Relève Étoile Awards - 2022-2023 - Fall 2022

1. BACKGROUND

The Fonds de recherche du Québec wish to promote careers in research and recognize the exceptional research contributions of Québec student researchers.

To this end, three (3) Relève étoile Awards of $1,500 each, one per Fonds, are awarded each month.

To pay tribute to eminent members of Québec’s research community in recognition of their remarkable careers and outstanding contributions to the development of Québec’s research ecosystem, the Relève étoile Award granted by the Fonds Nature et technologies is named in honour of Louis Berlinguet , the Fonds Santé award is named in honour of Jacques Genest, and the Fonds Société et culture award is named in honour of Paul Gérin-Lajoie.

2. OBJECTIVES

1. Recognize the exceptional research contributions of Québec student researchers;
2. Promote research careers in Québec;
3. Develop strong ties between the Fonds de recherche du Québec and Québec student researchers.

3. DESCRIPTION AND NATURE OF THE AWARD

Each month, three (3) Relève étoile Awards of $1,500 are awarded to the three (3) winners:

• Relève étoile Louis-Berlinguet Award in association with the Fonds Nature et technologies;
• Relève étoile Jacques-Genest Award in association with the Fonds Santé;
• Relève étoile Paul Gérin-Lajoie Award in association with the Fonds Société et culture.

The winners of the three (3) Relève étoile awards are announced each month on the Fonds de Recherche du Québec website and social media, accompanied by a photo of each recipient and the title and summary of their project.

4. COMPETITION FREQUENCY

One competition is offered per year, in mid-September.

5. ELIGIBILITY

The following categories of Québec student researchers are eligible to apply:

• Master’s and doctoral students;
• Postdoctoral fellows;
• Members of a professional order enrolled in an advanced research training program.

To be eligible, applicants must:

1.  Submit a project of which he or she is the author. An eligible project is defined as an article, a book chapter or book presenting research results of a research-creation process, which has been peer-reviewed and published by a scholarly journal. Patents and creative works or performances are also accepted.

The project must have been:

• Released to the public less than thirteen (13) months prior to the competition deadline. Articles published electronically are eligible, based on the electronic publication date. In the case of publication in paper form following publication of the electronic version, eligibility will be determined based on the online publication date;
• Peer-reviewed.

The following are not eligible:

• Oral and poster presentations;
• Articles only submitted or accepted for publication but not yet published;
• The translation of an existing publication.

In the case of a publication by multiple authors, the following rule applies:

• If several student researchers collaborated on a project in the same capacity and their contributions are explicitly stated by the applicant in the online application form (in the Co-applicant[HM1]  section), the student researchers shall share the Prix Relève award.

2.  Attend an educational institution, affiliated university centre or research institution in Québec at the time of application. Applicants who completed part of their postsecondary education in Québec and who are pursuing their studies at an institution outside Québec are also eligible, but must provide, in addition to proof of enrollment, proof of previous studies in Québec (see Section 7 – Application for further details).

In addition, the following conditions apply:

3.  An applicant may submit only one application per competition.

4.  An applicant may receive the Relève étoile Award only once.

NOTE:   All applications must comply with the eligibility requirements in effect at the time of application as stated in the Relève étoile Award program rules. Admissibility and administrative eligibility are determined by the Fonds de recherche du Québec based on the information and documents received by the competition deadline.

6. EVALUATION

SELECTION COMMITTEE

For the evaluation of applications, three selection committees are set up according to the main sector identified by the applicant.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Applications are evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Demonstration of the project’s contribution to the advancement of knowledge– 30 points;
2. Demonstration of the project’s social relevance and/or benefits – 30 points;
3. Demonstration of the applicant’s specific contribution to the project – 30 points;
4. Ability to popularize the subject matter – 10 points.

7. APPLICATION

IMPORTANT NOTE: Applicants are advised to prepare their application well in advance to ensure that it is submitted before the deadline, given the large number of applications and requests received by the Fonds at the end of the competition.  

DOCUMENTS TO BE SENT ELECTRONICALLY

1.  The online form, available in the FRQnet  Portal. You must select the most appropriate Fonds in relation to the submitted project. To help you make your choice, consult the research areas online:

Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies: FRQNT website
Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé: FRQS website
Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture: FRQSC website

It is preferable that the form be completed in French, but it may also be completed in English. However, the project title and abstract must imperatively be written in French. These may be used by the Fonds de recherche du Québec for promotional and dissemination purposes.

Note that the applicant must complete and attach the “Project Relevance Template[HM5] ” in the Relevance section of the online form.  This template is available in the Toolbox and includes:

1)      The project’s contribution to the advancement of knowledge;
2)      The project’s relevance to society;
3)      The applicant’s specific contribution to the project.

 Other documents to attach to the electronic form:

2.  A copy of the submitted project;

3.  One (1) document attesting that the submitted project has been available to the public for less than thirteen (13) months at the competition deadline. The following documents are accepted:

• A copy of an email or letter from the publisher confirming the publication date;
• A screenshot of the journal’s website page showing the article with the publication date.

4.  One (1) document attesting that the submitted project has been peer reviewed. The following documents are accepted:

• A copy of an email or letter from the publisher indicating that the reviewers have submitted their comments;
• A screenshot of the journal’s website page describing the journal’s peer review process.

5. For applicants studying in Québec, one (1) document attesting to enrollment at an educational institution, affiliated university centre or research institution in Québec at the time of application. The following documents are accepted:

• Confirmation of registration from the registrar’s office;
• A letter of confirmation from the host environment;
• A letter of confirmation from the thesis director.

OR for applicants who completed part of their postsecondary education in Québec and who are pursuing their studies at an institution outside Québec:

One (1) document attesting to enrollment at an educational institution, affiliated university centre or research institution at the time of application. The following documents are accepted:

• Confirmation of registration from the registrar’s office;
• A letter of confirmation from the host environment;
• A letter of confirmation from the thesis director.

AND one (1) copy of a document attesting that part of the applicant’s postsecondary education was completed in Québec.  The following documents are accepted:

• A postsecondary diploma obtained in Québec (DEC, bachelor, master’s, doctorate).

Not eligible: diplomas equivalent to a university certificate or minor.

The following documents will be requested from the winners at a later date, in order to receive their Relève étoile Award:

• A photograph;
• Administrative information.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• The required form and documents must be submitted through the FRQnet electronic portfolio. Documents sent by email or by post will not be accepted.
• The applicant must not forget to transmit the application after completing and validating it. At any time, applicants may verify in the “My forms” section of their E-portfolio that their application has been successfully submitted. The application file should be flagged as “Transmis au Fonds”.
• Once the application form has been submitted, it will not be possible to resubmit or modify the application in any way regardless of the transmission date, even if it is before the competition deadline.
• Required documents that are missing or non-compliant will not be requested and will render the application ineligible. Unrequested documents submitted with the application will be removed from the application before evaluation.

8. ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS

The Fonds de recherche du Québec announces the names of the three (3) award winners in a monthly news release.

Award recipients are contacted in advance by the Fonds de recherche du Québec in order to provide a photograph and the administrative information required for payment of the Relève étoile Award.