Call For Project Proposals
Information and application guidelines for current and closed calls for project proposals.
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At DIGITAL, we are building a future where Canadian organizations are global industry leaders and where Canadians benefit from the prosperity and growth that comes from creating novel technology products and services that are meaningful across the country and around the world.
Since our start in 2018, we have supported 95 projects with a total investment value of $390M. These projects have convened over 500 partners comprised of the best in business, academia, community and government to solve some of industry and society’s biggest challenges – better and faster than any single organization could do on its own.
With co-investment from the Government of Canada through the Global Innovation Cluster program; Employment & Social Development Canada; and the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy; Canada’s National Quantum Strategy; and the Province of British Columbia, DIGITAL is mobilizing break-through technology innovation and talent initiatives that:
- Support health and wellness by providing more equitable access to care, improving health outcomes and enabling sustainable healthcare systems in Canada and around the world.
- Advance environmental health and strengthening Canada’s natural resources sectors to succeed in a prosperous, low carbon economy.
- Build a highly skilled and connected Canada by supporting talent and capacity building initiatives that provide unobstructed pathways to digital jobs. This includes working with remote and rural communities and Indigenous partners to establish digital connectivity, transform to clean energy and cultivate digital leaders within their communities.
- Capture economic potential of made-in-Canada AI technology solutions through technology commercialization, talent development and creating global advantage.
- Accelerate the adoption of Canadian quantum technologies by having domestic and international partners demonstrate proof-of-value of quantum applications in real-life scenarios.
- Harness data-driven digital innovation to help grow housing production capacity.
Focusing investment on industry challenges and social issues that impact all Canadians.
Review the Call for Proposals below to learn about the opportunities, including specific program and co-investment information.
Funds available for each program are limited and have a competitive application and selection process. All applications will be reviewed and evaluated on a continuous-intake basis. While there is no specific due date for submissions, we retain the right to close application intake at any time if funds are anticipated to be fully committed. We will endeavor to keep applicants informed as projects are selected by providing updates to the respective program pages.
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Subscribe to our newsletterCall for Proposals in Technology Leadership (Cycle 6)
A $65M investment from the federal Global Innovation Clusters program will be competitively distributed across 10-15 new projects. This will result in more than $200M of new investment in the development of novel and innovative digital technology solutions in health and natural resources.
Learn moreCall for Proposals in Horizon AI – Technology Commercialization Stream
PROJECT CONCEPT SUBMISSIONS CLOSED
A $20M investment from the Commercialization Pillar of the federal Pan-Canadian AI Strategy (PCAIS) will be competitively distributed across 10-15 projects. This will result in more than $60M of new investment to drive the commercialization and adoption of made-in-Canada AI solutions.
Learn moreCall for Proposals in Horizon AI – Global Advantage Stream
A $5M investment from the Commercialization Pillar of the federal Pan-Canadian AI Strategy (PCAIS) will be competitively distributed to create a portfolio of projects that help build Canada’s presence in emerging market opportunities.
Learn moreCall for Proposals to Grow Housing Production Capacity in B.C.
A $9M investment from the Government of British Columbia will be used to harness data-driven digital innovation to help grow housing production capacity.
Learn moreCall for Proposals in Quantum Technologies
DIGITAL and NGen Canada are leveraging funding from Canada’s National Quantum Strategy to result in more than $30M of new investment in key categories of quantum technologies.
Learn moreCall for Proposals in Talent & Capacity Building
This program is currently closed for proposal submissions.
Learn moreFunds available for each program are limited and have a competitive application and selection process. All applications will be reviewed and evaluated on a continuous-intake basis. While there is no specific due date for submissions, we DIGITAL retains the right to close application intake at any time if funds are anticipated to be fully committed. You are encouraged to consult the program page of the call for proposals you’re interested in to see the most current updates and announcements.
Yes. You may submit multiple applications to a program or between programs. However, you would need to ensure if your organization is the proposed project lead and/or if there is overlap in the organizations you’re engaging as project partners that there is capacity to be able to take on multiple projects in parallel should they be selected.
Technology Readiness Level. TRLs are a measure for understanding and evaluating the maturity of an evolving technology innovation. Based on a 9-point scale, these are defined by the Ministry of Innovation (ISED) as https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/innovation-canada/en/technology-readiness-levels. Not sure what TRL your project is at? The Government of Canada has developed a TRL assessment tool to help you narrow it down.
Neither. DIGITAL’s funding is under a co-investment model that is based on costs incurred. This is non-dilutive funding and DIGITAL does not an equity investment take any equity. In addition, unlike a grant, our investment commitment is made under a multiparty contract that sees us involved in the project oversight in particular in relation to commercial and ecosystem impact. The contract outlines commitments that must be met for the funding to continue. Project participants are encouraged to have cash flow that would cover the first year of costs and it is expected that each project participant will be able to carry their costs anywhere from 3-6 months to account for claims payment review and processing timelines.
The total project costs (cost of delivering the project) is the aggregate costs that the project will incur to fulfil the defined scope by all partners (before any external funding sources (including DIGITAL) are considered). The project partners may negotiate intra-payments between partners to reduce their net costs which will be outlined in a project’s multiparty contract. Note SME due diligence is part of the application process.
Project concepts selected to move into Full Project Proposal (FPP) prepare a budget as part of the application. If your FPP application is selected for co-investment, project teams finalize a budget during contracting which will inform the Master Project Agreement (MPA). Each project will vary insofar as some consortia may have a significant amount of upfront capital intensive costs whereas others for example may see their first few quarters in ramped up development activity. Once a project is in execution, the budget is reviewed and reforecast at various intervals including at project quarterly check-ins, phase gate, changes to consortium makeup, and with change of scope, are examples of when this exercise occurs over a project’s duration.
Yes in some instances this can occur depending upon the consortium member’s role in a project. Note that the definition of in-kind in a project is viewed as a donation and ineligible for co-investment.
Approvals will typically not be conducted during the proposal application process. During contracting DIGITAL will work with those consortium members who have foreign costs identified. The request and approval process with ISED usually takes 2-3 weeks and requires a demonstration that work cannot be done in Canada or by a Canadian resource. Once the MPA is in place, if during the project there is a foreign cost need identified you are encouraged to contact DIGITAL prior incurring the costs in order to secure a pre-approval decision on co-investment eligibility.
All types of organizations, including those located outside of Canada, are encouraged to participate in project consortia. Projects must be industry-led and include a minimum of three organizations (excluding DIGITAL) that must participate and contribute in a meaningful way with each organization expected to have clear roles and responsibilities, deliverables and financial commitments, which could also be conducting research or evaluations, providing services or bringing experience in certain markets. All participating organizations must be Members or Associates at the time of application submission. For more information, read our Program Guides.
Criteria and weighting used to evaluate project submissions are found in our Program Guides.
Yes. We encourage the active participation of international customers/clients as this enables a project team to work towards their solution’s global market commercial readiness. The caveat being non-Canadian organizations are ineligible for co-investment unless they have operations in Canada. We also recommend that you review the Co-Investment Guide of the Program you are interested in to learn more about associated Eligible and Ineligible costs.
Recognition as an eligible consortium for proposal application varies by program. Please consult the respective Program Guides for detailed eligibility criteria.
There is no maximum project size. The maximum amount of DIGITAL’s co-investment in a specific project will be determined when the project is selected. Funds available from DIGITAL are limited and DIGITAL’s co-investment is subject to availability of funds. For more information, read our Program Guides.
Projects typically range in duration from 12 months to 36 months. Project completion deadlines are found in our Program Guides.
Eligible project costs for DIGITAL co-investment are those that are incremental, reasonable and directly relate to project execution and achievement of the project objectives. DIGITAL provides co-investment only to eligible Members in good standing. International organizations (offshore companies and research organizations without a registered business presence in Canada) may also participate but any project activity undertaken by these organizations are not eligible for DIGITAL co-investment, unless otherwise pre-approved as a foreign cost for an eligible Member. For more information on Co-investments, please refer to our Co-investment Guidelines.
In some instances this can occur, however, B2C is not often seen in the projects. Considerations that would need addressing include ascertaining the customer/end user and how the voice of the customer would be adopted.
Yes. If there is a current project at DIGITAL that you are interested in joining or would like an introduction to an organization in our member list to explore collaborative opportunities within the ecosystem, Contact Us.