Strategic Innovation Fund: Seed Grants

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Please note that the final deadline for the Seed component of the Strategic Innovation Fund was July 10, 2024, and we are no longer accepting applications in this component.

Seed Grants provide seed funding to kickstart small-scale innovation activities that explore and develop capacity, partnerships, and promising innovation ideas.

This component supports small-scale activities intended to explore and develop innovation projects that address systemic issues in the arts sector. Projects must respond to key strategic areas intended to rebuild a more resilient, sustainable, equitable, accessible, greener, healthier, and connected arts sector.

Looking for other innovation opportunities? Explore all the funding components of the Strategic Innovation Fund.

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Apply on the portal

Create an account and submit one or more profile(s) for validation at least 30 days before you want to apply

Portal

Activities: What can I apply for?

Eligible activities include, but are not limited to:

Sector research and exploration activities. Example: an environmental scan of resources that nurture the health and well-being of Deaf and disability artists; a research study that brings Indigenous artists and scientists together to develop practices that are more connected, respectful, and sustainable with the land, water, plants, and animals.
Planning and project development activities. Example: development of project plan, partnerships and key performance indicators for a collaborative, large-scale transformation project designed to create an eco-friendly touring model.
Evaluation, gathering, and knowledge sharing activities. Example: development of an Indigenous-lead online platform to share knowledge, stay connected and provide accessibility and sustainability to tradition, culture, arts, and language.
Partnership and network building activities. Example: development of a network designed to foster collaboration between official language minority arts organizations and the health sector.
Organizational transformation activities that demonstrate the potential to significantly increase the resilience, responsiveness, inclusion, social relevance and sustainability of groups and organizations. Example: planning for a merger or amalgamation; implementation of sustainable practices to decrease your organization’s carbon footprint; development of a social enterprise model for your organization.

You can’t apply for activities that occur before your project start date, those that receive funding from another Canada Council program or those on the general list of ineligible activities.

Applicants: Who can apply?

Types of potential applicants to this initiative include:

artists and arts professionals
cultural connectors
artistic groups and collectives
artistic organizations
First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists, arts/cultural professionals, cultural carriers, groups, collectives, and organizations

Organizations presently receiving core grants are eligible to apply to this component.

Your eligibility to apply is determined by the validated profile created in the Canada Council portal.

Targeted funding will be in place to ensure equitable support for applicants who have self-identified using the checkboxes in the Council’s portal as belonging to one of the Council’s designated priority groups, which include applicants from culturally diverse, Deaf and disability, official language minority, and Indigenous communities.

In addition to the Council’s designated priority groups, we also encourage applications from youth (18 to 35) and other historically underserved and marginalized communities, including 2SLGBTQ and gender-diverse communities, women, and artists at intersections of multiple identities.

Want to learn more? Register for one of our webinars.