Postdoctoral Training (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) / 2021-2022

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In your application, you will be able to describe how the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected your training or research activities during the past few months, in order for this information to be considered in the evaluation. Please refer to the document “Considering the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the evaluation of funding applications” for further information.

REMINDER
In addition to these program rules, it is the responsibility of the applicant to financial support to consult the Common General Rules (CGR) of the Fonds de recherche du Québec, which apply to all FRQS programs. If special conditions apply to this program, they are described below and take precedence over the CGR.

Objectives

This postdoctoral training program is aimed at Canadian citizens and permanent residents domiciled in Québec or in another Canadian province. Citizens of other countries must select the postdoctoral training program for citizens of other countries.

The purpose of this program is to help doctorate (Ph.D.) holders to enhance their training and broaden their fields of interest. It is also aimed at encouraging these researchers to experience new scientific environments, to acquire new research methodologies and management and communication skills, and to supervise students. The FRQS assumes that the postdoctoral supervisor will mentor applicants in developing their university career.

Important note: It is the responsibility of the applicant to choose the right program and the right form for the award application. No program transfer will be made following the file eligibility review.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
DURATION OF THE AWARD
AMOUNT OF THE AWARD
OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING
CHANGE OF TRAINING LOCATION, RESEARCH PROJECT, STUDY PROGRAM OR SUPERVISOR
EVALUATION
FINAL REPORT
COMMITMENTS
OPEN ACCESS
KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION
EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
IMPORTANT MODIFICATIONS SINCE THE LAST COMPETITION
AWARDS IN PARTNERSHIP

1. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Eligible applicants	Applicants with a doctoral degree (Ph.D.). Applicants must have obtained their doctoral degree less than two years ago on October 15^th, 2020 (except for renewal applications). Canadian citizens or permanent residents domiciled in Québec, within the meaning of the Quebec Health Insurance Act (RLRQ, c.A-29) Canadian citizen from a province other than Québec This status must remain in effect for the duration of the award.
Terms and conditions	Must pursue full-time postdoctoral training in human health sciences research Must be supervised by a university researcher or clinical university researcher(as defined in the Definitions section of the Common General Rules) If the candidate’s supervisor is located outside of Québec, that person should still meet the criteria of university researcher or clinical university researcher in terms of university affiliation and autonomy (see the definition section of the Common General Rules). The supervisors and co-supervisors must be different than those who supervised the applicants during their PhD studies and should not be affiliated to the university at which the applicants earned their Ph.D. Applicants that did not submit their doctoral thesis at the time of applying must provide, no later than December 30^th, 2021, an attestation that the thesis has been submitted.
Training location	Applicants must choose a host university other than the one at which they earned their Ph.D., preferably outside Québec. An exception may be made in the case of major family obligations, a disability or for serious health reasons. Following analysis by the Fonds, an applicant may be authorized to propose a postdoctoral research project at the same institution that awarded their doctorate. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide the necessary explanations and relevant supporting documents (medical certificate, certificate of disability, proof of tax credit for caregivers, etc.) in the section “Justification du lieu de formation” of the electronic application form. To use a training award outside Québec, applicant must have : a valid RAMQ card or proof of eligibility for the RAMQ a Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) card that is valid at the competition deadline or proof of eligibility for RAMQ covering the competition deadline AND Canadian citizenship at the time the application is submitted. Permanent residents and Canadian citizens from provinces other than Québec must choose a training location in Québec. Awardees must complete their research training in the physical location of the host institution. Distance learning is not allowed.
Exceptions	The eligibility period could be extended by a maximum of one year if the candidate has been on a parental leave after the doctorate. A 12-month extension may also be granted in the case of serious illness or major family obligations after the doctorate. If an applicant is person with disabilities in accordance with the Act ensuring handicapped persons their rights for academic, professional and social integration (L.R.C. chapter E-20-1), the rules pertaining to program registration do not apply.
Restrictions	Not eligible : Those who hold an academic position, unless they take unpaid leave for the duration of the training award. An official letter confirming their employment status for the period and stating that they will resume their position once the training is completed should be provided by the employer Individuals who have received or are currently receiving a postdoctoral training award from a Québec granting agency (e.g. FRQNT, FRQS, FRQSC) are not eligible for this competition (except renewal application) Applicants are not eligible for a renewal if they have already received 3 or more years of postdoctoral fellowships since the initial offer of the FRQS postdoctoral fellowship, regardless of the granting agency
Basic research ethics training	Basic research ethics training is mandatory for all FRQS awardees conducting research projects that involve human beings. Research on human beings involves: Participation of human beings Use of human biological materials (parts, products, tissue, cells, genetic materials, derived from a living or dead individual) Assisted procreation activities or the use of human embryos derived therefrom, within the meaning of the Act respecting clinical and research activities relating to assisted procreation (CQLR c. A-5.01) The use of administrative, scientific or descriptive data from human participants Awardees must therefore successfully complete levels 1 and 3 of the Online Tutorial in Research Ethics developed by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux. This training must be completed within one year of the date of confirmation by the FRQS that the award was granted. The FRQS encourages awardees to follow a one-credit research ethics training course in addition to the mandatory basic research ethics training, whenever possible.

2. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

HINT: Take the time to read in the Toolbox the document Tips for filling out your application. Without being exhaustive, these valuable tips are based on recurring comments made by the evaluators. They therefore point out critical elements for the evaluation of your application.
By October 15, 2020, 4:30 pm (EDT) Documents sent via mail or e-mail will not be accepted Letters of recommendation will not be accepted Transmission via the FRQS electronic Portfolio only Any document missing or non-compliant with program rules and electronic forms, but deemed crucial for eligibility or evaluation, makes the funding application ineligible. Applicants will not be contacted to provide the missing documents or information. Any document received after the submission deadline will not be added to the application file as no update is allowed once submitted. Any unrequested document transmitted with the application will be removed from the file before its evaluation. No extension will be granted. After the deadline application, forms that are not already submitted will be automatically rejected. Any official document submitted in a language other than English or French must be accompanied by a certified translation of the original. Any other document submitted in a language other than English or French must be accompanied by a simple translation. IMPORTANT : Once the application is submitted, it will no longer be possible to modify it.
Applicants	Canadian Common CV, Funding CV version, for the FRQS (updated since June 2019); Detailed contributions updated since June 2019 (attachment required through the FRQS Electronic Portfolio on the Canadian Common CV page), consult the document entitled Guidelines for the CV attachment in the Toolbox IMPORTANT and crucial for evaluation : in the CCV : scholarships or fellowships must be listed in the Research Funding History section, and honours and distinctions in the Recognitions section; in Detailed contributions : summary table regarding scholarships/fellowships, honours and distinctions at a university level, must be filled as reported in the appropriate sections of the CCV. Electronic application form : Formation postdoctorale (citoyens canadiens et résidents permanents) / Postdoctoral Training (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) PDF version – for information A copy of doctoral degree. If not available, a copy of official doctoral transcripts (except for renewal applications) (crucial for eligibility) Copy of a Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) card that is valid at the competition deadline OR proof of eligibility for RAMQ (official RAMQ document before the issuance of the card) covering the competition deadline OR evidence of eligibility to the health care plan of another Canadian province covering the competition deadline (except for renewal applications) (crucial for eligibility) Acknowledgements from publishers for articles that are submitted or accepted for publication (crucial for eligibility) Candidates will be notified by email regarding the eligibility or ineligibility of their applications in November.
Research supervisor (and co-supervisor, if applicable)	Canadian Common CV, Funding CV version, for the FRQS (updated since June 2019); Detailed contributions updated since June 2019 (attachment required through the FRQS Electronic Portfolio on the Canadian Common CV page), refer to the document entitled Guidelines for the CV attachment in the Toolbox Supervisor’s electronic form (and co-supervisor, if applicable) PDF version – for information
At the start date of the award
At the start date of the award and annually thereafter	The awardee must submit (by email, PDF file): a written confirmation of the beginning or the continuation of the project from the research supervisor
Before the start of the second year of the award	To start the second year of the award, the awardee will have to provide (by email in a single PDF document): ethics training certificates (levels 1 and 3), if applicable

3. DURATION OF THE AWARD

Effective date	Between May 2021 and January 2022, on the first day of the month.
Duration	2 years and possibly 3 years, conditional upon the evaluation of a renewal application. Renewal may be requested only once. Applicants are not eligible for a renewal if they have already received 3 or more years of postdoctoral fellowships since the initial offer of the FRQS postdoctoral fellowship, regardless of the granting agency.
Conversion in a start-up grant	Awardees who obtain a regular faculty appointment at the professor level in a university located in Quebec, may after at least one full year of postdoctoral funding, use a portion of their award as a start-up grant. A maximum amount of $15,000 may be converted into a grant. To benefit from this measure, awardees must contact directly the person responsible for the program at the FRQS. The rules for the use of this grant are the same as those provided for the Starting grant for new investigators (see Research Scholars program rules).
Parental leave	The awardee may benefit from an award payment deferral during parental leave (maternity, paternity or adoption) for a maximum period of 12 months as described in Section 6.13 of the Common General Rules. Awardees must fill out the Award payment deferral form (Report de versement de bourse), accompagnied by the documents supporting the leave, to inform the FRQS of their intention to receive a supplement to their award for a parental leave. The FRQS reserves the right to reject any request that is not properly justified.
Sick leave or other reasons	Awardees may defer their award due to illness or other reasons provided by the Loi sur les normes du travail as described in section 6.14 of the Common General Rules. Awardees must fill out the Award payment deferral form (Report de versement de bourse) to indicate the length of time and reason for the deferral request and include a medical certificate when applicable. Payments will be suspended during this period and will be rescheduled at the end of the award. The FRQS reserves the right to reject any request that is not properly justified.
Acquiring relevant experience	It is possible, for each full year of funding provided by the FRQS, to suspend and postpone the award installments for a maximum of 4 months in order to acquire relevant experience (working with a research team, acquiring teaching experience in the awardee’s field of study or research, language development trip, etc.). These installments are then rescheduled at the end of the funding period. Deferrals with the goal of acquiring relevant experience can be consecutive if they are approved by the research supervisor. To benefit from this measure, the award holder must submit a request to the FRQS by filling out the Award payment deferral form (Report de versement de bourse). Furthermore, the research supervisor should provide a letter confirming his or her agreement and the relevance of the paid activities that are involved. The FRQS reserves the right to reject any request that is not properly justified or relevant. As stated in section 6.5 of the Common General Rules, any change in an award holder’s status must be reported in the Manage My Funding module of the ePortfolio.

4. AMOUNT OF THE AWARD

Amount	$45,000/year* except in some cases (see section on Awards in partnership) A $10,000* supplement is added for postdoctoral training outside of Québec.
Administration	The award will be paid to the awardee by installments. There are three installments per year. Instalments are conditional upon receipt of all required documents and compliance with eligibility requirements.
Cancellation of an installment or the scholarship	If all the required documents are not received or if the eligibility conditions are not met within two months of the start of the trimester and if no request for postponement has been received, the FRQS will cancel the instalment for that trimester. The FRQS will terminate the scholarship if instalments must be cancelled for two consecutive trimesters due to missing documents or failure to meet the eligibility requirements.
Income Tax	The awardee is responsible for paying the income tax due on amounts received from the FRQS. No taxes are withheld at source by the FRQS on amounts disbursed during the taxation year in question. The date the amount is granted determines the year in which the awardee must declare the amounts received as income for personal tax calculations. Revenue Canada’s T4A slip and Revenu Québec’s RL-1 slip are made available in the Manage My Funding module of the FRQS ePortfolio in February of the year following the taxation year in question. The details provided in this form are for information purposes only. The FRQS is not responsible for the validity of the information given about income tax.
Indirect Costs of Research	This program does not benefit from the amount paid out by FRQS to cover indirect costs of research of the institutions.

5. OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING

Authorized paid work	Maximum of 250 hours per 6-month period Requires the research supervisor’s permission and the work must not interfere with the awardee’s research activities.
Additional funding	Awardees may accept additional funding from the institution or their research supervisor. It is the responsibility of the FRQS award holder to check whether this kind of additionnal funding is allowed by the institution or the research supervisor.
Concurrent funding	Holding several scholarships is not allowed. Applicants who obtained an award from another public agency or a foundation recognized by the FRQS must notify the FRQS and decline the FRQS funding as soon as the award is offered. However, if the amount value of the other award is lower than the one given by the FRQS, the awardee is eligible to receive the amount needed to make up the difference between the two scholarships.
Research internship	Holding an FRQS training award concurrently with a research internship from another organization and that is not part of the training program of the awardee, is allowed under certain conditions. For internships of $ 5,000 or less, awardees must notify the FRQS by email before the beginning of the internship. For internships of $ 5,000 and more, awardees must ask the FRQS for authorization by completing the Internship authorization form (see Toolbox) before the internship begins. If the internship is approved, it will be allowed either to 1) combine the training award and internships amounts or 2) defer the amount of the FRQS award for a period equal to the duration of the internship or a maximum of 6 months.
Travel expenses	The travel expenses (one return economy airline ticket) of awardees and their close family (spouse and children) carrying out their projects in institutions located outside Québec may be reimbursed upon the presentation of supporting documents, as long as these expenses are not reimbursed by another organization.

6. CHANGE OF TRAINING LOCATION, RESEARCH PROJECT, STUDY PROGRAM OR SUPERVISOR

Awardees who wish to change their research project, supervisor, program or training institution must submit to the FRQS the Change of research project, supervisor or training location form (see Toolbox) and the required documents in a single PDF file.

As stated in section 6.5 of the Common General Rules, any change in an award holder’s status must be reported in the Manage My Funding module of the ePortfolio.

For the sake of fairness, the Fonds ensures that the requested modification does not call into question the scientific evaluation of the original application and that it complies with the eligibility conditions and the rules of the program. The modification request is analyzed by the Fonds for approval, if applicable. The Fonds may decide to continue, reduce, suspend or terminate the payments. The Fonds may also require the reimbursement of the sums already paid to the candidate. The decision is shared by email.

The FRQS reserves the right to reject any request that is not properly justified or relevant.

7. EVALUATION

Process	All applications are reviewed by committees of experts representing various health research disciplines and methodologies.
Criteria and weighting First application	Quality and scientific value of the research project – Clarity of the research problem and concordance of the hypotheses and objectives – Relevance of the methods and analyses – Feasibility – Originality of the project and contribution to the advancement of knowledge	30 97 7 7
	Quality of the training environment – Justification of the candidate’s choice – Quality of supervisor’s publication record related to student training record	15 5 10
	Excellence of academic record – Scholarships/fellowships, honours, and distinctions	15 15
	Skills and experiences – Publications – Lectures, presentations and internships	40 30 10
Criteria and weighting Renewal application	Research project’s state of advancement since the start of postdoctoral training – Level of completion of the project in view of the methodology and the research area – Justification for renewal and potential for successful outcome – Research supervisor’s evaluation	60 20 20 20
Criteria and weighting Renewal application	Achievements since the start of postdoctoral training – Lectures and presentations – Publications	40 20 20

8. FINAL REPORT

A final report is required at the end of the payment of the award, approximately one month after the last funded term. Award holders are notified by email of the availability of the form to be completed in their FRQS electronic portfolio. It is required to fill out and submit this form with respect to the mentioned deadline. Further funding in other FRQS programs is conditional to the reception of the duly completed report.

9. COMMITMENTS

Any application submitted to this program is subject to compliance with the conditions set out in the FRQnet electronic portals and forms.

10. OPEN ACCESS

In accordance with the Fonds de recherche du Québec Open access policy for the dissemination of research, all funding recipients must agree to make their publications freely available in open access within 12 months of publication. For further information concerning FRQ requirements on the subject, please consult our Open science Web page.

11. KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION

The FRQS encourages awardees to conduct and participate in knowledge mobilization activities (transfer, sharing, development, enhancement and dissemination) with practice settings and the general public, where such activities are relevant. Please read the document Knowledge Mobilization in the toolbox.

12. EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

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, see our statements on equity, diversity and inclusion.

13. IMPORTANT MODIFICATIONS SINCE THE LAST COMPETITION

Eligibility requirements
Required documents
Duration of the award
Amount of the award : Cancellation of an installment or the scholarship
Change of training location, research project, study program or supervisor

14. AWARDS IN PARTNERSHIP

The FRQS offers a number of awards in collaboration with partners. The share of funding from the FRQS and the partner may vary according to the agreements in effect. Eligible applicants are selected through a three-step process: The applicant selects, in the Partnership [Partenariat] section of the application form, one or more partners whose targeted research areas correspond to the theme of their application. The FRQS sends to the partners a list of candidates and useful information for them to assess the relevance of the request according to their research priorities and strategy. After evaluation of the applications by a committee of experts or peers, applications having obtained the scientific excellence rating of 70 % and which have been deemed relevant by one or more partners, may receive a partnership award offer. As with all the awards offered by FRQS, the awards granted in partnership are based on merit following a scientific evaluation by a committee of experts or peers. Note that by choosing to be considered for an award in partnership, and that you obtain such an award, you agree that the partner communicates with you for activities related to the award.
Alzheimer’s disease	Alzheimer Society of Canada Candidates must also submit an application to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.
Child Health	Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program (CCHCSP) Candidates must also submit an application to the CCHCSP.
Childhood diseases	Foundation of Stars Training awards in the Pediatric research field, primarily in the area of childhood diseases.
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis	Crohn’s and Colitis Canada (CCC) Training Awards in the Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis research fields.
Hypertension	Société québécoise d’hypertension artérielle (SQHA) – Jacques de Champlain Award The Jacques de Champlain Award in Cardiovascular Health and Hypertension fields includes a research support supplement (maximum of $10,000 per year).
Kidney Health	The Kidney Foundation of Canada All candidates must also submit an application to the KRESCENT Program (Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training). Amount of the award: $55,000 per year.
Multiple Sclerosis	Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada Training Awards in the Multiple Sclerosis research field. Candidates must also submit an application to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
Parkinson’s disease	Parkinson Canada Training Awards in the Parkinson’s Disease research field. Candidates must also submit an application to Parkinson Canada.
Parkinson’s disease	Parkinson Québec Training Awards in the Parkinson’s Disease research field.
Patient-Oriented Research	Unité de soutien SRAP du Québec (SPOR Support Unit in Québec) The Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) in Quebec is to engage the various stakeholders involved, including patients, caregivers and the public, in the development and delivery of patient-oriented research projects (POR). The SPOR Support Unit in Quebec contributes to capacity building and professional development in POR of these stakeholders. The awards offered in partnership with the Unit allow award recipients to hone their skills and develop or consolidate valued expertise in POR, and to expand their network of collaborators and mentors in this area. Priority themes: primary care, proximity care, integration of care and service trajectories.