PROGRAM — PRISME (ART) 2021-2022

1. Objectives

The objectives of the PRISME program are to:

• Create a space conducive to the deployment of artistic mediation or creation by building on a mutually beneficial network of different research sectors;
• Innovate by decompartmentalizing disciplines and contribute to the democratization of all types of scientific results, works and performances, through all forms of artistic expression;
• Provide avenues for understanding, representation and discussion of complex concepts for a public unfamiliar with the scientific and artistic communities.

2. Eligibility requirements

Only funding applications in research areas covered by the FRQNT and the FRQSC are eligible.

It is the responsibility of the project’s principal investigators to verify, sufficiently in advance, the eligibility of the application. All members of the research team and their university and college institutions involved in the project must meet the eligibility requirements in effect at the time of application, the program rules, and the CGR for the entire period covered by the grant.

Any application that is incomplete, does not comply with the program rules, or does not contain the information needed to establish its eligibility or to evaluate its scientific quality will be declared INELIGIBLE.

Any project, research team or person that does not meet the eligibility requirements set out below is INELIGIBLE. The decision regarding the eligibility of the application is sent by email to the principal investigators.

2.1. Eligibility of the principal investigators

Under this program, an application must be co-led by two principal investigators (PIs), as follows:

• One researcher from a field covered by the FRQNT ;
• One researcher from a field covered by the FRQSC.

The two PIs will have to determine who will be the principal co-leader with editing rights for the application form (PI1) and who will have only reading rights (PI2).

Both principal investigators must have only one of the following research statuses (CGR, Status and Roles):

• University researcher (Status 1);
• College researcher in a field covered by the FRQSC (Status 3);
• College researcher in a field covered by the FRQNT (Status 3*);

A researcher may be principal investigator for only one project under this program.

2.2. Eligibility of other team members

In addition to the two principal investigators, the team may include co-investigators with the following statuses:

• University researcher (Status 1);
• College researcher in a field covered by the FRQSC (Status 3);
• College researcher in a field covered by the FRQNT (Status 3*);
• Practitioner (Status 4c);
• Artist (Status 4d).

There is no limit to the number of co-investigators on an application.

It is possible to have the role of co-investigator in several projects submitted or funded under this program. However, the relevance and feasibility of this type of multiple participation will be assessed by the evaluation committee.

*For Sections 2.1 and 2.2: notwithstanding the definition of Status 3 provided in the CGR, college or CCTT researchers from FRQNT nature and technology sectors must have at least a master’s degree and possess the professional autonomy required to direct research projects and supervise students.

3. Contents of the funding application and required documents

Before completing an application, applicants must first create a FRQNet user account on the Fonds website. Individuals who already have a Fonds personal identification number (PIN) have direct access to a FRQnet account and must update their profile.

3.1 Application form

The application form is available only through the FRQNT portal. The principal investigator with the role of PI1 will have editing rights for this form, while the PI2 will have reading rights via the En tant que cochercheur ou cochercheuse section of his or her portfolio.

As indicated in the CGR, the form may be filled out in English or French. However, if you present your application in English, you must provide a project title and abstract in both languages. These may be used by the Fonds for promotion and dissemination purposes.

Only the forms made available in the FRQnet portfolio and completed and submitted via this platform are accepted. Pages in excess of the number permitted in each section of the application will be removed from the application submitted for evaluation.

Any document that is not required by these rules will be removed from the application. Any documents received after the competition deadline will not be considered.

The FRQ reserve the right to verify the authenticity of all documents and information provided with the application with the authorities concerned.

The following required documents (in PDF format) must be attached to the form:

a) PROJECT DESCRIPTION (4 pages maximum)

In the Project or program description section: attach a text describing the project in relation to the evaluation criteria and sub-criteria (see Section 5.1).

b) BIBLIOGRAPHY (1 page maximum)

You may attach a bibliography of up to one page as a separate document to the project description. You may include links to web pages as bibliographic references, where relevant. However, the application must not be based in whole or in part on online content.

c) LIST OF SUGGESTED EXPERTS

The principal investigators must suggest 10 experts who will be able to assess the scientific and/or artistic merit of the project.

• Experts must have sufficient knowledge of the language in which the application is written.
• They will not be notified of your suggestions.
• They must have no current or recent (five years or less) collaborative relationship with the principal investigators or other members of the research team.

It is the responsibility of the principal investigators and their managing institutions to ensure that the suggested experts are not in a conflict of interest (see Section 4.2 of the CGR for examples).

d) BUDGET (2 pages maximum)

In the Budget section: attach a text justifying the planned expenditures (2 pages).

All eligible and ineligible expenses are listed in Section 8 of the CGR.

Release of teaching duties

In the Release from teaching duties — college section: attach a text (1 page) justifying the annual distribution of the release from teaching duties between principal investigators with Status 3 or 3*, if applicable.

(See Section 6 — Description and nature of funding).

e) A letter from the managing institution of co-leaders PI1 and/or PI2 with Status 3 or 3* (PDF attached to the form)

A Managing institution letter— College researcher-PRiSME template is available in the Toolbox section. It must be signed by a general manager or authorized officer of the managing institution and a member of the CCTT management where applicable. This document must be attached in the “Other documents” section of the electronic form.

This letter written and signed by the managing institution must confirm the applicant’s eligibility (see Section 2.1).

It must clearly provide the following information:

• The co-leader’s employment start date (year-month-day);
• Employment status (permanent or temporary);
• That the co-leader meets the eligibility requirements for Status 3 or 3*.

f) CANADIAN COMMON CV AND LIST OF DETAILLED CONTRIBUTIONS (PDF) to be attached in the individual FRQnet Portfolio of the two co-leaders (principal investigators PI1 and PI2) in the “Canadian Common CV” section.

The Canadian Common CV website and the Preparing a CV for the Fonds document can be accessed in the Toolbox on the program page or directly in the “Activity details” box on entering the FRQnet portal.

The FRQNT or FRQSC version of the Canadian Common CV may be used. It must have been updated within 12 months prior to the competition deadline.

The “Detailed Contributions” file must be completed using the format of the applicable Fonds (FRQNT or FRQSC). For more details, refer to the Instructions for the Detailed Contributions and Canadian Common CV — FRQNT and the FRQSC Detailed Contributions template.

g) The ABRIDGED CV (2 pages) of all co-investigators on the team (Status: 1, 3, 3*, 4c, 4d), to be attached in the “Co-investigator” section of the form. It is possible to add links to creations, artistic performances, etc.

Only the abridged CV template, available in the program toolbox, will be accepted.

The P11 is responsible for adding all co-investigators with Status 4c and 4d to the funding application. Refer to the Toolbox for instructions for adding a member with Status 4c or 4d to the team composition in the application form.

h) PROOF OF PARTNERSHIP (2 pages per partner), Other documents section: attach a letter of support from each user or partner community associated with the project, where applicable.

The documents listed in this section are the only supporting documents that will be accepted for evaluation and forwarded to the committee.

4. Application process

The funding application and all required documents must be submitted by the following deadline:

• Funding application: September 21, 2021 at 4 p.m.

The Fonds will make the forms available on July 9, 2021.

5. Application evaluation

5.1 Evaluation criteria

The evaluation committee will use the Application scoring guidelines.

An application must receive an evaluation score of 70% or higher to be invited for an interview and recommended for funding.

Applicants (co-leaders) are advised to attach equal importance to all sub-criteria.

C1. Project (45 pts)

A passing score of 70% is required for this evaluation criterion. 

• Originality and artistic merit of the proposal;
• Scientific potential and advancement of knowledge;
• Level of intersectoral integration (FRQNT-FRQSC), including joint design and development of the proposal;
• Feasibility of the project and realism of the timeline;
• Contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including EDI principles.

C2. Team (30 pts)

The following sub-criteria are to be addressed by relating them to the needs of the project.

• Skills, leadership and relevant achievements—particularly in dissemination—of the NT-SC co-leaders;
• Complementarity, role and degree of involvement of the expertise present on the team.

C3. Democratization of knowledge (25 pts):

• Capacity of the project to reach the target audiences with suitable strategies;
• Anticipated impacts in the target research areas;
• Scope of outreach (at regional and provincial, and even national or international, levels) and sustainability of the project.

5.2 Evaluation process

As indicated in Section 4 of the CGR, the Fonds receive funding applications, check their eligibility and submit them for scientific evaluation by committees whose members are recognized for their skills, expertise and achievements relating to the program objectives and the applications submitted. This evaluation is carried out in two stages: by multidisciplinary evaluation committee and through an interview.

5.2.1 Evaluation by multidisciplinary evaluation committee

Funding applications are evaluated by a multidisciplinary evaluation committee. Each application is evaluated by three members of the evaluation committee with, as far as possible, one person from each research sector (FRQNT and FRQSC) and one person with a combined artistic and scientific background. The eight top-ranked applications are invited to move on to the interview stage.

5.2.2    Evaluation by interview

The eight teams will be asked to present their proposals to the interview committee, which will select four applications for funding. The principal investigators will receive a guide to prepare for the interview upon confirmation of their invitation.

Interviews will take place virtually on January 26 and 27, 2022.

The conditions governing funding decisions are defined in Section 4.5 of the CGR.

6. Description and nature of funding

The funding consists of a grant of up to $50,000 per year for a period of 2 years. It must be used to cover expenses directly related to the implementation of the project. Indirect costs of research (FIR) will be paid in addition to the research grant.

Eligible and ineligible expenses are listed in Section 8 of the CGR.

Good to know

Pay particular attention to Section 8.4 concerning compensation, training and professional fees for persons other than co-investigators.

Salary support for co-leaders (PI1 and/or PI2)

Salary support for eligible Status 3 and Status 3* college researchers with no teaching duties

Part of the grant awarded by the FRQNT may be used as salary support for project co-leaders (PI1 and PI2) who are college researcher with no teaching duties. This amount is paid directly to the college, or to the college with which the CCTT is affiliated in the case of a CCTT researcher.

Release from teaching duties for co-leaders (PI1 and/or PI2)

SUPPLEMENT for eligible Status 3 and Status 3* college researchers with teaching duties

For each co-leader of the research project (PI1 and PI2) who is a college researcher with teaching duties, a maximum additional amount $16,000/year will be paid directly to the college to cover the portion of the salary dedicated to the release from teaching duties.

7. Duration and management of the grant

Grants are allocated annually for the period from April 1 to March 31, for a maximum of two years.

Grant holders are required to approve the annual financial reports produced by their managing institution within three months after the end of the Fonds fiscal year (March 31), i.e. by June 30 (CGR, Sections 6.2 and 7.1).

Finally, in accordance with the CGR, holders of a grant obtained under this program are required to submit a final report, the format of which will be communicated in due course.

8. Announcement of results

Grant awards will be announced upon decision by the FRQNT and FRQSC Boards of Directors, who will inform the principal investigators in accordance with the procedure set out in the CGR (Section 5.1).

As stated in the CGR, the decisions of the Boards of Directors are final and cannot be appealed.

For information on the competition results, contact the program administrator or visit the Fonds website.

9. Effective date

These rules apply to the 2021-2022 fiscal year.

Technical assistance

Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Phone: 418 646-3669
Toll free: 1 866 621-7084

centre.assistance.nt@frq.gouv.qc.ca

Email requests for technical assistance are given priority. Nevertheless, we would like to draw the attention of applicants to the fact that, in the event of a large volume of requests in the 48 hours preceding the application deadline, the Fonds cannot guarantee adequate assistance. Applicants are therefore encouraged to plan accordingly for the completion of their funding application in order to ensure submission in a timely manner.

10. Person to contact