Members of the scientific community,
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the Office of the Chief Scientist and the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) to adapt to the situation. While our Montréal and Québec City offices have been officially closed since Friday March 13, our departments remain open, as members of the FRQ teams are all working from home to carry on the day-to-day operations of our activity cycle. The vast majority of evaluation committee meetings were held before the physical closure of our offices. Overall, operations are proceeding normally given the exceptional circumstances. The FRQ will hold their three Boards of Directors meetings in the second week of April as planned, in a virtual format.
It goes without saying that the current context is disrupting your research activities. We are extremely aware of the impact this is having on your daily lives as researchers and students, and the difficulties caused by the situation. The FRQ teams are attentive to the needs of universities, colleges, hospitals and others. In addition, we are in discussion with our government authorities to find solutions in the face of this exceptional situation.
Finally, I would like to reiterate the watchword of the FRQ: flexibility. Your support is very important to us if we are to effectively deal with this crisis. We are counting on you, and we will be here to support you.
Rémi Quirion
Chief Scientist of Québec
