Project evaluators: who are they?
As trustee of several programs in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum technologies and 5G for the Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE), Prompt’s mission is to accelerate collaboration between the entrepreneurial and scientific worlds, propel Quebec innovation to the forefront and increase Quebec’s competitive edge worldwide.
Our mandate is to support the development of innovation projects: advising applicants, verifying project conformity and the consistency of budgetary and technological assessments. With the help of our experts, projects are enriched, improved and detailed to meet the Ministry’s requirements and criteria.
For some of our programs, such as PSO (Programme de Soutien aux Organisations), Quantum Technologies and PICQ (Programme d’Innovation en Cybersécurité du Québec), our support also includes a mandate to recommend projects for funding by the Ministry. Projects recommended by Prompt are therefore guaranteed to be of high quality and feasibility, and therefore more likely to be selected by the Ministry for funding.
How is a project recommended?
Before each PSO, Quantum Technologies or PICQ project is submitted, it must be reviewed by an evaluation committee. Evaluation committees are made up of industry professionals and researchers from universities, colleges and other research centers. They come from various fields related to the heart of our sector: ICT and digital technologies. They act on a voluntary and individual basis – not on behalf of a company, university or research center.
“Our evaluators volunteer their time and expertise to read, understand and score each project submitted to them. Afterwards, the committees gather all the scores and discuss certain aspects of the projects. In fact, only projects receiving a score of 70% or more from the committee can continue with the MEIE submission process. If a passing grade is not obtained, comments from the evaluators and the Prompt teams help to rework the file before the next committee meeting”. Christèle Pelven – PICQ program manager.
Become a Prompt appraiser
Being part of a Prompt evaluation committee is an opportunity for a professional to put his or her expertise and skills at the service of other players in the ecosystem who want to innovate.
Many of our evaluators come from companies that have had a project funded in the past, or are partners in these projects as research centers, universities or CCTTs,” says Jinny Plourde, Director of the PSO, Quantum and Innov-R programs.
It remains important to ensure and guarantee that there are no conflicts of interest when evaluating projects.” Since 2021, to ensure good committee governance, evaluators’ mandates are for 2 years, renewable 2 times.
Completing your appraiser’s mandate
As the year 2022 draws to a close, our team of evaluators for PSO projects says goodbye to Paul Fortier and Alan Bernardi. Each has been involved with Prompt as an evaluator for almost 10 years. Throughout these years, their expertise, professionalism and commitment have enabled dozens of collaborative research projects to obtain funding, and thus increase the capacity of Quebec organizations to innovate.
Generous with their time, their comments always most pertinent, it has been very formative for me to collaborate with them over all these years,” notes Jinny Plourde, Director of the PSO, Quantiques and Innov-R programs. Their contribution, offered with enthusiasm and professionalism, has always been motivated by the desire to make Quebec a province where innovation is a priority. A huge thank you to both of you.”
The entire Prompt team would like to thank all our evaluators for their commitment and expertise in supporting our mission!
