Partnership Training Awards Réal Decoste-Ouranos 2023-2024

1. Objectives

The Partnership Training Awards program has the following objectives:

Foster student interest in research and financially assist top applicants in undertaking or continuing a doctoral research program on climate change and its expected impacts.

The Partnership Training Awards program is a FRQNT program and is administered by the FRQNT. It is funded by the FRQNT and the program partner Ouranos. Program partners determine the program’s focus and approve applicant eligibility and selection.

2. Characteristics

The annual value of the scholarship is $40,000.

The maximum amount that can be awarded is 9 instalments (9 semesters) totalling $120,000.

3. Eligibility

Applicants must meet all eligibility requirements in effect at the time of application as set out in the program rules and the CGR.

3.1 Target group and eligibility period

This training award offered in partnership with Ouranos is intended for students accepted or enrolled at a Québec university who wish to undertake or continue a doctoral program in one of the areas targeted by Ouranos.

Applicants are eligible throughout their doctoral research program.

The applicant must be supervised or have made an agreement with a research director for the supervision of the doctoral research.

3.2 Citizenship and residence requirements

This competition is open to all applicants whose training is related to the priority areas and sectors targeted by Ouranos, with no restrictions as to citizenship or place of residence.

3.3 Target areas and priority sectors

To be eligible, the research must be in one of the areas targeted by Ouranos:

• Climate sciences
• Applied regional climatology
• Sciences related to climate change impacts and adaptation such as:
  • Hydrology
  • Biology
  • Life sciences
  • Social sciences and economics

The following areas are not eligible under this funding program:

• Greenhouse gas reduction
• Calculation of GHG emissions
• Projects aimed at knowledge transfer or outreach to students or the general public

Among the eligible areas, the partner has identified the following research themes as priority sectors:

• Historical data and analysis of climate variability
• Climate modelling and simulation
• Impacts of climate on:
  • Permafrost
  • Hydrology and water management
  • Forestry
  • Coastal erosion
  • River flooding and low flows
  • Agricultural production
  • Food security
  • The St. Lawrence River
  • Tourism
  • Social and health challenges
  • Water supply and wastewater treatment
  • Energy security (including production, transmission, distribution and demand management)
  • Climate governance
  • Socio-economic assessments of impacts and adaptation strategies

3.4 Restrictions

Applicants cannot apply for funding under this program to carry out preparatory studies.

An applicant who has already received funding under this program is not eligible.

Applicants may submit only one funding application to this competition and may also apply to the FRQNT 2023-2024 doctoral training scholarship program.

4. Application

The 2023-2024 electronic application form will be made available on the FRQNT website at least one month before the competition deadline and must be submitted electronically by the competition deadline date and time set by the Fonds.

It is preferable that the funding application be written in French, but it can also be written in English. However, the project title and abstract must be provided in French.

Please refer to the Presentation Standards for Attached Files in the FRQnet electronic Portfolio when preparing the files to be attached to the form.

4.1 Electronic form (research director)

A research director who does not have a personal identification number (PIN) must request one from the FRQNT and provide it to the applicant. The applicant must enter this PIN in his/her application form.

When the applicant enters the PIN of the research director in the application form, the “Director’s Section” form becomes available in the director’s FRQnet electronic Portfolio.

The “Director’s Section” form must be completed and submitted via the FRQnet electronic Portfolio of the research director by the competition deadline. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the research director submits the acceptance letter by the competition deadline.

4.2 Required documents

All required documents must be included in the application for it to be considered eligible. Any documents that are illegible, of a poor resolution or that do not allow verification of the application’s eligibility will be rejected.

Any official document submitted in a language other than French or English must be accompanied by a professional translation certified as a true copy of the original. Any other document submitted in a language other than French or English must be accompanied by a basic translation.

Transcripts

Any transcript that is missing, incomplete, unofficial, out-of-date, or is not a certified copy of the original will render the application ineligible.

Copies of all transcripts are required, for all university studies pursued by the applicant, whether completed or not. This includes transcripts from exchange programs or courses (equivalencies), where applicable.

For a current program of study, the transcript must include the last semester completed before the competition deadline, including the summer session if applicable.

What makes a transcript official may differ from one academic institution to another. Nonetheless, to be deemed official by the Fonds, each transcript must:

• Be issued by the institution in question;

AND

• Include elements indicating that it is an official transcript for that academic institution. This may be the seal or stamp of the issuing institution AND/OR the registrar’s signature AND/OR the notation “Official Transcript”, etc.

THE PRESENCE OF A WATERMARK will not render a transcript unofficial, as long as it meets the requirements specified above.

If there is any doubt about the authenticity of a transcript included with the application, the Fonds reserves the right to verify with the applicant or the institution concerned.

A transcript delivered in a sealed envelope by the registrar’s office can be opened and its contents scanned.

Other documents to attach, where applicable, in the file with the transcripts:

• Document explaining the grading system for transcripts from institutions outside North America. This letter must clearly explain the grading system used, so that the transcripts can be properly understood;
• Letter of explanation from the institution (registrar’s office or equivalent administrative body) if no transcript is issued. The letter must state the reasons for the missing transcript. The Fonds reserves the right to verify the acceptability of the reasons given;
• If no transcript is issued but the applicant is unable to obtain a letter from the university, a letter of explanation written by the applicant and endorsed by the department director at the host institution, justifying the absence of the transcript.

Proof of citizenship

A photocopy of the identification page of a passport from the applicant’s country of origin (valid at the time of application) or any other official document establishing the applicant’s citizenship.

Acknowledgement of receipt from publishers

• Acknowledgements of receipt from the publisher for all articles submitted and notices received from publishers for articles accepted for publication (acknowledgements of receipt for articles already published are not forwarded to the committee).

Notice

A notice of the application’s transmission for evaluation or of its non-eligibility will be sent to you by email in December at the latest. An applicant who has not received this notice should contact the program manager before December 15.

5. Evaluation

To find out more about the rules governing the scholarship evaluation process, please refer to Section 4 of the CGR.

6. Open access policy

Peer-reviewed publications resulting from the research made possible by this grant must be released as immediate open access (without embargo), under an open license, in accordance with the FRQ Open Access Policy (revised in 2022).

The doctoral thesis resulting from this award must be made freely accessible, without embargo, in an institutional or disciplinary repository in accordance with the FRQ Open Access Policy (revised in 2022).

7. Effective date

The rules apply to the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

8. Contact person

Michel Garceau
Program manager
FRQNT Training Awards 
Phone: 418 643-8560 ext. 3459
Email: bourses.nt@frq.gouv.qc.ca