PSO-Biofood II – 144th call for projects

Who is eligible?

• Quebec public research institutes (in partnership with companies or industrial associations)
• Companies in the biofood sector (including food production, food processing, functional foods, and bio-ingredients)
• Industry associations related to the biofood sector

Who is not eligible

• Companies whose industrial contribution is funded by other government grants (industrial contributions must not originate from government aid).
• Companies with 25 or more employees that do not provide required French language compliance documentation.
• Companies doing business in Quebec without a French-language website (this restriction does not apply to international partners).
• Organizations not members in good standing of the CRIBIQ at the time of detailed application submission.

Eligible expenses

• Salaries and social benefits for project staff (excluding university professor-researchers already salaried by their institution or public funders, and college teachers released for project-related activities).
• Student or postdoctoral fellowships (at least 20% of the budget must be allocated to the training of students).
• Materials (including small laboratory devices), consumables, and supplies (excluding expenditures on equipment).
• Purchase or rental of equipment, up to 25% of total eligible expenses and not exceeding $25,000 per item before taxes.
• Animal facility and platform usage fees.
• Travel and accommodation expenses, following Quebec Treasury Board standards.
• Management and operation costs for intellectual property.
• Professional fees (contracts, subcontracting, etc.) incurred by public research institutes, justified and up to 10% of the total budget (maximum $25,000).
• CRIBIQ analysis and project monitoring fees (5% of total project costs, plus applicable taxes).

Eligible geographic areas

• Quebec

• At least 20% of the project budget must be allocated to student training or postdoctoral fellowships.
• The maximum grant amount is $500,000 per year, with a cumulative cap of $1,500,000 over three years, subject to budgetary adjustments by the ministry.
• All project partners must be up-to-date members of CRIBIQ upon submission of the detailed application.
• Successful applicants are reminded that changes to program modalities and funding amounts may occur without prior notice.