FONDS DE RECHERCHE DU QUEBEC - SANTE

Their core work

FRSQ is Quebec's provincial public funding agency for health research, operating as a co-funder in European research networks rather than conducting research itself. Within H2020, it channels Canadian funding into transnational ERA-NET programmes focused on neuroscience, rare diseases, nanomedicine, and personalised medicine. Its role is to align Quebec's health research investments with European priorities, enabling Quebec-based researchers to participate in jointly funded international projects. It serves as the Canadian bridge into EU health research coordination networks.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2014-2018), FRSQ joined ERA-NETs spanning a broad range of biomedical topics — nanomedicine, neuroscience, and rare diseases — casting a wide net across health research domains. By 2019-2024, the focus narrowed and deepened toward data infrastructure, FAIR principles, patient empowerment, and public-private partnerships, reflecting a shift from pure research funding toward systemic capacity-building in health research. The later projects emphasise translational neuroscience and interdisciplinary approaches, signalling a move from basic research coordination toward clinical and societal impact.

FRSQ is moving toward research infrastructure themes — FAIR data, patient involvement, and translational pathways — making them a strong partner for projects needing non-European co-funding with a data governance angle.

How they like to work

FRSQ exclusively participates as a partner, never as a coordinator — consistent with its role as a funding agency contributing co-financing rather than leading research execution. It operates in very large consortia (178 unique partners across 36 countries from just 6 projects), which reflects the massive ERA-NET and EJP structures it joins. Working with FRSQ means gaining access to Quebec's health research funding ecosystem and its network of funded researchers, rather than direct research capacity.

With 178 unique consortium partners across 36 countries from only 6 projects, FRSQ sits inside some of the largest health research coordination networks in H2020. Its reach is truly global, extending well beyond Europe as one of the few Canadian participants in these ERA-NET structures.

What sets them apart

FRSQ is one of very few non-European national funding agencies participating in H2020 health ERA-NETs, giving it a rare bridge function between Canadian and European health research. For consortium builders, partnering with FRSQ opens access to Quebec's substantial health research funding pool and its network of university hospitals and research centres. Their consistent presence across neuroscience and rare disease networks since 2014 makes them a reliable, long-term co-funding partner rather than a one-off participant.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EJP RD
  The European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases is one of the largest health coordination actions in H2020, and FRSQ's participation signals serious commitment to rare disease data infrastructure and FAIR principles.
• NEURON Cofund2
  The only project where FRSQ received direct EC funding (EUR 35,888), and it extends their neuroscience commitment into translational and interdisciplinary territory including mental health and psychiatric disorders.
• EuroNanoMed III
  Their only project outside pure health themes, bridging nanomedicine with diagnostics and regenerative medicine — shows willingness to fund technology-driven health innovation.