The first PERSÉIS monitoring teams are being deployed

The Quebec Innovation Accelerators Movement (MAIN) and the Quebec Research Fund (FRQ) are proud to announce the launch of the PERSÉIS intelligence units initiative.

These monitoring groups rely on collaboration between members of the research community and support professionals to address a shared priority issue. 

It is also an opportunity to integrate and combine research methodologies with those of incubators and accelerators to produce comprehensive assessments focused on real-world concerns. These groups are intended to serve as forums for exchange, where participants can get to know one another, draw inspiration from one another, and, where appropriate, collectively identify knowledge gaps to be addressed through research projects.

To kick off this first phase of collaboration, three monitoring groups will focus on key topics that require further exploration:

1. impact assessment
2. Entrepreneurs' Mental Health
3. Intellectual Property in Innovative Companies

The impact measurement task force will focus in particular on the measurement strategies used around the world to highlight the social, environmental, or economic impact of startups—both as a marketing tool in their target markets and to attract potential investors. It will also examine indicators that can help demonstrate the value of incorporating this impact into the support provided to startups by funders. This initiative aims to identify common frameworks and tools that would be beneficial and adaptable to the Quebec context.

Here are the members who will be discussing this topic:

• Arman Aksoy, Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, and Research Associate at HEC Montréal
• Julien Bergeron, Director of the Sustainable Tourism Innovation Hub, MT Lab
• Sylvain Carle, Director, CIVIC
• Maria do Carmo Correia de Lima, Postdoctoral Fellow, CRIUGM—Research Center of the Montreal University Institute of Geriatrics
• Julie Crevier, Knowledge Transfer Advisor , College Center of Expertise in Social Innovation (CERESO)
• Laure Painchaud, Business Intelligence Consultant, Esplanade Québec

The monitoring group dedicated to entrepreneurs’ mental health will address an increasingly critical issue in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: the challenges (e.g., stress, burnout, a culture of failure) that entrepreneurs face. Key findings from the literature and documented best practices for support will be identified in order to drive a paradigm shift and break down existing taboos.

Here are the members who will be discussing this topic:

• Mariève Beauchemin, Director of Incubation andacceleration, Indie Asylum
• Louis-Pierre Charest, Director of Programs, Centech
• Simon Coulombe, Associate Professor and holder of the Relief Research Chair in Mental Health, Self-Management, and Work, Laval University
• Florence Guiliani, assistant professor and director of the entrepreneurship track in the B.A.A. program at the University of Sherbrooke
• Marie-Claude Lemire, Executive Director, UdeM Innovation & Millennium Center
• Étienne St-Jean, Full Professor and Director of the SME Research Institute, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières

The task force dedicated to corporate intellectual property will explore existing literature on the variety of models for protecting and utilizing intellectual property. It will also address the challenges startups face in identifying and protecting their innovations, as well as the impact of their decisions on their commercialization and growth strategies.

Here are the members who will be discussing this topic:

• Marc Banik, Associate Professor, Management, ESG-UQAM
• Martin Couillard, CLIP Manager, IR-CUSM
• Raphaël Flores, Partnership Development Advisor, IRSST
• Maria G. Macedo, Partnerships and Innovation Support Department, UQAM
• Marc St-Jean, Business Development Advisor, Healthy Brains Healthy Lives Program | McGill University

In addition to the core members of the monitoring groups, several experts will contribute to the progress of the work during the group’s cycle by suggesting avenues for exploration or additional resources to consider.

• Sarah Abarro, Incubation Program Coordinator, Maison de l’innovation sociale
• Audrey Béganton, Project and Partnership Manager, 2 Degrés
• Catalina Bonilla, Commissioner for Economic Development—Entrepreneurship, City of Montreal
• Coryell Boffy, Senior Director, Corporate and Culture, Axelys
• Luis Cisneros, Full Professor in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and co-founder of the entRepreneuriat Hub, HEC Montréal
• Michaël Dubois, Entrepreneurship Coordinator, Université du Québec à Rimouski
• Simon Grenier, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal
• Ghani Kolli, CEO, Credo Impact
• Thierry Lefèvre, coordinator at the Center for Research on Sustainable Materials at Laval University (CERMA)
• Laurence Lejeune, Ph.D. candidate in STS, UQAM – CIRST
• More to come!

PERSÉIS is a research-society initiative focused on innovative and scientific entrepreneurship, led by MAIN and the FRQ, with the aim of stimulating research on innovative and scientific entrepreneurship in Quebec.

“PERSEIS was created to support flexible and diversified funding initiatives aimed at fostering the emergence of research projects and thereby stimulating research that addresses the core concerns of the innovative and scientific entrepreneurship ecosystem. The monitoring units reinforce this vision by fostering collaboration and dialogue through the mobilization of existing scientific knowledge and science-based decision-making,” says Rémi Quirion, Quebec’s Chief Scientist.

“With the PERSÉIS monitoring teams, we now have a collaborative and flexible tool to stay on top of global trends in entrepreneurial support. “The wealth of expertise brought together in each group will allow us to reevaluate our practices and foster the emergence of new projects—both in support and research,” says Louis-Félix Binette, Executive Director of MAIN. “We’re starting with three key themes, but there are so many others where support providers and researchers would benefit from exploring the field together!”