On the sidelines of the Science Forum South Africa (SFSA), the Québec Research Fund (FRQ) and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) signed a joint declaration of intent to promote research collaborations. The signing, held on 05 December 2024 was led by Rémi Quirion, Chief Scientist of FRQ and Thandi Mgwebi, Group executive for Business Advancement at the NRF.

The declaration aims to promote and facilitate research collaborations and mobility between Québec and South Africa on key issues affecting both. As part of this agreement, the FRQ and the NRF will launch the first call for proposals on environmental and wildfire prevention, mitigation methods and interventions. The objective of the first call will be to fund joint research projects with a holistic perspective on the mitigation of wildfires. This call subscribes to a need for research between two regions of the world affected by climate change.

Says Rémi Quirion, Québec’s Chief Scientist at FRQ, “I am pleased to sign this agreement with the National Research Foundation of South Africa as it demonstrates our commitment to bring our research communities closer together and explore new avenues of collaboration. By uniting our efforts, we are reinforcing our capacities to face great challenges that are affecting both Québec and South Africa, like wildfires and flooding.”

“The NRF is excited to embark on this collaborative journey with FRQ,” says Thandi Mgwebi, Group executive for Business Advancement at the NRF. “Our joint expertise and programming will undoubtedly lead to innovative solutions and impactful research and skills development outcomes for South Africa and Québec”.

About the Fonds de Recherche du Québec (FRQ)

Reporting to the minister of Économy, Innovation and Energy of Québec, the Fonds de recherche du Québec aims to support the strategic and coherent development the scientific research in Québec in the sectors of natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, social sciences, humanities and arts.