The Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) brings together Quebec’s three major research funding sectors – Nature and Technologies, Health, and Society and Culture – under one umbrella to provide a unified structure for supporting research in the province. This government agency was formed in 2011 by uniting those separate research funds, and in 2024 it was formally established as a single entity by provincial law, merging the Nature and Technology, Health, and Society and Culture funds into the new FRQ. The original sector-based funds, whose creation dates back to the 1980s and early 2000s, continue to exist as divisions within the FRQ, retaining their respective research domains but operating under a coordinated leadership. The unification under the FRQ aims to strengthen strategic direction and synergy across disciplines, thereby enhancing the overall impact and coherence of Quebec’s research enterprise in addressing the grand challenges of the 21st century.
Mission and role in the research ecosystem:
The FRQ’s overarching mission is to promote and financially support scientific research across Quebec in all major fields covered by its three sectors, encompassing both fundamental and applied research. Through its funding programs, the FRQ invests in research projects and provides training scholarships, thereby cultivating a highly qualified new generation of researchers and contributing to the advancement of knowledge. As a central pillar of Quebec’s research ecosystem, the FRQ ensures strategic and coherent development of research within universities, health institutions, colleges, and research centers across the province. Under the leadership of Quebec’s Chief Scientist, who also serves as the FRQ’s President and CEO, the agency aligns its priorities with the government’s science and innovation agenda and helps raise the profile of Quebec research on national and international stages.
Mandate and management of public funding programs:
As the government’s designated agency for research funding, the FRQ administers public funds for science through a variety of grant and scholarship programs. It is responsible for launching competitive calls for proposals and overseeing a peer-review evaluation process to ensure that funding is awarded to the most meritorious and promising projects. Notably, the FRQ supports the coordination of research initiatives within government ministries and agencies, managing special calls for research proposals that address the evidence needs of public policy. The FRQ also forges partnerships at the provincial, national, and international levels to co-fund strategic research initiatives and to strengthen collaboration among researchers, institutions, and sectors of innovation. Through these roles, the FRQ serves as the key intermediary between the government’s research priorities and the scientific community, ensuring that public investments in research are used effectively and strategically.
Strategic program orientations:
The FRQ’s programs and initiatives are guided by key orientations that aim to foster cutting-edge research with tangible benefits for society. First, support for the next generation of scientists is a clearly stated priority: the FRQ invests heavily in training graduate students and postdoctoral fellows through prestigious scholarships, and it provides early-career grants to new researchers, helping secure the succession and renewal of Quebec’s scientific community. Second, scientific excellence underpins all of the FRQ’s funding competitions: proposals are selected on the basis of rigorous peer-reviewed criteria of merit and quality, ensuring that resources support the most innovative and high-caliber research projects. In addition, the FRQ emphasizes the societal impact of research by encouraging knowledge mobilization and transfer of research results to end-users and the general public. This focus translates into efforts to have research findings inform public decision-making, drive social and economic progress, and improve the well-being of the population. Furthermore, the FRQ actively promotes intersectoral approaches, recognizing that today’s complex challenges – from climate change and population aging to digital transformation – require strong collaboration across disciplines and sectors. To this end, the FRQ supports intersectoral research projects and networks that break down silos and leverage complementary expertise from multiple domains. Lastly, innovation is a cross-cutting priority for the FRQ: whether technological, social, or organizational, innovation is stimulated through programs that encourage bold ideas and high-impact initiatives for the benefit of Quebec society. These core orientations – nurturing the next generation, excellence, societal impact, intersectoral collaboration, and innovation – guide all of the FRQ’s activities. Through a management approach that combines rigor and openness, the Fonds de recherche du Québec helps shape a dynamic research ecosystem and strengthens Quebec’s position as a leader in science and innovation.
