Research Support for New Academics (NP) 2021-2022

1. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

The aim of the Research Support for New Academics program is to:

• Enable the completion of an individual research project;
• Help support a new generation of researchers and university instructors by assisting new academics embarking upon their careers in establishing themselves as independent researchers and becoming competitive at the national and international levels;
• Foster collaborations between new and established researchers;
• Consolidate the research system by supporting up-and-coming research academics in humanities and social sciences, arts and literature fields;
• Incite new research academics who are beginning their careers to develop original research avenues.

In light of these objectives, universities are encouraged to support the application by releasing the applicant from at least 25% of his/her teaching duties.

In keeping with its Knowledge Mobilization Strategy, the Fonds encourage funding recipients to carry out such activities (sharing, valorization, dissemination, etc.) for the general public, whenever such activities are relevant in the context of their research.

In accordance with the Fonds de recherche du Québec open access policy for the dissemination of research, all funding recipients must agree to provide open access to their scientific publications no later than 12 months after publication. To learn more about the FRQ’s requirements on this subject, please visit our page on open science.

Finally, 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, please visit our website.

2. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must, on the competition closing date, satisfy the following requirements:

• Meet all eligibility requirements set out in the CGR;
• Qualify for Status 1: University Researcher, definition i)* (CGR, Definitions – Status and Roles);
• Have a PhD;
• Have held one or more full-time regular tenure-track professorial positions at universities in Québec, elsewhere in Canada or abroad for less than 5 years.

* individuals who qualify for definition ii) are not eligible for this program.

An applicant who does not hold a position at a university on the competition closing date is still eligible if he or she expects to hold a full-time regular tenure-track professorial position at a Québec university no later than June 1st, 2021, notwithstanding Section 2.1 of the CGR. Successful applicants will have to provide proof of appointment issued by the competent authorities.

An applicant who does not have a PhD on the competition closing date is still eligible if he or she expects to successfully defend his or her doctoral thesis no later than June 1st, 2021. Successful applicants will be asked by the Fonds, in due course, to provide a copy of their doctoral diploma.

Applicants who have interrupted or delayed their career for parental leave, major family obligations or serious health reasons may be granted an eligibility period extension. In the case of parental leave, the eligibility period may be extended for up to one year per parental leave. In the case of major family obligations or a career interruption due to serious health reasons, the Fonds will determine the extension to be granted based on the supporting documents provided by the applicant.

Applicants who suspend or postpone their career for reasons related to a disability may also be granted an eligibility period extension. The Fonds will determine the extension period based on the supporting documents provided. This exemption is in accordance with the Act to secure handicapped persons in the exercise of their rights with a view to achieving social, school and workplace integration (CQLR c. E-20.1).

In all cases, the managing institution must attest that the researcher will be in its employment for the duration of the grant.

The following are not eligible:

• Researchers who have applied for this program three times;
• Researchers who have applied to another research start-up program of one of Québec’s three Fonds de recherche;
• Researchers who are (or have been) already funded through a research start-up program of one of Québec’s three Fonds de recherche.

3. APPLICATION PROCESS

The application process is comprised of two distinct and mandatory steps:

1. Submission of a letter of intent;
2. Submission of the funding application.

Before completing a letter of intent or a grant application, the applicant must create a user account on the Fonds website, 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 profile in the E-portfolio before starting to fill out the application form.

It is the applicant’s sole responsibility to choose the right application form, the right funding program and the right Fonds for their application. In the event of an error in any of these respects, the Fonds will not transfer the application and the application will be deemed ineligible, either when assessed for eligibility or by the evaluation committee.

3.1 Stage 1 : letter of intent

The main purpose of the letter of intent, which will not be assessed to determine the eligibility of the application or the scientific quality of the proposed research project, is to provide the information required to assemble the peer committee that will assess the grant application. To that end, applicants are invited to select from the list of committees the one that corresponds the best to their research topic (consult the list here).

REMINDER: At this stage of the application process, the approval of the managing institution is not required.

The letter of intent form, available under “Available competitions” in the E-portfolio, must be submitted before 4 p.m. on July 30, 2020. At any time, applicants can verify in their E-portfolio that their application has been successfully transmitted to the Fonds. The letter of intent in “My forms” will be flagged as “Submitted to the Fonds” once it has been transmitted.

The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the information provided is complete and in compliance with program specifications, and that the letter of intent is completed and submitted within the prescribed time. A letter of intent that does not satisfy these requirements will not be considered.

3.2 Stage 2 : grant application

The funding application must be completed in English or French. However, the title and project summary must imperatively be in French. These may be used by the Fonds for promotional and dissemination purposes (see CGR, Section 3.6).

The form and all required documents must be transmitted before the competition deadline, which is 4 p.m. on September 24, 2020.

The following documents must be scanned individually in PDF format, identified with the name of the researcher and attached to the form at the place indicated:

• A description of the research project;
• A bibliography;
• A justification of planned expenditures;
• The Canadian Common CV and the Detailed Contributions file, available in the E-portfolio;
• A letter from the appropriate university authorities attesting that the applicant holds or will hold a full-time regular tenure-track professorial position by June 1st, 2021. The letter must specify the hiring date and position held, as well as employment start and end dates for any full-time regular tenure-track professorial positions previously held at other universities, if applicable. In case of doubt as to the nature and duration of previous positions, the Fonds reserves the right to contact the appropriate authorities to obtain further information;
• Applicants who have not obtained their PhD by the competition deadline must attach a letter from the appropriate authorities of their university stating that their dissertation defense will take place by June 1st, 2021;
• In the case of a request for an eligibility period extension, official documents justifying the parental, family or sick leave, or confirming the disability;
• If applicable, the necessary authorizations providing access to data or letters from partners attesting to partnership agreements.

The Fonds recommends using the presentation standards set out in the Detailed Contributions file to format the research project description, bibliography and justification of planned expenditures.

Pages in excess of the number permitted in each section of the application will be removed from the application before submission for evaluation.

Applicants may include links to web pages as bibliographic references, where relevant. These web addresses may also be listed in the bibliography. However, the application must not be based in whole or in part on online content available to members of the evaluation committee.

Any missing documents will render the application ineligible. An incomplete application that does not contain the information necessary to establish eligibility or which cannot be evaluated will be deemed invalid by the Fonds. Applicants will not be notified of any information or documents missing from the application. Any documents received after the application deadline will not be considered and applications cannot be updated. Any documents that are not required and which are included with the application will not be submitted to the evaluation committee.

The FRQSC reserves the right to verify the authenticity of all documents and information provided with the institutions concerned. Additional documents may be requested.

As indicated in the CGR (Section 3), applicants attest that the information provided is accurate and complete and agree to respect the rules and principles set out in the Fonds de recherche du Québec Policy for the responsible Conduct of Research. Applicants authorize their institution to transmit any personal information in accordance with this policy, where applicable.

ATTENTION: At this stage of the application process, the Fonds requires the approval of the managing institution. It is the applicant’s responsibility to find out the internal deadline for submitting applications set by his or her managing institution and to ensure that the application is transmitted to the Fonds before the competition deadline. At any time, applicants may verify the transmission status of their application in the “My forms” section of their E-portfolio:

·       The form will be flagged “Submitted to institution” once the applicant has transmitted the application to the managing institution;

·       The form will be flagged “Submitted to the Fonds” once the managing institution has transmitted the application to the Fonds.

All applications received by the Fonds are assessed for eligibility. A notice will be sent via email no later than December following the competition deadline, informing the applicant of the status of his/her application and, where applicable, its transmission to the evaluation committee. Applicants whose application package is deemed incomplete or invalid will be notified by email that their application has not been transmitted to the evaluation committee.

4. APPLICATION ASSESSMENT

Evaluation committees use the FRQSC Scores and ratings grid. An overall score of 70% is required for the application to be recommended for funding. In addition, a score of 70% is required for the ‘Research project’ criterion.

Evaluation criteria, indicators and weighting

Funding applications are evaluated according to the following criteria, indicators and weighting:

Research project – 50 points

• Originality and contribution to the advancement of knowledge (10 points)
• Clarity of the research problem, relevance of the theoretical approach and precision of the stated objectives (15 points)
• Relevance, rigour and rationale of the methodological approach (15 points)
• Feasibility of the time frame and relevance of planned dissemination activities (10 points)

Expertise – 30 points

• Quality of scientific achievements and research activities, peer recognition and reach (mobilization activities, seminars, communications, student supervision*, publications, scholarships, grants, etc.) (15 points)
• Relevance of scientific achievements, research activities, experience and training to the project (15 points)

*  Depending on the potential for supervision offered by the institution.

Research training – 10 points

• Educational value of the activities offered to students** and diversity of the tasks and responsibilities planned for that purpose during the project.

** Beyond what is normally provided by their study program.

Budget – 10 points

• Appropriateness and consistency of the budget with regard to the submitted research project and planned student training.

Applicants are advised to attach equal importance to both the evaluation criteria and their associated indicators.

As indicated in Section 4 of the CGR, the Fonds receives applications for financial assistance, checks their eligibility and submits them for evaluation by specially formed committees. These committees may call on outside experts if necessary. Evaluation committee members and experts may be from Québec, Canada or abroad. As they 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.

The role of the evaluation committees and the conditions governing funding decisions are defined in articles 4.4 and 4.5 of the CGR.

5. FUNDING AND CONDITIONS

The results are announced in accordance with the conditions described in Section 5 of the CGR.

Any significant changes made to the initial application during the funding period must be reported in the FRQnet E-portfolio and an email must be sent to the program officer, justifying the changes (CGR, Section 6.5).

The funding recipient is also required to approve the annual financial reports produced by his or her managing institution within three months after the end of the Fonds fiscal year (March 31), i.e. by June 30th (CGR, Sections 6.2 and 7.1). In addition, the recipient must complete and transmit a final report, available in the E-portfolio, within 12 months after the end date of the grant (CGR, Section 7.2). If a final research report is not submitted within the prescribed time, the funding recipient is not eligible to receive new funding from any of the three Fonds de recherche du Québec.

The funding recipient must update his or her file in the E-portfolio before the end of March each year, indicating any significant changes.

Lastly, if at the end of the grant period, the funding recipient wishes to claim the right to obtain an additional year to spend the remaining balance of the grant, as set out in Article 6.10 of the CGR, he/she is invited to complete the section provided for that purpose in the financial report due in June following the end date of the grant period.

6. DESCRIPTION AND NATURE OF FUNDING

The financial support is an operating grant of up to $15,000/year and includes expenditures for the equipment necessary to carry out the proposed research.

The grant must be used to cover current expenses directly related to the production and dissemination of the results of the research project.

All expenses listed in the CGR are eligible with the following exceptions:

• Professional fees for consultation or expert advice;
• The cost of purchasing books and reference documents exceeding $800 per year.

Indirect costs of research (known by the French acronym FIR) (Section 8.2 of the CGR) are transferred to the managing institution by the FRQSC. They are funded in addition to the amount of $15,000.

7. DURATION OF FUNDING

The grant is awarded annually for the period from April 1st to March 31th for up to three years and is not renewable.

8. EFFECTIVE DATE

These rules apply to the 2021-2022 fiscal year.