Stream 2: Regional Innovation Ecosystem guidelines — Rural innovation and growth in southern Ontario
Support is available to businesses, not-for-profit organizations, Indigenous organizations, economic development organizations, including Community Futures Development Corporations that are driving innovation and growth, municipalities and other innovation enablers located in rural southern Ontario.
Grant Deadline
2024-12-20
Funding Amount
$100,000
Type of Grant
Grant, Funding
Sectors
All Sectors
Demographics
Incorporation
For Profit
Perks
Region Restriction
This grant is restricted to whole of Canada
Keywords
Age Restriction
This grant is age restricted from 18 to 100
Eligibility and Requirements
I. Eligible Applicants are not-for-profit organizations that may include:
- A group or an alliance such as an industry association or consortium
- Post-secondary institutions
- Innovation centres
- Business accelerators and incubators
- Angel networks
- Indigenous organizations
- Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs)
- Co-operatives
- Municipalities and other municipal-type organizations
- Other not-for-profit organizations, as determined on a case-by-case basis
To be considered eligible, all applicants must be located in southern Ontario.
All eligible applicants must be legal entities capable of entering into legally binding agreements.
To be considered eligible for funding, applicants must demonstrate:
- Evidence of project funding.
- Managerial, technical, operational and financial capacity to achieve the project's stated objectives in a timely manner.
- Market/industry demand (e.g., how the project addresses a significant gap in the market; global opportunity to be seized within Canada; and evidence that southern Ontario is uniquely positioned to capture market share).
- A viable project plan with achievable outcomes, supported by verifiable cost estimates.
Projects that address significant gaps at a sub-regional or community-level may be considered under FedDev Ontario's Stream 3: Community Economic Development and Diversification.
Applicants may also be required to demonstrate how their project will be self-sustaining upon the completion of the project. For project proposals that will result in the creation of a new ongoing program/service, applicants may be required to demonstrate the financial sustainability of the new program/service beyond the project completion date (i.e., sustainable business model and/or a plan for generating revenue in order to grow or maintain service levels).
II. Eligible Activities
FedDev Ontario is targeting investments structured around the following activities:
Growing Clusters and Consortia
Cluster and consortia projects bring together multiple stakeholders, such as businesses, industry associations, Indigenous economic development corporations, post-secondary and research institutions, and all levels of government. These projects will normally have strong industry participation, support the translation of leading-edge innovation into high-growth entrepreneurship, and focus on areas where southern Ontario has an innovation advantage and/or there are global opportunities.
Examples of eligible project activities could include:
- Development of commercially-relevant technology platforms, innovation assets, tools and testbeds.
- Applied research and product development, and support for adoption or integration into markets.
- Technology transfer including validation of the need, training and implementation of a new technology.
- Technological adoption for new industrial applications and/or entry into new markets.
- Encouraging first buyers for new products developed within the cluster or consortia.
Ecosystem Capacity Building
Ecosystem capacity building projects will normally be led by a business accelerator, incubator, angel network, industry association, economic development organization or similar capacity builder, to support firm growth and entrepreneurial activity, strengthen global competitiveness, and/or attract investment and talent to southern Ontario. These projects will normally develop or expand regional capacity to address gaps and target priority growth sectors in areas of comparative advantages at the global, national or regional levels.
Examples of eligible project activities could include:
- Business and market development and/or expansion programs and services.
- Commercialization services, networking and mentoring opportunities.
- Financing programs and support.
- Business innovation support services for women, Indigenous peoples and young entrepreneurs.
- Improving the availability of risk capital to address a need in the region.
- Innovative models to support the first sale of new products and services.
- Training needed to support the adoption or adaptation of innovative technologies, processes and practices.
- Enhancing investment attraction, export readiness and market diversification.
- Facilitating supply chain development.
III. Eligible Costs
Eligible costs for project activities may include:
- Labour
- Expertise
- Non-Capital
- Capital
All costs must be reasonable and directly related to the eligible project activities.
IV. Ineligible and/or Unsupported Costs include:
- Any costs deemed not reasonable and/or not directly related to the eligible project activities.
- Activities in support of regular maintenance and/or ongoing operation costs.
- Costs typically supported by federal/provincial transfer payments.
- Cost incurred prior to the eligibility date as defined in the contribution agreement.
- Costs incurred after the Project completion date listed in the contribution agreement.
- Any cost that is ineligible under the contribution agreement.
- Acquisition of land and buildings.
- Costs that result in direct benefits to a single or small number of private firms, unless specifically associated with an approved activity related to the delivery of service or program under the proposed project.
V. Ineligible Projects
- Projects that have been approved for funding under Canada's Strategic Innovation Fund will normally not be supported under this Stream.
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