Research team support program, 2018 Fall competition

1. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

• Support collaboration on major themes to enable the advancement of knowledge and the development of Québec’s research capacity;
• Provide research teams and their partners in practice settings, where applicable, with access to joint infrastructures;
• Maximize theoretical, methodological (teaching and research) and practical (applications and innovation) benefits;
• Create participation and integration opportunities for postdoctoral research fellows and new researchers;
• Optimize graduate and postgraduate student training and mentoring;
• Help train undergraduate students by involving them in research activities whenever possible;
• In accordance with the knowledge mobilization strategy  adopted by the Fonds, encourage researchers to carry out knowledge mobilization activities.

Teams must meet these objectives by deploying a series of structuring activities based on a concerted scientific program.

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM

A scientific program is different from a research project and must be based on a research theme developed through specific thrusts driven by research projects funded through other sources. The scientific program must be designed to evolve over time and foster the significant and collective contribution of members to the team’s work and activities.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Teams that present a research project rather than a scientific program will be deemed ineligible.

2. TEAM CONFIGURATIONS

Operational and Renewal teams must select one of the two following configurations: “University” team or “Partnership” team. The configurations do not apply to Emerging teams.

2.1 University teams

The primary goal of a University team is to deploy a scientific program based on a broad scientific theme in an effort to make innovative contributions to knowledge structure and advancement. In order to do so, teams must give priority to collaborations between co-researchers, bring together relevant complementary expertise and include students and young researchers.

2.2 Partnership teams

In addition to meeting university team requirements, Partnership teams must foster collaborations between a practice setting and university or college settings. Partnership teams must take partners’ needs into account when developing their scientific program and work towards meeting these needs. The participation of the practice setting is not limited to and does not necessarily require a financial contribution on its part.

A partnership team must demonstrate that it has developed close collaborations between the university and college setting, where applicable, and the practice settings. This collaboration must be put in place from the conception of the scientific program and be maintained at all phases of the scientific program. The processes associated with the deployment of the partnership scientific program must lead to enduring ties between stakeholders, beginning with the imperative inclusion of a co-researcher from the partner setting in the team’s composition.

Organizations dedicated exclusively to scientific research do not constitute eligible practice settings. However, when partners whose work includes research (such as affiliated university centres and institutes) are chosen as practice settings, the Partnership team must clearly describe the partner’s specific contribution as a research partner and practice setting.

Teams collaborating with practice settings on knowledge transfer activities, but that have not developed mechanisms to ensure the participation and integration of the practice setting at all phases of the scientific program, should consider applying as a University team.

3. TEAM DEVELOPMENT STAGES

Teams must choose the development stage corresponding to their situation:

3.1 Emerging

This development stage is aimed at teams who have joined forces to establish a research team whose work will be focused on a specific theme. Teams must plan a scientific program, and a schedule of activities that will enable them to develop a four-year scientific program by the end of the two-year emergence grant. Emerging teams must choose the “University” configuration. Teams seeking to develop a scientific program in collaboration with a practice setting in order to eventually constitute a partnership team must cement these ties during the emergence period.

Emergence funding provides teams with the means to organize and implement activities to consolidate their scientific program and enhance the team’s activities and collaborations in terms of publications, joint funding, event organization, student and young researcher integration, partnership consolidation, etc.

At the end of the grant period, Emerging teams must be fully operational. A team may then submit a grant application as an “Operational” team and select a configuration based on its research practices (“University” or “Partnership” team). However, Operational team funding is not conditional upon previous Emerging team funding.

IMPORTANT NOTE: An Emerging team composed, in part, of a team having obtained Emergence, Operational or Renewal funding in the last 5 years, must meet the following condition: fewer than 50% of its members can have been listed as co-researchers on April 1 of the last year in the previous grant period. 

3.2 Operational

Operational team funding is aimed at teams whose Emerging team funding has come to an end and at established teams that have never received Emerging team funding under this program. The Operational team must have a four-year scientific program that brings together a range of activities including current and future research projects. Operational teams must also be ready to generate and maintain a consistent level of activity and collaborations (e.g. through joint funding, research projects and publications, events organized in partnership, the integration of students and young researchers and the launch of new partnerships, if applicable).

IMPORTANT NOTE: A team that has received a previous Operational team grant may only reapply as an Operational team if it includes fewer than 50% of the co-researchers who were part of the team on April 1 of the last year in the previous grant period.

3.3 “Renewal”

Renewal team funding is aimed at teams that meet Operational team requirements and which have received at least one cycle of infrastructure funding as an Operational or a Renewal team. To apply as a Renewal team, the team’s report must demonstrate a consistent level of activity and collaborations attributable to the previously awarded grant (e.g. through joint funding, research projects and publications, events organized in partnership, the integration of students and young researchers and the launch of new partnerships, if applicable).

4. TEAM MEMBERSHIP AND MEMBER ELIGIBILITY

4.2.1 Intersectorality and membership in different types of teams

Researchers who lead or who are co-researchers of major infrastructures funded by the FRQSC (university institute, affiliated university centre or strategic cluster), the FRQNT (strategic cluster) or the FRQS (research centre or group) may join a research team funded under the Research Team Support Program as co-researchers or Principal Investigator in order to foster intersectoral initiatives.

4.2.2 Membership in two teams funded by the FRQSC

A researcher may not lead more than one team funded by or in competition for the FRQSC Research Team Support Program. However, a Principal Investigator may be a co-researcher in another team funded by or in competition for the program.

On the other hand, other co-researchers may belong to up to two teams funded by or in competition for the program. Furthermore, no more than 20% of the co-researchers of a given team may belong to more than one team. This implies that, in order for a researcher to belong to more than one team, the team must have at least five co-researchers including the Principal Investigator.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Principal Investigators are encouraged to check whether their co-researchers belong to any other type of team. The verification carried out by the Fonds after submission of the application may affect the composition, and by extension the eligibility, of the team and the amounts requested.  

5. TEAM APPLICATION

Before submitting a funding application, the Principal Investigator must create a user account on the Fonds website (see informational video), if this has not already been done. Individuals who already have a personal identification number (PIN) have direct access to a FRQnet account and must update their E-portfolio. The funding application comprises the elements listed below.

5.1 E-form and 4 attached files

Electronic transmission via the researcher’s E-Porfolio Website of the Fonds.

A- SATISFACTION OF EVALUATION CRITERIA FILE:

In the section “Description de la programmation”, in a separate file attached to the application e-form, the team must explicitly address all evaluation criteria that apply to its stage of development and configuration. The information must be presented in separate sections, following the title and order of the evaluation criteria. The number of pages is based on the type of team, as specified in the table below:

B.BIBLIOGRAPHY FILE (maximum 10 pages) :

In the section “Bibliographie”, in a separate file attached to the application e-form, the team must include a bibliography listing the texts cited as references, especially those pertaining to the state of the knowledge in the field.

C. “SYNTHÈSES DE LA PROGRAMMATION SCIENTIFIQUE, DES COLLABORATIONS ET DES ACTIVITÉS SCIENTIFIQUES” FILE (maximum 10 pages) :

Available on the program web page, in the “Toolbox” section. Transmission in a separate file (.PDF) attached to the application e-form, in the section “Autres documents”. This file contains several summary tables and is intended to provide evaluators with an overview of the collaborations and activities of co- researchers as they pertain to the proposed scientific program. It is essential for presenting the team’s main collective achievements. “Partnership” teams must also present the expected collaboration of the co-researcher from the partner setting.

D. BUDGET PLAN JUSTIFICATION FILE (maximum 5 pages):

In the section « Budget », in a separate file attached to the application e-form, the team presents:

• Base grant (see 7.1.2 Base grant): Justify all requested amounts for each category of the base grant only, by listing the amounts and the types of expenses. (maximum 3 pages)
• Optional funding, if applicable (see 7.1.3 Optional funding): Justify the requested amounts for each optional funding requested. List each requested amount clearly. (maximum 2 pages)

5.2 CVs and detailed contributions attachments of the principal investigator and the co-researchers

The Fonds uses the Canadian Common CV and requires a .PDF file of detailed contributions to be attached (in the E-Portfolio of each co-researcher).

All co-researchers have to attach to their CCV the Detailed Contributions attachment available on the program’s web site, in the “Toolbox” section. Once completed, this document should be attached via the co-researcher E-portfolio in FRQnet.

Exception

Whether or not the team has Partnership configuration, co-researchers who work in a practice setting are exempt from submitting a CCV. However, they must submit an abridged resume (maximum two pages) that provides an overview of the following (and in this order):

1. their training;
2. their experience
3. their publications and scientific output where applicable

“The abridged resumes must be created using word processing software, converted to PDF format and submitted to the Principal Investigator, who will attach them to the electronic application form in the Autres documents section.

5.3 Additional documents

Additional documents are required for Partnership teams that are asking for funding to implement an interregional integration action plan or to support a knowledge mobilization plan, as well as those that include retired researchers, college researchers or funded researchers.  These documents must be transmitted to the Principal Investigator whom attach them to the application e-form.

A. PROOF(S) OF PARTNERSHIP (for Partnership teams) (see 7.1.3 D):

Attach to the “Autres Documents” section. The proof(s) of partnership will be used exclusively for the purpose of evaluating the Partnership component of the application. They may take different forms, from a letter of support from a partner to a formal partnership agreement between the team and its partners. These documents should be concise (no more than a few pages), and explicitly detail the nature of the partnership.

When there is a pre-existing partnership agreement between the researchers and partners, the team must only submit the sections of the agreement that meet the aforementioned requirements and the partnership evaluation criterion, including the section pertaining to signatures. Whenever applicable, the Fonds recommends that grant applicants ensure that the terms of their partnership are in keeping with the regulations set out by their institutions.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Teams must submit at least one document attesting to the partnership. Applications that do not include an attestation document will be deemed ineligible.

B. INTERREGIONAL INTEGRATION ACTION PLAN (see 7.1.3 B) (maximum 1 page)

Attach to the ”Autres Documents” section. The team must specify how it intends to ensure the full participation of all co-researchers, whatever their geographic distance from the Principal Investigator’s host institution. Expenses related to this plan must also be justified in the Budget section intended for optional funding.

C. KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION PLAN (see 7.1.3 C) (maximum 1 page)

Attach to the ”Autres Documents” section. The team must present a plan explaining how it intends to adhere to the FRQ Knowledge mobilization strategy by sharing the knowledge acquired during the activities and projects it carries out under its scientific program. Expenses related to this plan must also be justified in the Budget section intended for optional funding.

D. LETTER FOR RETIRED UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER ACTING AS CO-RESEARCHERS:

Attach to the ”Autres Documents” section. Co-researchers who are retired university researcher must provide a letter from the university attesting to this status. The letter must indicate that prior to his/her retirement, the retired researcher was a regular professor and that, for the term of the grant, he/she will have access to the facilities and logistical support required to carry out research activities and that he/she will continue to train students and young researchers in the field, where applicable. An insufficiently documented letter could lead to the ineligibility of the retired researcher.

E. LETTER FOR FUNDED RESEARCHER

Attach to the ”Autres Documents” section. Co-researchers with the status of University researcher or Clinical university researcher who hold a non-tenure track university position must provide a letter from the university indicating that they will maintain this status throughout the duration of the grant. An insufficiently documented letter could lead to the ineligibility of the funded researcher.

F. SUMMARY FOR COLLEGE RESEARCHERS (see 7.1.4) (maximum 1 page) :

In the section “Dégagement ou soutien salarial – collèges”, in a separate file attached to the application e-form, the team must identify each College researcher, specify the percentage of teaching leave requested, and justify this demand by outlining the role of the College researcher in the achievement consolidation or deployment of the team’s scientific program.

IMPORTANT NOTE: College researchers who wish to receive the supplement for teaching leave must apply for the Program to release college researchers from their teaching duties in their own E-Portfolio.

5.4 Grant application presentation standards

The grant application may be filled out in French or English. However, the title and summary must imperatively be in French, otherwise the application will be deemed invalid. (CGR, Section 3.6)

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

Applications must be presented in a format that is clear and legible. Text exceeding the number of pages allowed will be discarded before evaluation. No protected PDF files will be accepted. Any document that is not required by the rules will be removed from the application (see CGR, 3.2).

Any application that is incomplete or does not contain sufficient information to establish its eligibility or to evaluate its scientific quality will be declared ineligible by the Fonds. Elements missing from the application will not be requested and no documents received after the application deadline date will be considered and applications cannot be updated.

Online references

Where relevant, URLs may be included that refer to information contained in the application as bibliographic references. URLs may also be listed in the bibliography. However, grant applications must not be based in whole or in part on online content to be consulted by the evaluators.

5.5 Deadline

All grant applications must be submitted electronically by 4 p.m. on October 4, 2018.

At any time, applicants may verify in their E-portfolio that their application has been successfully transmitted. The application file in “My forms” must be flagged as “Transmis au Fonds” no later than the competition closing date and time. This indicates that the application has been received by the Fonds.

6. EVALUATION

As indicated in Section 4 of the CGR, the Fonds receives applications for financial support, checks the eligibility of those applications and submits them for scientific evaluation by committees whose members, who are from Québec, the rest of Canada or abroad, are recognized for their skills, expertise and achievements relating to the program objectives and the applications submitted. Nonetheless, as the evaluators for this type of program come from a wide variety of backgrounds, applicants are encouraged, in the documents submitted for evaluation, to present their project in such a way as to be easily understandable in a multidisciplinary context.

Once the applications have been evaluated, the Fonds produce an overall ranking of all applications recommended for funding and applies a weighting to their scores to ensure maximum comparability across the different committees operating under the program.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The evaluation committee may, while in session, deem an application to be ineligible with regard to the program rules and objectives, despite a prior positive assessment of eligibility by the FRQSC.

6.2 Partnership team evaluation: Additional criterion

The applications of teams with Partnership configuration are evaluated by a committee of experts in collaborative research in the Québec context. The committee only looks at the eliminatory “Partnership” criterion and its various indicators. The partnership application must obtain a passing score of 70% for this eliminatory criterion to have any chance of receiving funding.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Failure to achieve a passing score for the eliminatory “Partnership” criterion is in no way a reflection on the scientific quality of the scientific program presented.

The Partnership team applications are then sent to multidisciplinary evaluation committees, which evaluate and grade all other criteria set out in the program rules. The Partnership score is added to establish an overall score. The evaluation of the Partnership criteria is independent of the assessment of the other criteria by the multidisciplinary committee. The two committees are separate, and their decisions do not influence each other.

IMPORTANT NOTE: During the evaluation period, the Fonds reserves the right, through its evaluation or Partnership expert committees, to contact partners to verify the information provided about them by the Partnership teams.

6.3 Evaluation criteria and indicators

All teams will be assessed according to three criteria that constitute the basis of the evaluation process:

• Scientific program (eliminatory criterion)
• Team members
• Resources and budget

In addition, criteria and indicators with specific weighting have been set out to ensure that the evaluation process is adapted to the teams’ configurations and stages of development.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In order to receive a recommendation for funding, a team must be awarded an overall score of 70% or more and obtain at least 70% for each eliminatory criterion.

Grant applications are evaluated solely on the basis of the information submitted in the application process. Applicants must therefore ensure that the documents submitted contain all necessary information to be taken into account when assessing the grant application.

The following criteria and indicators used by the evaluation committees will apply based on the team’s configuration and stage of development.

6.4 Announcement of the results

In addition to the provisions in Section 4.4 of the CGR, the names of the winners are usually announced in April of the year following the submission of the grant application.

The decisions of the Board of Directors of the FRQSC are sent to the selected institutions and grant applicants in accordance with the procedure set forth in the CGR (Section 5.1). For further information concerning the results, applicants should contact the research office of their institution, consult the Web site of the Fonds or contact the program officer.

As stipulated in the CGR, all decisions by the Board of Directors of the FRQSC are final and without appeal.

7. FUNDING OFFERED

7.1 Nature of the funding, base grant, optional and supplementary funding

7.1.1 Nature of the funding

The grants awarded under this program are infrastructure-type allocations to cover operating costs and other expenses that are not included in the infrastructure allocations from other funding sources (such as strategic cluster, institute or affiliated university centre funding, if applicable).

Operational and renewal teams must receive external funding in order to carry out the research projects undertaken as part of their scientific program.

The expenses incurred to complete the various phases of a research project, including salaries for data collection/analysis, are not eligible. However, to enhance the leverage effect of the grant and the dissemination of the knowledge generated by the scientific program, up to 20% of the base grant may be allocated to launching (e.g. carrying out a preliminary study, filling out grant applications) or finalizing (e.g. drafting and editing findings for dissemination) projects carried out as part of the team’s scientific program and which constitute collaborations between at least two co-researchers.

7.1.2 Base grant

The base grant is attributed based on the stage of development of the scientific programs submitted and on the team’s configuration. In the case of operational and renewal teams, the amount obtained also depends on the number of co-researchers.

Maximum grants available to teams according to team characteristics.

7.1.3 Optional funding
Each amount in the base budget must be justified in the section of the application form provided for that purpose.

Optional funding for equipment, interregional teams, knowledge mobilization and partnerships may be granted in addition to the base amount according to a team’s configuration and stage of development, based on need.

Any optional funding must be explicitly justified in the section of the application form provided for that purpose. Any item not deemed sufficiently justified will not be accepted.

Optional funding will be offered where applicable for equipment, interregional teams, knowledge mobilization and partnerships.

A) EQUIPMENT: $4,000 to $9,000 per year of funding

Funds to purchase or rent the equipment required to carry out the scientific program. The equipment must be intended for use in more than one research project. The optional amounts requested to rent or purchase equipment will be granted based on the following indicators:

• Justification of the need for the equipment in order to carry out research activities planned in the scientific program;
• Availability  of  similar  equipment  in  the  lead  researcher’s  host institution, other university institutions or partner facilities.

B) INTERREGIONAL TEAMS: $3,000 to $10,000 per year of funding

Funds to cover only the costs incurred due to the geographic distance between co-researchers (travel expenses, videoconferencing, etc.). To qualify as interregional, the team must include researchers based at institutions other than that of the Principal Investigator and in different administrative regions, as defined by the government of Québec.

Up to $3,000 may be claimed for each administrative region represented on the team – excluding that of the Principal Investigator – up to a maximum of $10,000.

In justifying these costs, the team must specify how it intends to ensure the full participation of all co-researchers in the consolidation or deployment of the scientific program, whatever their distance from the Principal Investigator’s host institution.

C) KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION: $10,000 to $20,000 per year of funding

Funds to support activities for the exchange, sharing and valorization the research results of the activities and projects carried out as part of the scientific program. The optional amounts requested for transfer and development must be part of a transfer plan that is coherent with the activities carried out as part of the scientific program.

D) PARTNERSHIP: $40,000 for each year of funding

Funds for partnership teams to manage and coordinate joint activities involving the practice setting. The amounts requested for partnership activities must facilitate full and enhanced collaborations between the university and college researchers, where applicable, and the partner practice setting, and be explicitly justified in the section of the application provided for that purpose.

Maximum optional annual grants based on team configuration

7.1.4 Additional funding for college researchers*

*This additional funding is subject to budget availability under the Program to release college researchers from their teaching duties (CHC). Researchers interested in obtaining this additional funding are invited to contact the FRQSC to verify the availability of funding before submitting their application.

7.2 Eligible budget items [1]

For more information concerning admissible and non-admissible expenses, please refer to the CGR, section 8.

[1] Expenses related to the realization of research projects, including hiring and travel for data collection and analysis, are not eligible. Teams that incur this type of expense will not be reimbursed.

[2] Partnership teams only.

The release from teaching duties (principal investigator) is authorized.

The release from duties (partners) is authorized for partnership teams only.

Reminder: to enhance the leverage effect of the grant and the dissemination of the knowledge generated by the scientific program, up to 20% of the base grant may be allocated to launching (e.g. carrying out a preliminary study, filling out grant applications) or finalizing (e.g. drafting and editing findings for dissemination) projects carried out as part of the team’s scientific program and which constitute collaborations between at least two co-researchers.

8. EFFECTIVE DATE

These rules apply to the 2019-2020 fiscal year.