Pfizer-FRSQ Innovation Fund

PROJECT ELIGIBILITY

Conditions

• Pre-competitive research projects with a strong potential for technology transfer and commercialisation over the short or medium term, or projects giving rise to transfer activities within a five-year time-frame
  • Multidisciplinary and/or multi-institutional
  • Outstanding scientific quality
  • Innovative, highly original (may be high risk) and potentially involving the creation of new avenues of research
  • Conducted within an academic framework
  • Large-scale

Intellectual property linked to the project must be free of any previous commitments.

The application must:

• Address original hypotheses and present a research plan with a solid scientific basis
• Describe the vision of the research-commercialisation continuum
• Propose a plan of action and a structured development plan including specific timelines and deliverables

Priority topics

Irrespective of topic, priority will be given to questions bearing upon specific clinical problems.

• Neurodegenerative diseases
• Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases
• Pain
• Inflammation
• Mental health
• Chronic diseases

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Conditions

• The application must be made by a principal investigator and co-investigators.

  The FRSQ strongly encourages the presence among the co-investigators of individuals in the early stages of their careers.

• All of the investigators must adequately demonstrate that they are, or will be, actively collaborating in the proposed research project and must specify amount of dedicated time.
• The principal investigator must demonstrate that sufficient research time will be devoted to the project to ensure its success.

Applicants in a postdoctoral training program are not eligible.

Each project may include up to six (6) co-investigators, ten (10) collaborators and five (5) partners.

Professional order

Clinical research scholars must demonstrate that they are members in good standing of the professional order that governs them in Québec, have a valid license to practice in Québec, and have professional liability insurance.

Multiple applications

An investigator may submit only one application under this program either as a principal investigator or co-investigator.

An investigator cannot have more than one grant simultaneously at a time under this program either as a principal investigator or co-investigator.

Affiliation, citizenship and residence

The principal investigator and co-investigators must:

• be affiliated with a Québec university
• be Canadian citizens or permanent residents

Collaborators may come from outside Québec but no funding amounts may be transferred outside Québec.

Basic training in research ethics

Basic training in research ethics is compulsory for all FRSQ awardees when their research project involves human subjects.

The term "research project involving human subjects" applies when the research project involves:

• living human subjects
• cadavers, human remains, tissues, biological fluids, gametes, embryos or fetuses, cells or genetic materials
• personal information on file. Personal information is defined as information that enables a person to be identified.

This basic training consists of successful completion of Levels 1 and 3 of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux On-line Tutorial in Research Ethics.

Investigators and co-investigators must complete this basic training within a year of receipt of a positive response concerning the FRSQ grant.

RESEARCH LOCATION

Choice of research location

• A Quebec University or an Institution administered by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux du Québec (MSSS).

Change of research location

The FRSQ assumes that the applicant will conduct his/her project throughout the entire grant period at the same institution or university that initially endorsed the application.

An applicant wishing to change the research location must apply in writing to the FRSQ for authorization to do so. The request must detail the reasons for the change and describe all possible consequences for the research project.

University or institutional authorities must provide the FRSQ with written confirmation that they have been made aware of, and approve, the proposed change of research location.

The director of the new research centre or university department must provide the FRSQ with written confirmation that they agree to host the applicant's project for the remainder of the grant period.

TERM OF GRANT

Term

3 years, not renewable

Effective starting date

Between July 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013

AMOUNT OF GRANT

Amount

$100,000 to $200,000 per year

Condition of payment

Annual payment of the grant will be conditional on an oral presentation and submission of periodic progress reports.

ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES

Eligible

• Salaries of research assistants
• Remuneration of resource persons essential to the project
• Master's and doctoral training awards and Postdoctoral training awards
• Purchase and leasing of equipment required and adequately justified in the application
• Research material and all other expenses required to conduct the research project and adequately justified in the application
• Costs related to the development of a formal business plan to a maximum of $10 000
• Participation in scientific conferences for an amount not exceeding 3% per year of the grant

Not eligible

• Remuneration of principal investigators and co-investigators
• All indirect expenditures related to the layout or reorganization, leasing and maintenance of facilities, indirect costs paid by the host institution

REVIEW

Process

Letters of intent

Letter of intent

The letter of intent serves to:

• Establish the applicant's eligibility for the competition
• Evaluate the relevance of the application with regards to the program's objectives
• Assemble an expert review panel, the expertise of which is adequate to review the submitted projects

A relevance committee composed of FRSQ-selected scientists from outside Québec evaluates and chooses the letters of intent. The researchers whose letters of intent are chosen are asked to submit a complete application.

Only applicants whose letters of intent are chosen by the relevance committee are asked to submit an application. These applicants are notified by FRSQ by e-mail. Where applicable, the recommendations by the relevance committee are forwarded to the scientific evaluation committee, which studies the complete applications. In their application, researchers must take these recommendations into account or explain why they have not done so.

Complete applications

Review of applications is carried out by a Review Committee composed of scientists from outside Québec and private sector members chosen by the FRSQ.

Criteria

Letters of intent

The criteria for evaluating the relevance of letters of intent are the following:

• Applicants' eligibility
• Researchers' complementariness and extent of collaboration
• Proven expertise in the field targeted
• Relevance of questions asked in relation to program objectives (multidisciplinary or multi-institutional project, potential for commercialisation, importance of the clinical aspect of the issue targeted)
• Proven link with priority themes

Criteria

Full applications

The evaluation criteria for complete applications are the following:

• Originality and innovativeness of the proposed project
• Theoretical and methodological bases for the scientific program
• Clarity of objectives and research hypotheses
• Relevance and rigour of research protocols
• Roles and contributions of the team members
• Researchers' training and expertise
• Collaboration with clinical environments
• Realism and importance of results envisaged
• Potential for technological transfer and commercialisation
• Feasibility of the project

APPLICANT'S AGREEMENT

 

In accepting this award, the awardee agrees to observe the Common Rules and Regulations, the Policy regarding open access to published research outputs as well as the terms and conditions stipulated in this program description.

The award will be revoked if the awardee fails to observe these rules.

The awardee must notify the FRSQ of his/her acceptance of the award within 30 days of receiving the offer.

Failure to give notice of acceptance will be regarded as refusal of the award.

In addition, applicants must submit all articles in preparation based on a project funded as part of this program to Pfizer Canada in the 2 months prior to their first submission. This process does not affect any intellectual property rights pertaining to the project nor the researcher's ability to publish the results and/or receive the grant.

HOST INSTITUTION'S AGREEMENT

 

The host institution agrees to provide the functional laboratories or research facilities and the basic equipment necessary for conducting the research project.

IMPORTANT MODIFICATIONS SINCE LAST COMPETITION

 

• Project eligibility – Priority topics
• Applicant eligibility criteria
• Applicant's agreement

PARTNERS

 

Pfizer Canada

Updated: 04-07-2011