Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) – Annual report 2024-2025

Message from the Director General

I am pleased to present the 2024-25 Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) Annual Report. Since the program’s inception in 2019, MINDS has helped advance the understanding of defence and security issues and respond to the need for relevant and timely advice from defence and security experts.

The release of Our North, Strong and Free (ONSAF) this past year builds on previous commitments and provides a renewed vision for defence and investing in Canadian capacity to respond to the significant global shifts we have witnessed since the release of Strong, Secure, Engaged. Through numerous engagements and collaborative partnerships, MINDS has actively supported ONSAF’s implementation by fostering dialogue on its implications for sovereignty, security, continental defence, and, most importantly, the defence of Canada.

In line with ONSAF, the Department has also taken important steps to bolster Canada’s defence industrial base. As global threats intensify and supply chains remain fragile, the ability to rapidly acquire, produce, and sustain military capabilities is critical to national security, economic resilience, and technological leadership. MINDS will continue supporting these efforts by generating policy-relevant insights to help inform decision-making and shape long-term strategic planning.

In this context, MINDS serves as a vital platform for connecting the Defence Team with Canada’s diverse defence and security expert community. Notably, in 2024-25, MINDS received the highest number of applications in the history of its Targeted Engagement Grant mechanism, reflecting the program’s growing relevance and reach.

Looking ahead, I am confident that MINDS will continue to provide valuable external expertise on emerging defence challenges and opportunities. In an increasingly complex global environment, the Program’s ability to deliver timely, relevant and well-rounded advice from leading experts will remain critical to shaping forward-looking defence policy.

Executive Summary

In its sixth year of operations, the Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) Program remained a responsive and relevant enabler of defence and security expertise. It advanced key priorities by supporting timely research through new Collaborative Networks, grants, and scholarships. MINDS also facilitated expert engagement through its virtual Expert Briefing Series, fostering dialogue between the Defence Team and the expert community. This year, the MINDS program:

The MINDS Program

MINDS is founded on the idea that policy- and decision-making are strengthened when assumptions are challenged, and diverse viewpoints are considered. MINDS provides opportunities for collaboration between the Defence Team and the defence and security expert community through a Program that:

• responds to the needs for relevant, timely and action-oriented policy advice from defence and security experts;
• fosters the next generation of experts and scholars; and,
• contributes to Canadians' understanding of defence and security issues.

MINDS Pillars

MINDS offers a variety of unique tools, or pillars, by which the Defence Team can engage with external experts to access high caliber, relevant and timely research and expertise that incorporate a diversity of viewpoints and provide well-rounded advice. The MINDS pillars include:

Year in Review

The release of Our North, Strong and Free (ONSAF) in April 2024 marked a pivotal moment for the Defence Team. ONSAF provides an update to Strong, Secure, Engaged (2017), and responds to the profound global shifts reshaping the strategic environment. In support of ONSAF, the MINDS program provided timely, evidence-based insights that contributed to departmental efforts in addressing complex and emerging policy challenges. By aligning the program with ONSAF's strategic priorities—from highlighting the urgent and important task of asserting Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic and Northern regions to strengthening Canada's defence industrial base—MINDS has contributed to advancing informed, forward-looking decision-making across the Department in response to a rapidly evolving global security environment.

Expert Engagement in Response to ONSAF Priorities

This year, MINDS received the highest number of Targeted Engagement Grant (TEG) applications in the program's history. Notably, there was a significant increase in proposals focused on key ONSAF priorities, including supporting CAF personnel, with applications rising from previous years. These projects explored critical issues such as the evolution of organizational culture change, recruitment, training, and retention—all aimed at fostering a safe and inclusive workplace for those who serve. Interest in emerging and disruptive technologies also grew, highlighting the urgency of understanding how technological innovation is reshaping defence and security.

Advancing ONSAF by Strengthening Canada's Defence Industrial Base

In direct support of ONSAF, MINDS advanced efforts to strengthen Canada's defence industrial base by funding research and engagement initiatives aligned with this priority. Recognizing the need for more agile, innovative, and resilient procurement systems, MINDS introduced a new Policy Challenge focused on flexible procurement and industrial innovation. This generated significant interest, with MINDS receiving 21 TEG applications focused on defence procurement. As a result of TEG funding, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) dedicated its Annual Procurement Conference to the theme of investing in Canadian defence industry, emphasizing strategies to achieve the 2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) defence spending target. MINDS also convened a high-impact Expert Briefing that explored key issues such as procurement reform, supply chain resilience, and opportunities for Canadian industry to better support CAF modernization. Furthermore, one of MINDS-funded Collaborative Networks, Triple Helix, organized four roundtables in Montreal, Fredericton, Ottawa and Halifax bringing together defence industry representatives to foster innovation and build partnerships.

A – MINDS Policy Challenges

The MINDS Policy Challenges articulate key strategic policy issues facing the Defence Team and represent areas for knowledge transfer and collaboration with the defence and security expert community. The Policy Challenges were developed in consultation with key stakeholders from across the Defence Team and grounded in the ONSAF policy update. Applicants for all MINDS funding mechanisms must demonstrate how their research proposals will address at least one of these Challenges.

Our People

The Defence Team's first priority is its people and their well-being. As such, the Defence Team is undertaking a series of major initiatives aimed at evolving its culture to achieve the fundamental mission of creating and maintaining a safe and inclusive workplace. The goal is to transform the organization into a modern military forged in innovation, guided by honour, and empowered by unity. At the heart of this broad effort is the urgent need to evolve our organizational culture to ensure we not only uphold but also embody and reflect Canada's values, including its rich diversity and unwavering commitment to equity and inclusion. This work is essential to attracting and retaining top talent and ensuring we have the capabilities to defend Canada and its values in an increasingly complex and dynamic security environment. Ensuring the CAF can attract, recruit, develop and retain talent is a top priority. This involves addressing key challenges that personnel face related to healthcare, family care, housing, education and professional development. Strengthening our foundations and supporting our personnel will ensure that our military can continue to grow, establish new capabilities to meet emerging threats, and deploy ready, resilient and relevant forces to meet todays and future challenges.

Strengthening Canadians' Understanding of Defence and Security Issues

Three major trends are reshaping global security: climate change, challenges to international law and order, and disruptive technologies. These forces are impacting Canada's national interests and the daily lives of Canadians – especially in the Arctic. In this evolving landscape, the CAF play a critical role in safeguarding security and prosperity. Continued investment in the CAF and modern capabilities is essential. To strengthen public support, the Defence Team must understand and reflect Canadians' expectations regarding defence and security.

Strategic Competition, Alliances, and Global Issues

Strategic competition over global rules and norms is intensifying across all domains. As the world shifts toward multipolarity, the risk of state-on-state conflict is rising, and sub-threshold threats are growing. Disruptive powers like Russia and China challenge the international rules-based order to advance their interests. Fragile states and hostile non-state actors further destabilize regions, threatening global supply chains and critical waterways. In an interconnected world, these challenges directly impact Canadians. The CAF must remain ready, resilient, and relevant to protect national security, support global stability, and deter major conflicts.

Canada's strategic strength lies in its global partnerships and alliances, especially in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions. Collective defence, particularly through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), underpins national security and prosperity. Canada's support for European security includes Operation UNIFIER in Ukraine and Operation REASSURANCE in Latvia. In the Indo-Pacific, Canada is enhancing its presence through its Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), naval deployments, regional exercises, and capacity-building programs, including Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) initiatives. These partnerships are essential for addressing global threats and upholding Canadian values like the rule of law and human rights. To remain a strong ally, Canada must continue to prioritize and expand its international relationships.

Climate change poses a growing threat to national and human security, both globally and in Canada. Increasingly severe climate events, combined with factors like resource competition and displacement, are driving conflict and destabilizing the international order. In Canada, Northern communities are disproportionately affected, and the Arctic is becoming a key area of global strategic interest due to increased accessibility. The CAF face rising demands to respond to natural disasters while maintaining traditional military operations. To remain effective and resilient, the Defence Team must continue adapting to climate impacts and align with Canada's environmental goals.

The Defence of Canada and North America

Defending Canada is central to deterring and defeating threats to North America. Building on the 2022 North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) modernization, ONSAF introduces new investments to enhance continental defence across all domains. Alongside capabilities from Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE), these efforts address emerging threats from climate change, shifting geopolitics, and advanced military technologies. A secure North America complicates adversaries' strategies, reinforces NATO's deterrence posture, and enables Canada to support global partners while safeguarding domestic security.

ONSAF emphasizes Arctic defence through credible deterrence. As climate change, economic interests, and strategic competition increase activity in the region, Canada is committed to safeguarding Arctic security and sovereignty. The Defence Team must be ready to counter emerging threats, assert sovereignty, and foster regional stability through collaboration with domestic and international partners.

Defence Procurement

Defence procurement in Canada needs to be faster and more effective. Streamlined and flexible procurement is critical for the timely acquisition of capabilities to meet quickly evolving threats. In parallel, these procurement processes must be managed in the most efficient way for Canadian taxpayers. We need to deliver capabilities at the speed of relevance and consider more innovative approaches to procurement to enhance and modernize the defence procurement process. Building an innovative and effective defence industrial base involves moving away from transactional approaches to sustain strategic partnerships, ensuring procurement considers intersectionality to cater to the diversity of Canadians and leverages green, sustainable solutions to support Canada's environmental objectives.

Domains and Technology

Cyber and space are vital to Canada's security, economy, and military operations – but also present growing vulnerabilities. As reliance on these domains increases, so do the risks from rapidly advancing technologies and adversarial actions, often below the threshold of open conflict. These blurred boundaries challenge traditional legal and strategic responses. To stay ahead, the Defence Team must be agile, innovative, and integrated – working with national and international partners to secure Canada's interests across these critical domains.

Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and quantum computing are reshaping military operations and the nature of conflict. These tools offer speed and efficiency but also amplify threats such as cyber attacks and disinformation. Canada aims to lead in developing and applying these technologies in a responsible manner, supported by a strong research ecosystem and guided by ethical principles. National strategies on AI and quantum prioritize trusted, interoperable, and advantage-driven implementation. To stay ahead, the Defence Team must rapidly integrate innovations, limit adversary exploitation, and deepen partnerships with academia and industry.

B – Expert Briefing Series (EBS)

Through the EBS mechanism, top Canadian and international defence and security experts are invited to brief the Defence Team and Government of Canada officials on priority issues. Virtual webinars and roundtable discussions provide defence and security practitioners with the opportunity to engage in in-depth conversations with leading experts and diverse thinkers.

Highlights

In 2024-25, MINDS collaborated with stakeholders across the Defence Team to host 11 expert briefings and roundtable engagements on a range of complex issues. The 2024-25 engagements included:

C – Targeted Engagement Grants (TEGs)

MINDS-funded projects help drive innovation, amplify expert and diverse voices, spark wider discussions, and inform policy discussions on important and timely defence and security issues. TEGs provide up to $50,000 in non-recurring financial support for projects such as conferences, roundtables, workshops, research, and publications. To continue to foster the next generation of experts, grants valued at up to $10,000 are also available for undergraduate and master's students (referred to as Young MINDS TEGs).

2024-25 Funding Results

Two TEG competitions were launched this year. The full overview of all funded projects can be found at: Funding Results - Canada.ca

Highlights

In 2024-25, MINDS received TEG applications from Canada and around the world. The second competition of the year received 98 applications - the highest number of applications ever received for a TEG competition.

D – Collaborative Networks

MINDS Collaborative Networks bring together multi-disciplinary teams of distinguished defence and security experts. Each Network is based in Canada and receives up to $750,000 for a maximum of three years to enable more sustained collaboration and support to the Defence Team through advanced research and activities. Networks are expected to reflect diversity in their membership, in terms of geographic regions, organizational types, and disciplines, ensuring broad representation and inclusive perspectives within the defence and security ecosystem from across Canada and abroad.

A call for applications was launched in December 2023 and received 15 applications.

After a rigorous evaluation process, the three new Collaborative Networks selected for 2024-25 were:

Highlights

More information on all our Networks can be found at: Collaborative Networks - Canada.ca

MINDS-funded Collaborative Networks continued to engage with the Canadian media and public through interviews, op-eds and appearances on major news shows, including CBC News, The Globe and Mail, and The Hill Times, among others. In 2024-25, MINDS-funded Networks produced 100+ additional publications than in the previous year. Some of these publications include scholarly articles, books and book chapters, policy briefs, and research reports. Networks also continue to host and present at a variety of conferences and symposia, organize workshops, provide relevant briefings, and produce multimedia products such as podcasts and infographics.

Highlights From Existing Collaborative Networks

E – Scholarships

MINDS is committed to fostering the next generation of defence and security experts. In 2024-25, the MINDS Scholarship Initiative, administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the NATO Defense College (NDC) Fellowship continued to thrive.

MINDS-SSHRC Joint Scholarship Initiative

MINDS scholarships offer research awards and supplements at the master's, doctoral and postdoctoral levels to students and researchers whose work relates to the MINDS Policy Challenges. The Program also contributes to the development of a growing, inclusive, and diverse expert community through one-year awards for Indigenous master's students studying defence and security issues. In 2024-2025, MINDS received:

F – NATO Defense College Fellowship

The NATO Defense College (NDC) Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for a Canadian researcher to work alongside experts from across allied countries at the NDC in Rome, Italy. The Fellowship contributes to Canada's commitment to NATO and helps advance both Canada and the Alliance's strategic objectives, through forward-looking research and collaboration.

The Year Ahead…

Since its inception, MINDS has developed into a mature Program in terms of its reach and impact, realizing continued growth in the number of applications received its various funding competitions. For example, this year saw an increase of 34% in the number of applications received for TEGs, and a 42% rise in the number of applicants for scholarships. This growth in applicants brings new voices into the discussion and ensuring that the Defence Team has access to a diversity of viewpoints from the expert community remains a priority for the MINDS program.

Anticipating Tomorrow's Challenges, Supporting Today's Decisions

In an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving global security environment the need for timely, relevant, and forward-looking policy insight has never been greater. Asserting Canada's sovereignty – particularly in the face of emerging threats – has become paramount. The MINDS Program is committed to supporting the Defence Team by mobilizing expert knowledge and fostering innovative thinking to help navigate today's challenges and anticipate those of tomorrow.

Advice that is Aligned with Strategic Defence Priorities and Investments

In the coming year, the MINDS Program will continue to provide opportunities for collaboration between the Defence Team and the defence and security expert community in key policy priority areas, such as increasing defence investments to face the rapidly deteriorating threat environment. Expert advice will be important as Canada makes strategic investments to fortify the foundations of the CAF, provide Canada with the capabilities it needs to defend its territory, and to meet our commitment of increasing defence spending to 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Measuring Success

As MINDS continues to evolve, success will be defined not only by participation rates and engagement, but by the Program's ability to generate timely, relevant insight that informs the Defence Team's priorities. In the year ahead, MINDS will focus on supporting evidence-based decision-making in areas such as Arctic security, defence innovation, and the development of the Defence Industrial Strategy.

In 2025-26, DND will also begin an evaluation of the MINDS program, in accordance with the Government of Canada Policy on Results since the five-year actual expenditures have exceeded $5 million. This evaluation will help ensure that MINDS continues to be a timely and relevant program that facilitates collaboration and mobilizes in support of Canada's defence policy.

Stay in Touch

Follow. Share. Apply