8th joint call for proposals to foster cooperation between Québec and the Nordic countries in the areas of culture, society, and research and innovation

10.09.24 | Funding opportunities
The Government of Québec and the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) invite you to apply for financial support to carry out a co-operation project in the fields of culture, society, and research and innovation between Québec and the Nordic countries. To submit a project, the Québec partner must fill the financial support application form and the summary sheet before November 11th 2024. The Nordic partners must fill in the Nordic Council of Ministers project description application and budget form and submit to the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Information

Opportunity category
Open calls
Deadline
Mon, 11/11/2024 - 11:59 PM
Financial framework
50 000 DKK per project per year
Countries
Canada
Norway
Finland
Faroe Islands
Denmark
Åland Islands
Sweden
Iceland
Greenland

As per Joint Statement on collaboration in northern sustainable development between the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Government of Québec signed 1 February 2013 and the Letter of Intent between the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Government of Québec signed 27 February 2015, but without being limited by the foregoing, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Government of Québec jointly developed a call for proposals. The Nordic Council of Ministers and the Government of Québec, hereafter the parties, have been in close collaborative dialogue since the Letter of Intent of 2015 with the aim of developing concrete cooperation.

Objectives

The joint call for proposals between the parties seeks to:

  • Encourage North-to-North co-operation between partners from Nunavik, Québec and northern Nordic partners;
  • Promote sustainable development and a green transition in each region, taking into account the cultural, social, environmental and/or territorial factors of the projects; 
  • Encourage exchanges between the two regions by fostering knowledge to respective entity's cultural presence;
  • Promote co-creation and co-dissemination of artworks and cultural products, namely through exchange programmes involving artists, directors and authors, the holding of public events and the development of partnerships between cultural institutions on both sides; 
  • Favour a better mutual understanding through the consolidation of networks and sharing of expertise;
  • Promote cooperation between researchers in targeted fields of interest on both sides.

SECTOR OF COOPERATION

CULTURE

Cultural projects meeting these criteria will be prioritized:

  • encourage collaborations, physical or virtual, notably through the exchange of artists, companies, businesses, directors and authors as well as through the holding of events with an impact in the collectivity; 
  • Promote the co-creation and co-dissemination of cultural works and products in which all partners will be entirely involved; 
  • Foster a better mutual understanding through the consolidation of networks and the dissemination of cultural expertise as well as through the development of partnerships between cultural institutions on both sides;
  • Encourage the promotion and dissemination of indigenous cultural events, in the context of UNESCO's International Decade of the World's Indigenous Languages (2022-32).

 

Please note that a particular attention will be paid to projects dealing with northern sustainable development issues.

 

Cultural projects are to be rooted in artistic disciplines, such as (without being limited to): 

  • PERFORMING ARTS (DANCE, MUSIC, CIRCUS, THEATRE, ETC.)
  • AUDIOVISUAL SECTOR 
  • LITERATURE AND PUBLISHING
  • DIGITAL AND CREATIVE ARTS
SOCIETY

Those fields will be prioritized: 

  • Health
  • Education
  • Gender equality and LGBTI
  • Youth
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

Those fields will be prioritized:

  • Information and communications technologies
  • Climate change, environment and sustainable development
  • Smart cities and mobility issues
  • Life sciences and biotechnologies
  • Innovative manufacturing
  • Agricultural technologies (Agritech)
  • Energy efficiency and transition, development of renewable energies

Please note that this call for proposal is open to all sectors. Projects will be chosen after a quality-based evaluation and in regard to the criteria mentioned below. Also, a specific attention will be given to projects that set the focus on social innovation in the line of new ideas, approaches, interventions, services, products, laws or types of organisation that responds more adequately and sustainably than existing solutions to a well-defined social need.

PROJECT ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

In order to be admissible for a grant from the Government of Québec, the projects must be submitted by Canadian citizens or permanent residents living in Québec.

 

Projects must:

  • Involve at least two institutions and/or stakeholders from two different Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and/or Åland Islands) and one Québec partner; 
  • Begin at the earliest in January 2025;
  • Be submitted as a complete application file both at the Nordic Council of Ministers (for the Nordic partners) and the ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie du Québec (for the Québec partner);
  • Respect the application submission deadline – applications received after November 11th 2024 at 23h59 will not be considered.

 

Specification for 2024-25 call:

The fields of culture, society, and research and innovation have been chosen as priority areas. The aim is to facilitate concrete cooperation in the areas of culture and innovation. A final report will have to be submitted no later than February 28th 2026.

GUIDELINES AND EXPENSES ELIGIBLE FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Co-operation project support must not substitute the support usually granted by other financing organisations. Please note that financial support per project per year granted by the Government of Québec and the Nordic Council of Ministers cannot exceed $10,000 CAD or 50 000 DKK, which means that each project altogether can be financed with the equivalent of a maximum of 20,000 CAD or 100.000 DKK. 

 

Please note that the Québec Ministries, governmental agencies or organisations and Québec government companies may apply in calls for projects under the responsibility of the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie. However, the funding granted cannot be used to cover expenses incurred by them and their staff. The funding may only be used to cover costs incurred by external partners from Québec. 

The following expenses are eligible:
  • Transportation costs for return travel between Québec and the Nordic countries (economic class);
  • Expenses for the organization of webinars, the production, translation and diffusion of video podcasts or online classes;
  • Others expenses related to travel (visa, insurance, fees for green gas emission, transport of instruments or artworks, etc.);
  • Per diems (hotel and meals);
  • Publication, promotion and information dissemination fees associated with the project;
  • Artists’ fees strictly related to the project presented;
  • Venue or equipment rental costs;
  • Purchase of material or equipment.
The following expenses are not eligible:
  • Expenses related to an organisation’s operating costs and staff payment;
  • Any expense previously covered by financial support from another government program;
  • Regular operating fees of the applicant;
  • Expenses engaged before 2025 (OR) the confirmation of the funding;
  • Travel costs in first class;
  • Fees for excess luggage;

Funding method:

The Québec-Nordic Council of Ministers cooperation uses a separate financing method, meaning that each partner is responsible for the entirety of its expenses in foreign territory. Québec Financial support is provided by the Québec ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie (MRIF) and the ministère de la Culture et des Communications. The grant requested from the Quebec government must concern only the Quebec partner's expenses (including travel expenses to the Nordic countries as well as living expenses). Likewise, the grant requested from the Nordic Council of Ministers must concern only the expenditure of partners in Northern Europe (including travel expenses to Quebec and living expenses).

PROJECT EVALUATION CRITERIA

  • Coherence of project submitted in relation with the objectives stated in the call for projects;
  • Innovative nature of the project;
  • Creation of new partnerships;
  • Clarity of stated objectives;
  • Timeframe and work program feasibility;
  • Contribution to the sector’s development based on the projected benefits and results;
  • Rigour of financial arrangement and diversity of funding sources;
  • Balance between the objectives and projected results in view of the work schedule and funding structure;
  • Environmentally friendly aspect of the project;
  • Be carried out jointly according to the principle of reciprocity and mutual commitment, both in regards to financing and concrete impacts;
  • Foster long-term exchanges and cooperative bonds between Québec and the Nordic countries;
  • Result in tangible benefits for Québec and the Nordic countries;
  • Lead to the establishment of networks for cooperation.

PROJECT PRESENTATION AND SELECTION

Please note that all the projects must absolutely be submitted to both coordinating organisations (being the ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie for the Québec partner and the Nordic Council of Ministers for the Nordic partners).

 

Québec and Nordic countries partners must both fill out the relevant online documents (no other forms will be accepted):

For Québec:
For the Nordic countries:

The Nordic countries partners must submit a project description and budget form (English version) at the latest on November 11 2024. 

INQUIRIES

The Government of Québec and the Nordic Council of Ministers are responsible for the final selection of the projects and determining the amount of the support granted. Results will be made available to the organisations at the beginning of 2025. Please note that decisions are not subject to any appeals.

Inquiries for the Nordic partners

Helena Iversen, project officer

Secretariat of the Nordic Council of Ministers

Email address: heiver@norden.org

Inquiries for the Québec partner

M. Steve Boilard

Direction Europe et institutions européennes

Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie

QuebecCNM@mri.gouv.qc.ca

FINAL REPORT

A final report form will be filled by each organisation and submitted according to the terms connected to this in Québec and NCM respectively.