SCIENCE IMPACT PROGRAM
SCIENCE IMPACT PROGRAM
In collaboration with
SCIENCE IMPACT PROGRAM
In collaboration with
Esplanade Québec and the Fonds de recherche du Québec join forces to launch the 3rd edition of the Science Impact program, aimed at supporting entrepreneurial and scientific innovation in Quebec.
This grant program will allow 26 Quebec entrepreneurial teams, of all legal forms, to initiate or enhance new collaborative projects with Quebec researchers.
Interested in finding out more?
Attend our free information session (in French)!
*It is not mandatory to have been supported by Esplanade Québec. We accept projects with at least 10 hours of support from any startup incubator or accelerator.
The opportunity to collaborate with experts in their impact sectors, who know their specificities and possibilities
The benefit of access to cutting-edge knowledge and recent data on their fields of action
The prospect of increasing the efficiency of their impact enterprise
The benefit of carrying a research project through to deployment with users or beneficiaries of the organization with which they are collaborating
A fresh perspective on their research, thanks to interactions with the user community
The opportunity to work on innovative projects that have concrete social and environmental impacts in our societies
13 grants of $10,000 will be offered to startups that have never carried out concrete research projects.
The objective of this section of the call is to introduce a new audience of startups to the practice of collaboration with research.
13 grants of $10,000 will be offered to startups that have already collaborated with researchers in the course of their activities, and that wish to undertake new collaborative projects.
The aim of this part is to encourage startups to collaborate with research.
January 8 to March 2, 2025 (11:59 pm)
Week of April 7, 2025
Avril 16, 2025
Late April - early May 2025
A virtual information session (in French) will be held on Wednesday, January 22 at noon. Join us to ask any questions you may have about submitting your project.
On January 29, at noon online, join us to meet the Fonds de recherche du Québec and sharpen up your problematic with their help.
You can also book an appointment with Yolène Rosello,
project manager at Esplanade Québec, at [email protected].
The program aims to encourage collaboration between the research community and startups with a social and environmental impact.
More specifically for startups, the program helps to:
to strengthen the capacity for innovation and increase the societal and environmental impact of startups in Québec through collaborative research
to increase social and environmental benefits in Quebec.
More specifically for the research ecosystem, the program helps to:
to make Quebec research expertise accessible and to promote the scientific approach in the entrepreneurial environment in Quebec
The program has two parts: an initiation part to introduce a new audience of startups to the practice of collaboration with the research community, and a strengthening part for experienced startups wishing to continue relying on research to innovate.
Exploring the potential of research to accelerate the development of your entrepreneurial impact project
Developing a research project for the first time to generate customized scientific knowledge for your startup
Continuing one or more research initiatives that have already contributed to the development of the entrepreneurial project
Strengthening the contribution of research to the startup's business model
In both cases, projects must address a specific problem with tangible anticipated outcomes.
This program is for you if :
You have an entrepreneurial project, whether you are incorporated as an NPO, cooperative or corporation (inc.)
The main team of your startup, including the founder (or the persons carrying the project), is located in Quebec.
You are not yourself a researcher or a research professional affiliated with a Quebec research institution (Centre collégial de transfert de technologie, university, research center funded by the FRQ or the Quebec government, etc.). Research assistants and students are accepted if their project does not involve a research collaboration with their employer.
ERRATUM! Your company was registered after January 8, 2019 2020.
You are or have been accompanied by a business incubator or accelerator (minimum of 10 hours of support in a program with a selection process)
No, it is not mandatory to have been supported by Esplanade Québec.
To be eligible for the Science Impact program, you only need to have been supported by a startup incubator or accelerator for at least 10 hours in a program with a selection process.
The selection process is divided into 2 phases:
Pre-selection phase: a first selection will be made upon receipt of application files. The applications will be analyzed by an independent jury from the entrepreneurship and research community, according to the eligibility and the selection criteria.
Pitch selection phase: the pre-selected projects (25 per stream) will be invited to present their pitch before an independent jury made up of researchers and specialists from different sectors related to the call for applications. Following these pitches, the jury will meet to select the 26 winners of the two streams.
To prepare your application, we encourage you to attend the information session on January 22, 2025 and the webinar on January 29, 2025: Recipe for an effective research project (in particular for component 1).
Please note that the program is aimed at entrepreneurial impact projects that provide an innovative, efficient, and realistic solution to a social or environmental problem, and that are willing to collaborate with research. Applicants must demonstrate this in their application.
Clarity, relevance and scope* of the objectives in relation to the identified research needs
Anticipated team composition and roles (business and research)
Feasibility
*The objectives go beyond market research or impact analysis of an entrepreneurial solution.
2. Collaboration strategy / Potential for integration of the research approach (15%)
Development and follow-up plan for the project with the research partner
Integration plan of the research project into the startup’s activities, including dedicated resources (time, personnel, expertise, equipment, etc.)
Related to the problematics and the development of the entrepreneurial project
Stimulating effect on research in Quebec
Benefits for user communities and for Quebec (outcomes can be scientific, social, economic, technological, environmental, etc.)
Candidate’s research initiation potential (35%)
Motivation, experience and transferable expertise in a collaborative scientific project
Level of familiarity with research
Demonstration of the startup’s potential to consolidate innovation through research (35%)
Experience in developing research projects
Demonstration of the project’s complementarity with previous research initiatives
Potential for long-term innovation through research within the company
In keeping with the objectives of the program, the $10,000 grant must be used to fund expenses directly related to the conduct of the proposed research project. All of the funds allocated must therefore go to the research center or organization with which you are partnering. Eligible expenses are as follows
Salaries and benefits of research personnel directly involved in the project, in accordance with the rates in effect at the managing institution or organization, where applicable.
Scholarships, supplements and salary support for students (CEGEP or university) and post-doctoral fellows
Costs related to the purchase of or access to data banks
Costs related to the use of equipment or premises necessary for the realization of the research project (up to a maximum of 15% of the value of the grant)
No. To be eligible for the Science Impact program, which aims to create and/or solidify collaborations with the public research community, your project must be carried out by external researchers affiliated with research institutions recognized by the FRQ, with whom you will sign a collaboration agreement.
Your project must begin after the grant has been approved, i.e. in May 2025. From that time onward, you have a maximum of one year to sign a research agreement with your collaborators, and then one year to complete the project (adjustments may be made to the schedule depending on the case).
Yes, you can apply if the Science Impact grant is intended to integrate an additional component, complementary to the existing research project. The implementation of this component must not have begun before the grant is awarded for you to be eligible.
Yes, if you are applying for a different project or for another stage of your current project, provided that it is distinct from the stage for which you have already received a grant.
75% of the grant will be paid on receipt of the agreement, and 25% on submission of the report form.
Project follow-up for the 26 startups selected will be handled by Esplanade Québec, which you can contact if you have any questions. After completion of the project, startups will also be required to fill out a short reporting form.
Call for applications: January 8 to March 2, 2025
Information session: (held in French) January 22nd, 2025
Webinar: for an effective research project: (held in French) January 29, 2025
Announcement of pre-selected startups: Week of April 7, 2025
Coaching session: Avril 16, 2025
Selection pitches: Late April – early May 2025
Announcement of winning startups: Late April – early May 2025
Awarding event: Early June 2025
The January 29 webinar is aimed primarily at the startups that apply to Part 1 of the program. It is designed to inform applicants about best practices in developing a research question. It is optional.
The coaching session will take the form of a virtual meeting during which the pre-selected startups can receive advice on preparing their pitch for the final selection. This meeting will be optional.