Details of the program
As part of the Quebec Aerospace Strategy (QAS) Horizon 2026 announced on February 7, 2022, the Quebec government wishes to support companies during all stages of their research and development (R&D) projects, from innovation to pre-commercialization. The achievement of this objective relies in particular on the realization of R&D projects with the participation of public research centers or technological expertise in Quebec, as well as through the CRIAQ.
The purpose of this call for projects, which is open to all, is to allow the development and rapid adoption of technologies. This would allow the Quebec aerospace industry to fully benefit from the resumption of global demand for new aerospace products and to meet the objectives of the SQA Horizon 2026 which ends at the turn of 2024. This call for projects is complementary to other initiatives led by CRIAQ, notably Explorating Innovation.
Objectives:
The objectives of this call are to:
- Accelerate the exploration of technology that will allow the industry to reach sustainable development objectives more quickly and to further diversify the Quebec aerospace sector.
- Test the feasibility of technologies/methods for the development of new products and processes according to a methodology and/or with anticipated demonstration/testing milestones to mitigate risks related to the registration and/or certification of said technologies.
- Ensure the definition of pre-competitive research projects with high commercial potential for the industry
The general objective of this call is to encourage collaborations between Quebec university research institutions, college technology transfer centers (CCTT) as well as Quebec public research centers (CRP) and various partners, to enable them to maintain or increase their competitiveness.
Eligibility criteria:
The project team must be composed of at least one company legally incorporated under the laws of the Government of Quebec or Canada, holding a Quebec Business Number (QBN) and operating an active commercial establishment in Quebec, and having internal R&D or production activities in Quebec, as well as a college center for technology transfer (CCTT), a Quebec university research institution or a Quebec public research center (PRC).
In the case of a business combination, the industrial partners cannot be affiliated or be in a situation where one controls the other, directly or indirectly.
Any partnership meeting these criteria may submit a proposal to CRIAQ under this call.
Details on project funding
- The maximum financial assistance is $50 000 per project.
- The financial assistance represents a maximum of 40% of the project’s eligible expenses. A minimum cash contribution of $ 37 500 . Above this threshold, in-kind contributions from companies are eligible, but cannot exceed their cash contribution level.
- Only college technology transfer centers (CCTT), universities and Quebec public research centers (CRP) are eligible to receive financial assistance under this call.
- The duration of the project is 1 year maximum
- Cumulative public assistance cannot exceed a maximum of 80% of eligible project expenses.
Application submission and approval process
The CRIAQ team will accompany project teams throughout the development of their research proposals. It is essential to include a CRIAQ project officer as soon as possible in the discussions to ensure that projects are eligible for funding programs. The CRIAQ team will also be able to advise project leaders on the project’s funding structure.
Before the deadline for submission, the following must be submitted to CRIAQ according to the templates provided:
1st step: Letter of intent form: submitted with the partners in true copy before March 14, 2023
Only teams that have submitted a compliant letter of intent before this deadline will be invited to the second step.
Step 2: Full proposal including the following documents
- The application form
- The detailed budget file
- Letters of industrial support
- Academic consent forms
These documents must be completed, compliant, and signed (as required) and sent to Projets@criaq.aero before April 14, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Any applications submitted after this deadline or incomplete will not be considered for review.