The application, assessment and admission process is divided into four phases involving a number of different stakeholders:

• the eligibility phase carried out by the PIQ Site Coordinator;
• the appraisal phase carried out by PIQ management;
• the pre-admission phase carried out by the PIQ Expert Committee with the support of at least one external expert;
• the admission phase carried out by the PIQ Expert Committee.

The PIQ Expert Committee meets on a monthly basis.

Eligibility phase

Once the application document has been sent to the PIQ Site Coordinator, they will qualify the project according to the criteria described here. If the project is deemed eligible, the PIQ Site Coordinator will forward the application file to PIQ Management and inform the applicant that the project will proceed to appraisal. If the project is deemed ineligible, the applicant will be informed by email. If the applicant disagrees with the decision of the PIQ Site Coordinator, the applicant may contact PIQ Management by email, mentioning “disagreement with ineligibility” in the subject line.

Appraisal phase

The appraisal phase is carried out by PIQ Management. During this phase, the project is assessed according to the criteria described here. At the end of the appraisal phase, PIQ Management decides whether to begin the pre-admission phase or to refuse the project entry to the programme.

Pre-admission phase

The PIQ Expert Committee discusses the pre-admissibility of projects in session, based on the criteria described here:

• reports by three rapporteurs chosen from among its members by the PIQ Scientific Director;
• scientific and technical analysis by at least one external expert.

At the end of this phase, the PIQ Expert Committee issues a favourable or unfavourable opinion as to whether the project should proceed to the admission phase.

During this phase, the project leader draws up the project’s roadmap with the support of PIQ Management. This roadmap will be taken into account in the assessment of the admission phase.

Admission phase

During the admission phase, the project leader is interviewed by the PIQ Expert Committee. The admission of the project is then discussed by the PIQ Expert Committee on the basis of the criteria described here. At the end of this phase, the PIQ Expert Committee issues a favourable or unfavourable opinion on the project’s admission to the programme.