Funding for businesses in southern Ontario: How to apply

6. How to apply

On this page

• How to download and complete the Application (For Funding For-Profit Applicants)
• Application Guide
  • Applicant Information
  • Authorized Project and Financial Contacts
  • Project Information
  • Project Results
  • Project Budget
  • Financial Information
  • Certification
  • Confidentiality, Reporting and Visibility Requirements
  • Other
• Application Checklist
• Annex A – Technology Readiness Levels
• Annex B – Project Indicator Definitions
• Annex C – Cost Categories

How to download and complete the Application for Funding (For-Profit Applicants)

1. Download and save

• You must download the application to your computer. Devices like iPads, tablets and cell phones cannot be used.

  Application For Funding (For-Profit Applicants) (PDF format, 127 KB)

• Save the application in a place you can remember.

2. Open using Adobe Acrobat Reader

• Open the application in Acrobat Reader 10 or later. Do not open it in your web browser.
  • See Adobe help for solving common issues.
• Ensure you have the correct form. "Application For Funding (For Profit Applicants)" is for businesses.

3. Refer to the Application Guide and fill out

• See the Application Guide for instructions on how to complete each section.
  • Fill out the application and save your work often.
• Only completed applications with all necessary attachments will be assessed.

4. Refer to the Checklist and add attachments

• See the Application Checklist for a list of mandatory and supporting documents to attach to your application.
• Click the "Add Attachments" button to add all necessary attachments. Save often.
• Before submitting, make sure your company is capable of entering into legally binding agreements and that the individual submitting is authorized to bind the company.

5. Submit

• Click the "Submit" button to submit the application and attachments.
  • You will receive a confirmation message that it has been successfully submitted.
• Keep a copy (save and/or print) of the application and the confirmation message for your records.
• Submitting an Application for Funding does not constitute an offer of funding.

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Application Guide

Purpose of this guide

The guide helps your business complete FedDev Ontario's Application for Funding (For-Profit Applicants). This guide explains how to complete each section of the form and how to tailor your responses for the funding for businesses stream.

Your application must be received within the intake period or your application cannot be considered.

Blank spaces count against character limits in the application form.

Applicant Information (Q1-18)

This section of the Application for Funding requires all applicants to provide details on their business, including business name, sector and other descriptive information.

When completing this section, please note the following:

• In question 1, provide your business legal name as it appears on your articles of incorporation document(s). Do not include your own name. If your company conducts business publicly by another operating name, please state this in question 2.
• In question 5, if you are an Indigenous applicant, a CRA business number is not mandatory to apply and you may, instead, include your 3-digit band number in question 6. If you are an Indigenous applicant with a CRA business number, please enter it into the field provided.
• In question 8, we want a full picture of your company, its founders and your business operations. Answer all parts of the question. Describe your market, how your business serves its customers, and include details on your company history before incorporation, if applicable. Clearly outline how your firm is managed and governed now and in the future. Include names of owners and their respective percentage of ownership. Tell us about your company's growth and your growth opportunities. Provide background information on key shareholders, board of directors and your management team. To supplement this information, submit the following documents using the "Add Attachments" button on the Application for Funding:
  • a copy of the company's incorporation document(s), including any amendments and information on ownership (names and percentage of ownership)
  • biographies of key management team and project team members
  • additional documents to support this information:
    • letter of support or other documentation if your company has previously received or currently receives support from a business accelerator, an incubator, an angel or venture capital investor and/or other relevant sources.
    • a copy of your company's intellectual property (IP) strategy which, at a minimum, must provide evidence that your company either owns the project IP, has a license to the IP rights from a Canadian licensor, or has secured the rights to IP required for the project.
• In questions 11-13, indicate the current number of employees for each category. Do not include people employed by suppliers or contracted services.
  • Full-time employees (FTEs) working in Canada are those who work a minimum of a 35-hour work week.
  • Part-time employees (PTEs) in Canada are those employees who work less than a 35-hour work week.
  • Number of employees outside of Canada is the total number of employees (full-time and part-time) working for the business outside of Canada, if applicable.

Authorized Project and Financial Contacts (Q19-20)

We are looking for the names and contact information for the primary contacts for communicating with FedDev Ontario on matters involving the application and project financials (if they are different). Ideally, the authorized contact person is a signing officer for the company who has full authority to bind the company through funding agreements. If the person is not a signing officer of the company, confirmation of that person's right to represent the company may be required. Neither the Authorized Project Contact nor the Financial Contact can be a consultant or third party.

The applicant and/or any parties authorized by the applicant to speak to FedDev Ontario on their behalf must comply with the Lobbying Act throughout the application process and the life of any funded project. Before communicating with FedDev Ontario about an application, please review the provisions of the Act. For more information on lobbying and the Lobbying Act, consult the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada.

Project Information (Q21-35)

This section provides a detailed account of the proposed project, including duration, location of activities and overall plan. When completing this section, please note the following:

• In question 22, please leave this question blank. Funding is provided through the Business Scale-up and Productivity and Community Economic Development and Diversification programs. FedDev Ontario will determine the appropriate program on your behalf.
• In questions 23-24, the start date cannot be before the date the application intake closes. On average, projects span between 1-3 years in duration.
• In question 26, indicate whether any of the proposed project's activities are expected to occur on federal lands as defined in the Impact Assessment Act, 2019. Activities on federal lands could be subject to additional requirements.
• In question 28, please describe your project plan and include the detailed steps required to successfully achieve your expected outcomes. Your plan should demonstrate links to the eligible project activities as listed under Section 2: Who can apply.
  1. Note: if your project involves the late-stage development of a new product for sale please indicate as such and make reference to the TRL levels below and/or by using this tool.
  2. Note: depending on the nature of your project activities, you may be expected to complete all federal requirements related to the Impact Assessment Act 2019, and the duty to consult with Indigenous Groups as set out in Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. To find out more, visit the Government of Canada and the duty to consult.
• In question 29, briefly describe the objective and expected outcomes of your project. This section should serve as a rationale for why this project should receive funding. In providing your response, consider:
  1. The expected outcomes and benefits of the project (e.g., number of jobs created and retained, creation of new products/processes, revenue growth, export, supply chain benefit, creation of new IP).
  2. How and the extent to which the proposed project aligns with intake priorities.
     • Note: if your project addresses the priority to support clean economic growth and/or to create economic opportunities for underrepresented groups, please provide details in question 30 and question 31, respectively.

• In question 30, indicate and provide details on the clean growth benefits of your project, including how environmental benefits will be realized and/or information on clean technologies being developed, commercialized or adopted. Where possible, provide metrics to quantify the impact (e.g., percentage of energy or water saved, amount of greenhouse gas emissions reduced, amount of waste diverted from landfill, amounts of air pollutants reduced, etc.). Include a timeframe over which these benefits will be realized.

Definition: Clean growth

Clean growth is about fostering economic growth that reduces environmental impacts and strengthens resilience to a changing climate.

This is done through initiatives that promote and support clean growth outcomes (e.g., emissions reductions, waste reduction, sustainable jobs, etc.). This can include the introduction of practices to reduce carbon footprint or waste, the adoption or commercialization of clean technologies, circular economy initiatives, greening communities, and supply chain localization.

• In question 31, provide information about diversity, equity, and inclusion at your company.
  The Government of Canada is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion so that all Canadians have the opportunity to participate in and contribute to the growth of the economy. Gender, equity, and diversity data collected may be used for research, statistics, program and policy evaluation, risk management, strategy development, reporting, and gender-based analysis (including GBA+). This information can help the Government of Canada monitor progress on inclusive access to federal support programs and services, identify and remove barriers, and make changes to improve inclusive access. Aggregate and anonymous data may be shared with other federal organizations and published for reporting and monitoring purposes.
• Question 31 has 3 components:
  1. The first column of the table is a voluntary self-declaration to indicate if your company is led or majority-led by 1 (or, if applicable, more than 1) underrepresented group. This data is used for statistical purposes only. Note: selecting all options is not necessary and may skew the data. Choose the group or groups that most closely align with your company's leadership composition. If none apply, or you wish not to self-declare, this section can be left blank.
     Note: "led or majority-led" describes companies where members of underrepresented groups are involved in long-term control and management of the business or organization and play an active role in both strategic and day-to-day decision making.
  2. The second column seeks to understand whether the project will benefit or encourage the inclusion of 1 or more underrepresented group. Select all that apply but note the responses to this column are linked to the third section of this question, where applicants must explain how their organization will influence federal inclusive growth priorities for each group selected.
  3. In completing the third section, describe in detail how your organization and project promotes diversity, equity and inclusion, and include any supporting documentation with attachments, if applicable. Please explain both ongoing and planned methods in which your organization is addressing the representation of underrepresented groups. Examples of initiatives could include an organizational diversity plan or policies and participation in the 50-30 Challenge. Describe relevant results and the timeframe in which they will be achieved (for example: 75% of jobs created and maintained through the project to be staffed by members of underrepresented groups). Refer to the guidance in question 36 when describing results.

The 50-30 Challenge

FedDev Ontario continues to champion the 50-30 Challenge, where applicants are encouraged to take voluntary actions to achieve gender parity (50%) and significant representation (at least 30%) of underrepresented groups on their boards and in senior management. If you are already a participant, please include this on your application. If you are not yet a participant but wish to join, please note this on your application. Refer to the 50-30 Challenge.

• In question 32, list any key project partners and their role(s) in the project. These may include other businesses (suppliers or customers), financial partners, business accelerators and incubators or other government departments invested in the completion and the success of the project. Describe, in detail, the nature of these partnerships.
  Note: You will also be asked to describe the financial contributions to be made and the status of each contribution (e.g., confirmed, pending confirmation, to be requested) for each identified key project partner in the Project Budget section. If your project is approved, you will need to confirm all sources of the matching funding within 30 days of being notified.
• In question 33, describe the market opportunity that your project will address and how your project will help differentiate you in the marketplace within Canada and internationally. Include a list of your major competitors and identify if your project will impact other businesses in Canada. Describe if, how and the extent to which you have a competitive advantage over competition. Refer to Section 1: What we support and Section 2: Who can apply for the intake priorities and eligible project activities, respectively.
• In question 34, indicate key risks associated with the project (e.g., financial, trade, regulatory, implementation, any risks that may impact a successful project outcome) and potential risk to the broader economy (e.g., cybersecurity, privacy). Also, please identify risk mitigation measures for the project.
• In question 35, illustrate why financial assistance is required for this project (i.e., to quickly seize an untapped market opportunity) and explain what the impact would be if the requested funding was not received. This section could include the broader impact(s) on the business, sector or region if funding is not received. Be sure to include how this funding would impact the sustainability of your business both for the duration of the project and after project completion and how the project improves the future outlook for your business.

What is innovation?

Innovation is a multi-stage process whereby organizations/communities transform ideas into new and/or improved products, services or processes, to successfully advance, compete and differentiate themselves in their marketplace.

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Project Results (Q36)

All values provided under this section must be measurable and verifiable. Recognizing that not all indicators apply to every project proposal, applicants can select "No" for any of the options and will not need to complete the corresponding "Amount" column.

All amounts reported in this section must be measured from the estimated Start Date of the project to the End Date of the project. Any details provided in this section should be as realistic and achievable as possible, as you will be asked to report on these results throughout the project's duration. Any benefits that fall outside of this timeframe but the applicant wishes to highlight should be included in question 29.

Please refer to Annex B for definitions of each indicator.

Project Budget (Q37-38)

By completing this section, you are providing FedDev Ontario with the key project financing information needed to assess whether the resources requested are appropriate for further review, including:

• estimated total project costs, how much funding you are requesting, and a breakdown of this funding by federal fiscal year and cost category
• whether you have secured your portion of the financing, and the source(s) and status of any other funding

Information provided in this section may be supported with a more detailed project budget and breakdown of costs submitted as an attachment. If your project is approved, you will need to confirm all sources of the matching funding within 30 days of being notified.

Important notes:

• All eligible costs must be reasonable and directly related to eligible project activities. Please see Annex C for more details on eligible and ineligible costs.
• State costs in Canadian dollars (CAD) over the span of the project duration (Note: fiscal year is defined as April 1 to March 31).
• Costs incurred before the application intake deadline (June 24, 2024) cannot be considered eligible costs.
• If there are no costs associated for a cost category, enter "0" in the amount column for that cost category.
• All projects and associated costs must be completed by the estimated End Date of the project.

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Financial Information (Q39-41)

This section allows FedDev Ontario to assess your company's capacity to undertake the proposed project, including:

• If you have received government funding from any level (federal, provincial, municipal) in the last 5 years (question 39) and, if applicable, use some of the space provided in question 40 to explain the status and outcomes of this funding.
• Include an explanation of the status of any funding related to this project (e.g., confirmed, pending confirmation, to be requested). Explain if funding from any sources is pending, confirmed or is contingent on receiving FedDev Ontario funding or any other requirements.
• Your company's financial performance (e.g., assets, liabilities, cost structure, revenue streams). For pre-revenue firms, indicate funding received from an accredited angel or venture capital sources and identify cash flows during the project.
  Note: in-kind contributions and cash from forecasted revenue cannot be leveraged as a source of project financing.
• Note: forecasted revenue cannot be leveraged as a source of project financing.
• Note: the information provided is important to demonstrate the ability to repay the contribution.
• Include any information regarding the project budget that was not reflected in the application form. Include sales growth and financial projections as applicable to the project activities.
• As FedDev Ontario funding does not support ongoing operating costs, please indicate cash flows and plans to support your operations post-project, including jobs created and maintained post-project, if applicable.

Certification

Please ensure the certification section is completed by the authorized contact, who is also a member of your organization with signing power/authority to enter into a legally binding agreement with FedDev Ontario. Note:

• Certification is the act of signing a formal document to confirm that you are bound by its contents.
• Making a false statement or providing misleading information may result in the Minister exercising any remedy available to them at law.
• You must review each statement and sign the Certification; this includes certifying that the applicant is not engaged in any illegal or criminal activity and does not promote violence, incite hatred or discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, identity or expression, sexual orientation, colour, race, ethnic or national origin, religion, age, or mental or physical disability, contrary to applicable laws.
• Checking 'I Agree' provides an authorized signature of your organization certifying both the information provided on the application and that you are duly authorized to submit the application on the organization's behalf.
• Funding for the purposes of the project should not be knowingly used, either directly or indirectly, in a manner that breaches economic sanctions imposed by Canada as described under the Special Economic Measures Act. Information on Canadian sanctions and export and import controls can be found at the following:
  • Canadian sanctions (international.gc.ca)
  • Types of sanctions
  • Export and import controls

Confidentiality, Reporting, and Visibility Requirements

FedDev Ontario may consult external experts as part of the application assessment process (for example, other government departments and agencies) and share applicant information with such experts. Any confidential or proprietary information should be marked as such. In addition, all information provided by the applicant is subject to the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act.

If approved for funding, the names of recipients, amounts awarded and project descriptions will be disclosed publicly. Recipients will also be required to submit reports and other statements that provide details on project performance and comply with official languages and visibility and funding acknowledgement requirements in the contribution agreement.

Other

FedDev Ontario reserves the right to modify these guidelines at any time without notice and may waive certain requirements on an exceptional basis.

Application Checklist

Please be sure to attach all mandatory and other supporting documents to your application.

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Annex A – Technology Readiness Levels Descriptions

These guidelines make reference to technology readiness levels. The technology readiness level (TRL) is a scale of 1 to 9 which reflects different stages of development of a technology. Please refer to the following TRL descriptions.

Technology Readiness Levels Descriptions

Technology Readiness Level (TRL)	Description
TRL 1—Basic principles observed and reported	Lowest level of technology readiness. Scientific research begins to be translated into applied research and development (R&D). Examples might include paper studies of a technology's basic properties.
TRL 2—Technology concept and/or application formulated	Invention begins. Once basic principles are observed, practical applications can be invented. Applications are speculative, and there may be no proof or detailed analysis to support the assumptions.
TRL 3—Analytical and experimental critical function and/or characteristic proof of concept	Active R&D is initiated. This includes analytical studies and laboratory studies to physically validate the analytical predictions of separate elements of the technology.
TRL 4—Product and/or process validation in laboratory environment	Basic technological products and/or processes are tested to establish that they will work.
TRL 5—Product and/or process validation in relevant environment	Reliability of product and/or process innovation increases significantly. The basic products and/or processes are integrated so they can be tested in a simulated environment.
TRL 6—Product and/or process prototype demonstration in a relevant environment	Prototypes are tested in a relevant environment. Represents a major step up in a technology's demonstrated readiness (e.g., testing a prototype in a simulated operational environment).
TRL 7—Product and/or process prototype demonstration in an operational environment	Prototype near or at planned operational system and requires demonstration of an actual prototype in an operational environment (e.g., in a vehicle).
TRL 8—Actual product and/or process completed and qualified through test and demonstration	Innovation has been proven to work in its final form and under expected conditions. In almost all cases, this TRL represents the end of true system development.
TRL 9—Actual product and/or process proven successful	Actual application of the product and/or process innovation in its final form or function.

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Annex B – Project Indicator Definitions

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Annex C – Cost Categories

Eligible project costs must be reasonable, verifiable, incremental, and directly support project activities. Eligible project costs do not include ongoing costs of production or operations. Generally, the following are eligible cost categories:

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