Program information

On this page

• Program objective
• Financial assistance
• What can be funded (eligible activities and costs)
• What cannot be funded (ineligible activities and costs)
• Other funding considerations

Program objective

Through RIE, PrairiesCan makes targeted investments in not-for-profit organizations that support businesses in priority sectors to innovate, grow, and compete globally. We also foster inclusive growth by helping under-represented groups more fully participate in the innovation economy.

Program objectives consist of the following four ways to help Prairie businesses scale up, become more productive, compete globally, and attract both investment and talent:

• leveraging regional ecosystem strengths
• helping business accelerators, incubators and similar organizations develop and increase their reach
• supporting projects led by innovation-oriented organizations
• helping ecosystems to support underrepresented groups, including women, Indigenous peoples, and young entrepreneurs

RIE advances PrairiesCan’s strategic priorities and is part of the national Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program.

Financial assistance

RIE funding is generally provided as a non-repayable contribution. Repayable contributions may be considered in specific situations.

PrairiesCan will take into consideration all other sources of funding available to the applicant. Preference will be given to projects that leverage funding from provincial governments, the private sector, and other non- government sources.

Successful applicants will need to sign a contribution agreement and will be reimbursed based on documented claims for eligible costs incurred and paid and/or the fulfillment of conditions specified in the contribution agreement being met. Successful applicants will also be required to complete claims and progress reports at key phases of the project, as well as a final project report.

What can be funded (eligible activities and costs)

Eligible activities

Activities should help a regional innovation ecosystem to respond to a specific challenge, opportunity or market need or demand. These should relate to business scale-up and productivity, with emphasis on:

• Technology commercialization (technology readiness levels 7-9), which includes:
  • enhancing businesses’ innovation efforts
  • setting up, expanding, or modernizing a facility to provide specialized services for businesses, including platforms, innovation assets, tools, and testbeds
  • focusing on late-stage product development, such as technology showcasing and demonstration
• Business scale-up, which includes:
  • developing entrepreneurship and helping businesses develop markets, export and attract investment
  • analysing opportunities, such as identifying changes in global demand or prime contractors’ requirements for a sector
• Productivity improvement, which includes:
  • transferring technology, including validating needs, training, and implementing a new technology
  • adopting technology for new industrial applications and/or entry into new markets
• Ecosystem capacity building, which includes:
  • developing strategic business alliances within a sector or cluster
  • research and analysis to identify barriers to scaling up and boosting productivity within the sector or cluster
  • developing a strategy to address these barriers
• Business acceleration and incubation, which includes:
  • helping entrepreneurs create and grow their start-up company, with services such advice as:
    • how to create a business plan
    • how to create a marketing strategy
    • how to hire employees
    • other aspects of setting up a business
  • support entrepreneurs with services such as:
    • office space
    • expert mentors
    • specialized equipment

Additionally, RIE applications must support one of the following 2 priority areas:

• growth and transformation, within one of the following priority sectors:
• clean technology
• clean resources
• health/bio-sciences (including precision healthcare)
• value-added agriculture
• advanced manufacturing
• digital technology
• inclusiveness - supporting under-represented groups such as Indigenous peoples, women, youth, and other under-represented groups

Eligible costs

All proposed costs should be incremental, meaning that they are beyond the normal operations of an organization, and essential to the project. Costs that may be eligible for reimbursement include, but might not be limited to:

• capital costs (equipment, machinery)
• labour (wages, benefits)
• operating costs that are directly related to the project, such as management fees or working capital
• consultancy fees (such as professional, advisory, and technical services)
• costs related to intellectual property
• preproduction (such as technological development and commercial demonstrations)
• subcontracting costs
• production and distribution of promotional material and management tools
• costs related to specialized services such as testing, research and development, technical or innovation, sector development strategies in all markets and business networking

Applicants are encouraged to consider Canadian materials and content, where such materials and content are competitive and available.

What cannot be funded (ineligible activities and costs)

Costs that are deemed unreasonable, not incremental, and/or not directly related to project activities are ineligible for reimbursement. These include, but may not be limited to:

• refinancing of an existing debt
• purchase of any assets for more than the fair market value of the said asset
• costs of amortization
• land acquisition and goodwill

Costs incurred prior to the proposed project funding start date will not be eligible.

Other funding considerations

Financial assistance from government programs may have tax implications for an organization. Be advised that it might be treated differently than grants and loans from other sources. We recommend that applicants get advice from a qualified tax professional.

Talk to your accountant and/or the Canada Revenue Agency to understand how RIE funding could affect your taxes or other current or future funding agreements.