Postdoctoral Fellowships FRQ–Anticosti – 2023-2024

1. BACKGROUND

A partnership between the FRQ and Anticosti

The municipality of L’Île-d’Anticosti (hereinafter the “Municipality”), its partners on the steering committee for Anticosti’s nomination to the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada (hereinafter the “Committee”) and the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) as part of its research program to address major societal challenges are joining forces to establish a postdoctoral fellowship program on the geodiversity, biodiversity and societal aspects of a site aspiring to the designation of a World Heritage. The research is in line with UNESCO’s action plan for the next 50 years, which aims to ensure the resilience of World Heritage properties in the face of climate change and the sustainable development of protected sites. Located within a network of protected areas on Anticosti Island, the nominated site is made up of the proposed Anticosti biodiversity reserve, the Parc national d’Anticosti and two ecological reserves.

The Committee brings together representatives from the Municipality and several partners, including the Direction des aires protégées of the Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP), the Minganie Regional County Municipality (RCM), the Innu communities of Ekuanitshit and Nutashkuan and Nature Québec, whose overarching mission is to prepare Anticosti’s nomination for UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Committee is also focused on Anticosti’s development through means that include support for research and activities to transfer knowledge to the host community. When Anticosti Island is added to the World Heritage List, a non-profit organization will oversee all activities related to education, development and scientific research in the protected areas within the jurisdiction of the MELCCFP.

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS / CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

It is within the context of Anticosti Island’s nomination to the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada that the FRQ and the Municipality created a postdoctoral fellowship program to cover the salaries of awardees and part of the costs to conduct field research. Aimed at recent PhD graduates, the program provides career opportunities in keeping with UNESCO’s mission to enhance and preserve our world’s heritage and address the major challenges related to its resilience and sustainable development. The advancement of knowledge stemming from the research will serve to demonstrate the unique and exceptional character of the Anticosti site as part of the world’s natural and cultural heritage and to contribute to its preservation.

2.1 SPECIFIC MANDATE

The FRQ–Anticosti Postdoctoral Fellowships cover three research themes: i) the stratigraphy and paleontology of the first mass extinction of life at the end of the Ordovician; ii) the biodiversity and geodiversity of Anticosti’s protected areas; and iii) the societal aspects of the communities living on the nominated World Heritage site. Themes 1 and 2 are open by invitation only. Theme 3 is open to the entire academic community. In addition to their regular knowledge dissemination efforts, applicants must make their research project accessible to the public through means including presentations, visibility on social media and media interviews in collaboration with the Municipality.

Theme 1: First mass extinction of life at the end of the Ordovician. Anticosti has one of the most significant stratigraphic successions in terms of thickness and the most complete fossil record of the marine life of the period, covering nearly 10 million years of Earth’s history from the Upper Ordovician to the Lower Silurian, 447 to 437 million years ago. Anticosti’s fossiliferous outcrops make up part of the world’s most complete fossiliferous, stratigraphic and paleontological record of the Ordovician-Silurian (O-S) interval. Theme 1 is at the core of Anticosti’s nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The applicant’s expertise must be driven by an integrated approach to stratigraphy, paleontology and geochemistry to elucidate the impacts of the first mass extinction at the end of the Ordovician. The applicant must propose a project with a strong field component within Anticosti Island’s network of protected areas. The expected outcomes of the fellowship must include but are not limited to the publication of scientific papers, a conference for community members and a report containing a list of recommendations to preserve and enhance Anticosti Island’s fossil heritage presented to the Municipality.

Theme 2: Biodiversity and geodiversity within Anticosti Island’s network of protected areas. The proposed Anticosti biodiversity reserve, whose permanent protection status is currently pending, will preserve 95% of the nominated UNESCO World Heritage site and buffer zone. It consists of a coastal strip of nearly 550 km around Anticosti Island, as well as the sectors of Pointe-Ouest and Pointe de l’Est and the Rivière Jupiter watershed. The reserve’s conservation objective is two-fold: to protect ecosystems that are representative of the biodiversity and geodiversity of the island’s territory. The remainder of the nominated site is also included within protected areas where there is no industrial activity, namely Parc national d’Anticosti and the Pointe-Heath and Grand-Lac-Salé ecological reserves. The applicant’s expertise must be driven by the biodiversity and/or geodiversity conservation objectives of the Anticosti biodiversity reserve, which include but are not limited to knowledge acquisition for better conservation, management, restoration and enhancement measures for biodiversity and the Quaternary, as well as by objectives related to climate change and geodiversity. The applicant must propose a project with a strong field component within Anticosti Island’s network of protected areas. The expected outcomes of the fellowship must include but are not limited to the publication of scientific papers, a conference for community members and a report containing a list of recommendations to preserve and enhance Anticosti Island’s fossil heritage presented to the Municipality.

Theme 3: Societal aspects of the communities living on the nominated World Heritage site. Developed in conjunction with themes 1 and 2, Theme 3 aims to support research and development activities for the communities on the nominated site and the enhancement of the cultural and natural heritage through means including but not limited to local or island development, archaeology, tourism studies, social innovation and agriculture, agroforestry or aquaculture to encourage self-sufficiency and innovation in agri-food. The applicant’s expertise must be driven by their ability to transfer their results in a concrete manner to communities. The expected outcomes of the fellowship must include but are not limited to the publication of scientific papers, a conference for community members and a report containing a list of recommendations to preserve and enhance Anticosti Island’s fossil heritage presented to the Municipality.

3. ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must meet all eligibility requirements.

3.1 Eligibility period and target applicants

This program is aimed at applicants who:

• earned a doctoral degree up to three (3) years ago (maximum 36 months) at the competition deadline. Applicants who made their initial dissertation submission prior to the start of the postdoctoral fellowship are also eligible (see Section 7);

AND

• made an arrangement to be affiliated with a Québec university or research institution.

NOTE:

Applicants who earned a PhD from a university outside Québec are eligible.

Awardees must commit to lead research on a full-time basis during the fellowship period and comply with all program rules.

4. APPLICATION

IMPORTANT: For themes 1 and 2, applications are by invitation only. For more information, contact André Desrochers, scientific director of the steering committee for the nomination of Anticosti to the UNESCO World Heritage List at andre.desrochers@uottawa.ca.

For Theme 3, the e-form and required documents must be submitted via the applicant’s FRQ ePortfolio. In the FRQnet portal, go to Nature et technologies (managing agency). Documents sent by email or mail will be deemed ineligible.

DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY WITH THE APPLICATION

The e-form to be completed in the applicant’s FRQ-NT ePortfolio, which must include:

1. A detailed proposal (up to five (5) pages, excluding the bibliography, uploaded to the dedicated section of the e-form) highlighting the applicant’s skills and knowledge as they relate to the specific mandate and required skills. The project description must include a timeline.
2. An abridged CV (up to two (2) pages) sent as an attachment.
3. Two (2) references*.
4. The supervisor’s commitment form attesting to the affiliation arrangement with a Québec university or research institution (the supervisor identified in the Supervision section will receive an email to complete and submit the form).

Attachments to be included in the Other documents section:

1. A letter of interest in which the applicant explains how the fellowship fits into their university studies and career plan.
2. A document attesting to the submission of the applicant’s dissertation or a copy of the applicant’s doctoral degree.

NOTE:

*Up to two (2) letters of support may be included in the Other documents section (optional), in addition to the two references that are required.

All official documents submitted in a language other than French or English must include a certified translation. Any other documents submitted in a language other than French or English must include a translation.

5. FELLOWSHIP PERIOD AND AMOUNT

The fellowship period is one year and may be extended once for an additional year upon the acceptance of a satisfactory fellowship report submitted no later than nine months after the start of the fellowship. The award cannot be transferred from one year to the next. It is not retroactive, and months of research completed before the start of the fellowship period will not be funded.

Each awardee will receive $45,000/year, renewable for one year, with an additional $25,000/year to support the research project. The annual supplement is meant to cover eligible expenses directly related to the research project (see the Common General Rules for more information on eligible expenses).

5.1 Payment of the fellowship

The FRQ are responsible for the fellowship payments, which must be claimed every four months in the Manage my funding section of the ePortfolio. The first instalment will only be paid out when the FRQ have received a copy of the original doctoral degree certified by the registrar’s office or an official attestation that the awardee has submitted their doctoral dissertation.

5.2 Reporting

An activity report and a financial report on the $25,000 awarded to cover eligible expenses directly related to the research project (the format of which will be communicated in due course) must be submitted to the FRQ at the end of the fellowship period. The activity report must detail the strategies and activities undertaken to make the research project accessible to the public beyond the usual means of academic knowledge dissemination (e.g., presentations, visibility on social media and media interviews), in collaboration with the Municipality.

6. APPLICATION EVALUATION PROCESS

Eligible applications whose relevance has been confirmed by Committee managers will be submitted for scientific evaluation by committee members appointed according to current FRQ rules.

Phase 1: relevance assessment

All applications will undergo a relevance assessment to select the projects that best meet the specific mandate and required skills identified by the Committee managers in the call for proposals.

Relevance assessment criteria

Understanding of issues related to the specific mandate (50%)

• Relevance of the proposal
• Number and quality of publications and other knowledge transfer activities related to one or more issues under the specific mandate
• Excellence of the applicant’s academic record and integrated knowledge of the various aspects of the issues addressed by the partner
• Ability to translate the expected research results concrete proposals, solutions, recommendations or public initiatives

Feasibility of the fellowship, specifically considering the terms established in the call for proposals (25%)

• Relevance of the methodology
• Consideration of the specific mandate when developing the project
• Soundness of the project timeline

Knowledge dissemination potential and support for public policy or policy development (25%)

• Significance of dissemination and advisory experience, as highlighted in the CV and proposal
• Potential of outreach toward communities of users or practitioners as well as toward the general public (25%)

Phase 2: scientific assessment

Only a limited number of applications selected at the outcome of the relevance assessment will undergo a scientific assessment by an intersectoral panel made up of individuals recognized for their expertise in the research themes and appointed according to current FRQ rules.

Quality of the applicant’s academic record (35%)

• Research skills (scientific experience and achievements)
• Excellence of the applicant’s academic record (grades, scholarships, awards, etc.)

Scientific quality of project (50%)

• Clarity and coherence of the perspective, issue, methodology and objectives
• Potential feasibility of the project including the proposed timeline

Potential for integration of the internship project into the candidate’s academic path and career plan (15%)

To be recommended for funding, the application must 1) include all required documents; 2) be deemed relevant to the themes and tasks to be undertaken as part of the fellowship; and 3) obtain a minimum overall score of 70% in the scientific evaluation.

7. IMPORTANT DATES, ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE RESULTS AND START OF THE FELLOWSHIP PERIOD

February 9, 2023: application deadline

March 2, 2023: deadline for the pre-selection of applicants by the Committee and start of the FRQ’s evaluation period

April 3, 2023: end of the FRQ’s evaluation period

Mid-April 2023: announcement of the results

Mai 2023: start of the fellowship period

Should any of the postdoctoral fellowship positions not be filled, the call for proposals will be reissued. These rules apply to the 2023–2024 fiscal year.

8. TERMS OF THE FELLOWSHIP

To retain the fellowship, the awardee must:

• comply with the conditions related to domicile, be present in the host environment in accordance with the conditions set out with the fellowship supervisor for the duration of the fellowship period and dedicate themself to the postdoctoral research on a full-time basis. Failing to do so may result in the cancellation of the fellowship. If, for exceptional reasons, these conditions cannot be met, the FRQ must be notified as soon as possible and will determine whether the fellowship should continue or be cancelled. An annual four-week holiday is allowed;
• comply with the rules related to concurrent funding; and
• comply with the rules related to paid employment.

8.1 Concurrent funding

The fellowship may not be held concurrently with:

• awards based on merit from Canadian funding agencies (e.g., Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), etc.);
• awards based on merit from Québec funding agencies (e.g., Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS), Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT), Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture, Conseil de recherches en pêche et agroalimentaire du Québec (CORPAQ), etc.); or
• awards from the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA) or the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) for the same project.

The fellowship may be held concurrently with:

• awards from departments and agencies of the Québec and Canadian governments other than those listed above; and
• awards from the private sector and universities.

8.2 Paid employment

The awardee may accept additional paid employment provided that:

• the position does not exceed 250 hours of work per four-month period;
• the fellowship supervisor has provided their approval; and
• the position does not interfere with the research activities.

The FRQ consider that teaching a 45-hour course is equivalent to 150 hours of employment. Note that the same course given to two different groups during the same term is considered equivalent to two teaching tasks. A salary paid for working exclusively on the research project is considered a fellowship.

8.3 Changes to the project, host setting and/or supervisor or co-supervisor

As detailed in Section 6.5 of the Common General Rules, any change to the project, host setting or project supervisor requires prior approval from the Committee and FRQ.

8.4 Deferral and supplement during parental leave

For more information, refer to the Common General Rules.

9. IMMEDIATE OPEN ACCESS FOR PUBLICATIONS RESULTING FROM THE FELLOWSHIP

The peer-reviewed publications resulting from the research conducted as part of the fellowship must be released in immediate open access (without embargo) under an open license, in accordance with the FRQ Open Access Dissemination Policy.

10. KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION

The FRQ and the Committee encourage awardees to lead and contribute to knowledge mobilization activities (transfer, sharing, development, outreach and dissemination) in practice settings and for the public whenever relevant. For more information, click on the following link.

11. CONTACT

For the Fonds de recherche du Québec

Émilie Rochette

Program Manager

Directorate of Major Societal Challenges

Office of the Chief Scientist of Quebec

Telephone: 418 643-8560 ext. 4269

E-mail: emilie.rochette@frq.gouv.qc.ca

For the Municipality of Île-d’Anticosti

André Desrochers

Scientific director of the steering committee for the nomination of Anticosti to the UNESCO World Heritage List

Courriel : andre.desrochers@uottawa.ca