Link to accreditation form.

WHO does ACPQ serve? WHO can request professional researcher status and become member of ACPQ?

Method for registration:

To submit your application, please download the Request for accreditation (Registration form) and send the completed document to ACPQ’s administrative address: ACPQ, P.O. Box 1111, Station B, Montreal, Qc, H3B 3K9.

You are requested to consult the standards and criteria of membership eligibility describing the professional researcher’s profile and indicating the qualifications which apply to your potential membership in ACPQ.

Procedure for membership admission by accreditation:

The request for accreditation is free of charge. The accreditation process allows for ACPQ to establish the interaction between the profile of the applicant and that of a professional researcher. On reception of your application, the accreditation process and membership in ACPQ is activated. Once the qualifications are reviewed and the information is verified, your nomination is conveyed through a letter of accreditation in your name, thereby, granting associate membership status in ACPQ.

Membership status: associate member vs active member .<

ACPQ Associate Member’s status is granted and incorporated with formal entry into the profession. It is valid from the date of the applicant’s letter of accreditation.

WHO can be nominated and serve as officer of ACPQ?

ACPQ Active Member’s status is granted to the associate member who has paid the annual membership fee. With this status, the Active Member obtains the right to vote as well as the right to become an officer of ACPQ and is granted eligibility to be nominated as a director of the association. In addition to these rights, the Active Member is offered “pricing” benefits, privileges and other preferential treatment.

How to become an Active Member?

To obtain Active Member status, the associate member must pay the annual membership fee.

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Criteria for accreditation

WHO can and should ACPQ serve?

• Professional Researchers* (See descriptive below) The Association des chercheurs(es) professionnels(les) du Québec seeks to include professional researchers from all fields.

WHO can become member of ACPQ?

• Professional Researchers who uphold the aims and objectives of the association

PREAMBLE

There a clear need to create an association whose motto is "for the researcher, by the researcher" that brings together Quebec’s professional researchers, in order to fill a void, secure the profession and define the objectives and goals of this group in relation to its role in today’s knowledge-based society. A second set of goals of the association, them being a logical extension and consequence of the first, will address the need to provide members of this profession the resources they require to meet the challenge and be up to the task in this highly competitive worldwide enterprise.

ACPQ has established three areas where it plans to intervene:

• Representation

• Carrying out the professional researcher’s social contract

• Pursuing needs and claims

*Profile of the professional researcher

Definition: the professional researcher¹ is one who does (i.e., create, produce, make) research for a living and earns their income from this endeavour.

¹Professional title and right to vote (voting rights) reserved.

FOUR criteria applied to ascertain the applicant’s eligibility:

1-Higher education – Holding a Ph.D degree

2-Institutional affiliation^a

- Practice his(her) profession in a Quebec university or affiliated institution;

^aA full membership is offered to professional researchers working in governmental agencies or laboratories and holding a university post or appointment (eg, IRB, IML and others).

3- Remuneration - The professional researcher gets its principal source of income from any of the following :

i- An ad hoc support source for a fixed term (eg., scholarship)

ii- An institutional budget for an indefinite term (e.g., renewable term and contract as for track tenure and tenure appointments)²;

iii- ³An ad hoc support source of funding in a subordinate position for a fixed period; eg., 2yr/3yr assistantship on research grants, research contract, working as research associate or post-doctoral trainee whose remuneration comes directly from the grant (contract) of a main investigator.

4- Professional appointment - Financial support

A professional appointment refers to that of a researcher who is currently, the recipient of, or has in the past, been awarded an operational grant as principal investigator.

• ²For researchers who draw their remuneration from the budget of their institution, it requires that he/she spends the major part of his/her time on research activity (eg., researchers with tenure or on tenure-track from CHUM, CHU-ME, CUSM, CR-CHUL/CR-CHUQ, IRCM, etc.);

• ³Exempt from this requirement include researchers still in training (i.e., post-doctoral trainees) or in transition towards becoming principal investigators (i.e., research assistants or associates). They are admitted and named member of ACPQ.

Special invitation

A special invitation is aimed at retired professional researchers who wish to share their experience, expertise and passion for this profession with the younger generation.

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PROFESSIONAL RESEARCHERS CONCUR :
THEIR PROFESSION MATTERS!

This statement, perhaps, indicates best the rationale for joining ACPQ. Answers and comments in line with this statement and in reply to specific questions further illustrate why one should join ACPQ. To borrow a famous line from a legendary statesman:

“ Ask not what your profession can do for you: Ask what you can do for your profession."

WHAT can I do to support and nurture my profession?

HOW can I serve my profession?

WHY should I join and support ACPQ? Does supporting my profession translate into the betterment of and the stabilization of a fragile condition?

ANSWER: Becoming a member of the profession and joining ACPQ means seizing the opportunity, getting involved and choosing:

• to participate, directly and personally, in the development of his/her (our/your) profession;
  

• to join a collective effort engaged in and committed to the promotion of his/her profession and the defense of the socioeconomic and professional interests on behalf of Quebec’s professional researchers. Membership in ACPQ provides the opportunity and means to get away from the current isolation experienced by professional researchers and for them, to join the only collective association working on behalf of members of this profession;
  
• to have a forum to voice concerns and grievances and to ensure that ACPQ’s voice is heard and heeded. Joining ACPQ means having at your disposal the means to safeguard your profession, and be able to defend your interests while working for the advancement of your profession. By this, is meant demanding and getting better conditions, rooting out irritants and impediments from practical situations and strengthening of resources in order to achieve a better working environment and project a more attractive career to potential candidates in his/her field;
  
• to join the only association of professional researchers that has members who possess a wealth of experience and first hand knowledge of the unpredictable outcome, persistent deficiencies, recurring and undesirable mishaps.
  
• to widen your “working” space and sphere of influence while expanding your network, through participation in the action committee of your choice and/or participating in activities organized by ACPQ. Whether your involvement is in the planning area, seeking to increase funding support, finding a better status, improving the work environment and conditions, or hosting ACPQ’s assemblies and activities, action committees unite creators, pioneers and craftsmen from all fields of knowledge and investigation.
  

Due to the fact that membership is voluntary and a gesture of good will, ACPQ’s strength is dependent on the support and participation of as broad a membership as possible. All shall benefit from the advantages resulting from actions of ACPQ. So, spread the word among our/your colleagues and encourage them to participate, as this will be a tangible contribution in support of your profession.

HOW TO REACH OUR COMMON GOALS?

To achieve success, as measured by reaching specific goals of the reform defining ACPQ’s mission, every and all sharing in this venture count on the benevolent and generous contribution, be it financial (e.g., subscription) and/or personal, of each and everyone.

WELCOME TO ACPQ!

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