seven promising projects receive funding to advance entrepreneurship research

main and the Fonds de recherche du Québec are proud to announce the seven collaborative projects between researchers and support organizations that will share funding to pursue their research under the PERSÉIS 2023 call for proposals.

Dedicated to stimulating research on innovative and scientific entrepreneurship in Quebec in all its diversity, PERSÉIS aims to catalyze research based on the concerns and needs of supporting organizations. The selected projects embody the ambitious vision of PERSÉIS by focusing on crucial themes such as: the financing continuum, impact measurement, access to talent, and the integration of sustainable development objectives into the operations of support organizations.

A total of seven projects were selected on the basis of the depth of their reflection on the issues facing Quebec's entrepreneurial ecosystem, their ability to rally a wide range of players, and the potential for large-scale adoption of the results by the stakeholder community. Here are the projects and the people behind them. Please note that for each project, a maximum of five organizations will collaborate on the various research projects:

• Attracting and retaining regional talent to foster innovative entrepreneurship in Québec, submitted by Julie Bérubé of the Université du Québec en Outaouais [UQO] and piloted by Digihub.
• Projet RÉFRACTION: Faire converger les savoirs pour catalyser l'innovation en santé, submitted by Marie-Michèle Lord of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières [UQTR] and piloted by CTS Santé.
• L'alignement des entreprises québécoises sur les Objectifs de Développement Durable (ODD) : le rôle des incubateurs et accélérateurs, submitted by Mr. Félix Zogning of the Université de Sherbrooke and piloted by Magog Technopole
• Internationalization of startups: how to make the support continuum effective, submitted by Sophie Veilleux of Université Laval and piloted by Le CAMP
• Promouvoir l'inclusivité dans les Accélérateurs et Incubateurs d'Entreprises au Québec pour un meilleur impact, submitted by Mr. Yabo Octave Niamie of Polytechnique Montréal and piloted by the COlab Innovation sociale et culture numérique
• Supporting the environmental and ethical performance of digital start-ups, submitted by Cécile Bulle, Université du Québec à Montréal [UQAM] and piloted by Zú
• Integrating sustainable development objectives into the operations of Quebec's business gas pedals and incubators and within the companies they support: methods, tools and progress monitoring, submitted by Mr Matthias Pépin of Université Laval and piloted by 2 Degrés

Each project submitted had to combine members of the Quebec research community and the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and each stakeholder participated in all stages of the project co-construction process.

"The selected projects were chosen for their ability to meet the critical needs of the Quebec entrepreneurial ecosystem. They demonstrate significant potential for adoption, generating significant anticipated spin-offs for the stakeholders directly involved, decision-makers, Quebec internationally, and above all, Quebec's innovative and scientific companies," says Rémi Quirion, Quebec's Chief Scientist.

"With PERSÉIS, we want to bring two communities together to better understand and support the development of innovative and scientific entrepreneurship in Quebec. Today, we are proud to celebrate the fruit of fruitful collisions organized over the past year, through PERSÉIS and Sommet des accélérateurs, between the research community and the people who support young innovative companies on a daily basis. The dynamism of our ecosystem and its ability to propel Quebec companies forward depend on the contribution of a wide range of players," says Louis-Félix Binette, MAIN's Managing Director.