying that he or she has never held an industrial research chair during his or her university research career;
  • D. A letter from each partner confirming their commitment and contribution to the C3P;
  • E. A Declaration of Interest from each partner identifying any relationship between them and the principal investigators.

Le CV commun canadiens de la ou du CP1 ainsi que ses contributions détaillées des 5 dernières années (à partir du 01 janvier 2016) et mis à jour depuis juin 2020.

The following documents are required once the PI-EC has been hired:

• Electronic application form of the PI-EC, duly completed including the following tab:
• Other documents:
  • A. A letter from the managing institution confirming that the PI-EC has been hired in a tenure-track position;
  • B. Justification for the hiring of the PI-EC demonstrating the match between his or her profile and the profile defined in the initial funding application.

The Canadian Common CV of the PI-EC and his/her detailed contributions for the last 5 years (starting January 1, 2016), updated since June 2020.

5. Application process

The notice of intent (pre-application; mandatory) and funding application must be completed using the forms available in the principal investigator’s FRQnet E-portfolio. The notice of intent (pre-application) is a registration and no eligibility will be made at this stage. Only applicants who have submitted a notice of intent (pre-application) will have access to the funding application form. For the funding application, the completed form, all required documents and the Canadian Common CV and detailed contributions of the principal investigator must be submitted at the same time as the application form.

Deadlines for submission to the FRQNT:

• Notice of intent (pre-application; mandatory): September 28, 2021 at 4 p.m.
• Funding application (and all required documents): November 04, 2021 at 4 p.m.

IMPORTANT: The managing institution must approve the notice of intent (pre-application; mandatory) AND the funding application via FRQnet before they are submitted to the FRQNT. It is therefore likely that the applicant’s institution has set internal deadlines earlier than the actual competition deadlines. To find out the internal deadlines, contact the person in charge of research at your institution to ensure that all documents are submitted on time.

6. Application evaluation

6.1 Evaluation process

There are two stages to the evaluation process. First, each application that meets the eligibility requirements will undergo scientific assessment by an evaluation committee (EC) composed of peers and representatives from various public and private research organizations at both the national and international levels. The composition of each committee will be established according to the research areas of the applications submitted to the FRQNT.

IMPORTANT

The scientific evaluation has a passing score of 80%.

In the second evaluation stage, all funding applications that have passed the scientific evaluation will be evaluated on the basis of the added value of the research program for Québec’s economic recovery. This evaluation will be carried out by a multidisciplinary evaluation committee (MEC) whose composition will be representative of the Fonds and the research areas of the applications. The committee will rank the applications by merit.

6.2 Scientific evaluation criteria

Criterion 1: Excellence of the PI1 applicant (25 points)

• Breadth and impact of achievements and contributions in his or her field;
• Innovative research activities related to the research program of the Chair;
• Outstanding research leadership in his or her field and international peer recognition;
• Excellence of scientific track record;
• Outstanding contribution to the training of HQP;
• National and international collaborations;
• Established partnerships with the private sector.

Criterion 2: Research program of the Chair (25 points)

• Alignment of the objectives with the priority and strategic research areas of the institution and partner(s);
• Specificity, distinctiveness and uniqueness with the potential for disruption or significant (major) advancement in the field;
• Scope of the program and potential to drive the evolution of knowledge in the research area;
• Articulation, consistency of the proposed research thrusts with the objectives, and appropriateness of the planned activities;
• Realism of the time frame and budget.

Criterion 3: Quality of the partnership (25 points)

• Integration, complementarity, and involvement of the expertise around the program;
• Dynamic relationship between the industry partners, researchers, students and postdoctoral fellows, and opportunities for skills enhancement related to partner needs;
• Exemplary nature of the proposed governance model;
• Level of engagement of the institution and industry partner(s).

Criterion 4: Democratization of knowledge (20 points)

• Mechanisms put in place for dissemination, awareness and knowledge uptake among industrial partners, user communities, government members and the general public in an open science context;
• Outreach and promotion of the knowledge produced by the research program;
• Contribution to the achievement of one or more of the UN’s sustainable development goals.

Criterion 5: Consideration of equity, diversity and inclusion (5 points)

This criterion assesses the applicant or team’s efforts to promote equity, diversity and inclusion, not the composition of research teams*.

• Training: specific actions already taken and/or planned to promote EDI in the training of the next generation (recruitment, mentoring and career development practices, etc.);
• Research: where relevant, the consideration of diversity in the design and execution of research projects (research questions, methodology, etc.) and the dissemination and mobilization of knowledge to a diverse audience;
• Involvement: specific actions already taken and/or planned to promote EDI in the applicant’s community or field or within the research community in general (committees, inclusive scientific events, awareness activities, etc.).

*The applicant should not provide any information as to whether he or she, or members of the team, belong to marginalized or underrepresented groups.

For more information, please refer to the document on the consideration of equity, diversity and inclusion.

6.3 Benefits evaluation criteria

Criterion 1: Benefits for the next generation (40 points)

• Establishment of a diverse host environment to attract, integrate and train students and support the development of faculty careers;
• Number of students and postdoctoral fellows to be trained;
• Impact of the research environment of the C3P and the excellence of the PI1 on training quality;
• Potential for the development of cross-disciplinary skills and impact of planned interactions with the industrial partner(s);
• Anticipated structuring effect of the C3P on the career path of the PI-EC.

Criterion 2: Research benefits for innovation (30 points)

• Alignment of the program with community and partner needs;
• Anticipated knowledge and innovation benefits for the industry partner(s);
• Sustainability, structuring effect and prospects of the research area of the C3P in the Québec research and innovation ecosystem.

Criterion 3: Nature and significance of the benefits for Québec (30 points)

• Potential for the valorization and commercialization of innovation in the short and medium term;
• Impact on the competitiveness or positioning of the partner(s);
• Potential for attracting and retaining talent and creating new jobs;
• Anticipated benefits for the institution (enrichment of training, outreach);
• Contribution to the achievement of one or more of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (see FRQ Action Plan on Environmental Responsibility in Research).

7. Description and nature of funding

All eligible and non-eligible expenses are listed in Section 8 of the CGR. In addition, the following specific rules apply to the C3P program:

• The managing institution may use its contribution to pay an annual bonus or wage premium to the PI1 only, in accordance with institutional employment contracts or collective agreements;
• The C3P provides salary support for the PI-EC. The budget breakdown must provide for a maximum amount of $120,000 including benefits, which may be used to pay the annual salary of the PI-EC. This amount is not included when calculating the indirect research costs (FIR; Table 2);
• The budget breakdown must also include a minimum amount of $30,000 excluding indirect costs (FIR) to be administered by the PI-EC and dedicated to the research activities under his or her responsibility. Incidentally, a maximum amount of $33,000 excluding indirect costs (FIR) will be administered by the PI1 (Table 2);
• The financial contributions of industry partners are subject to the eligible expense rules in the CGR;
• The Fonds will provide an amount to cover the indirect costs of research (FIR). As indicated in the CGR, only the portion of the grant used for overhead and administration costs associated with the research activities will be considered when calculating the indirect costs. The portion of the grant used for the salary of the PI-EC is not included when calculating the FIR (Table 2).

8. Duration and management of the grant

8.1 Duration

Grants are awarded for a period of approximately three to five years and are not renewable. The fiscal year is from April 1 to March 31. The PI-EC must be hired during the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

8.2 Management

Any significant changes made during the funding period to the project as described in the initial application needs to be approved. The PI1 and PI-EC must indicate this change in their FRQnet E-portfolio and provide a brief justification for the change. Refer to Article.6.5 of the CGR for further details.

Any grant balance remaining at the end of the three to five years may be carried forward for one additional year. All unspent funds remaining after this additional year must be returned to the FRQNT.

8.3 Reporting and follow-up

Letter from the institution: The managing institution must provide the FRQNT with a letter confirming the hiring of the PI-EC during the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

Financial reports (CGR §7.1.): The managing institution must submit, no later than June of each year of funding, an annual financial report via the FRQnet Portfolio.

Partner contributions: An annual financial report of partner contributions must be submitted to the FRQNT via the FRQnet Portfolio.

Partner assessment: After three years of funding, partners must submit a document indicating their assessment of the progress of the research activities;

Progress report (CGR §7.2.): After three years of funding, the PI1 and PI-EC must submit a progress report via their FRQnet Portfolio. The progress report describes the progress of the work in relation to the objectives presented in the initial application and provides a follow-up of the implementation schedule, the budget, and the training of students.

Scientific report: Three months after the end date of the C3P, the PI1 and PI-EC must submit a scientific report in French via their FRQnet Portfolio. Distinct from the final report, the scientific report is shorter and provides a popularized presentation of the research results for use by the FRQNT. It includes an explanation of how the partners benefitted from their participation in the C3P. This report may be distributed in its entirety by the FRQNT. See the Intellectual Property section of this guide for further details.

Final report: The final report is administrative in nature and allows the FRQNT to document the impact of the grants it offers. The PI1 and PI-EC must complete and submit the final report, which is available in their FRQnet Portfolio, within 21 months after the project end date. The final report may be written in English or French. If the report is in English, it must be accompanied by a title and summary in French.

The governance model proposed for the C3P should include follow-up committees with the industry partner(s), on which the FRQ will not sit.

The FRQNT reserves the right to request additional documentation supporting the progress and governance of the C3P.

9. Intellectual property

The sharing of intellectual property rights and exploitation rights must comply with the principles defined by the Government of Québec in its Action Plan for managing intellectual property (IP) in universities and institutions of the health and social service network (MRST, 2002) and the CGR.

In addition to the CGR, the following guiding principles for IP apply to this grant program:

• Encourage the utilization of results of research funded wholly or in part by the FRQ for the benefit of Québec and Québec society;
• Promote the development of fruitful and productive partnerships and recognize the unique contribution each partner brings to the partnership while protecting the IP rights of all parties;
• Ensure that research results are published in the open literature. The FRQ do not support secret or classified research;
• Ensure that a student’s graduation is not impeded by IP issues. The FRQ recognize that a reasonable publishing delay may be necessary to secure IP rights such as patents;
• Support a researcher’s right to use his/her research results for non-commercial purposes in future research and in teaching.

In any agreement inherent in this grant, the parties must adhere to the following mandatory elements:

1. Confidential information: The confidential information of all parties must be respected. A partner’s proprietary data, commercially sensitive information and potentially valuable results or ideas must be protected from unauthorized, inadvertent or untimely disclosure. It is therefore incumbent upon the party or parties in possession of confidential information to share, in the course of the research program, only such information as can be handled in a manner compatible with the above principles;
2. Sharing of IP rights: Prior IP rights of all parties must be respected. Improvements to IP arising from the results of the research program shall be shared equitably between the parties;
3. Research results cannot be secret: Results of FRQ-funded research cannot be considered confidential information of the partner(s). The managing institution must give partner(s) the opportunity to review proposed publications. Publication of research results should not expose a partner’s proprietary information without the partner’s express permission to do so;
4. Academic progression: There can be no delay for the submission or defence of a student’s thesis.

The FRQNT’s guiding principles for PI include passages taken from or strongly inspired by NSERC’s Policy on Intellectual Property as it appeared on the NSERC website on April 1, 2019, with the agency’s authorization.

10. Announcement of the results

The multidisciplinary evaluation committees submit their recommendations to the Board of Directors of the FRQNT, which makes the funding decisions. All decisions made by the Board of Directors of the FRQNT are final and cannot be appealed. Funding decisions are communicated at the end of April 2022.

Grants are contingent on the allocation of funding by the Québec National Assembly and the decisions of the Board of Directors of the FRQNT, and may be modified at any time without prior notice. It is therefore highly recommended that no funding be committed before it has been officially announced.

It is strictly forbidden to contact the members of the assessment committees or scientific advisors for information on the competition results. All of the above have signed a confidentiality agreement in which they have agreed not to divulge any of the information gained during the course of their mandates. All discussions are also subject to confidentiality rules.

11. Effective date

These rules apply to the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

12. Contact person for this program

Catherine Dhont
Program Officer
C3P Program
Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies
418 643-8560, poste 3460
c3p@frq.gouv.qc.ca