Amount: Up to 75% of eligible costs to a maximum of $75,000 for any approved CanExport Innovation Project.

NOTE: Starting fiscal year 2019-2020, CanExport Innovation is offered as both a grant and contribution funding program. Eligibility for a grant or contribution will be assessed as part of the Formal Review phase of the Application Review Process.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Be registered in Canada;
  • Be an Innovator from one of the following Canadian organization types based in Canada:
  • Small or Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs);
  • Academic institutions; and
  • Non-government research centres.
  • Have decision making authority over the technology.
  • Have confirmed interest from a potential foreign collaborator – they know who you are, they know what your technology is AND they want to meet with you.
  • Will be in a position to launch your technology into the global marketplace within the next 1-5 years.
  • Own or co-own the intellectual property (IP) or the technology that will be commercialized;
  • Demonstrate adequate managerial capabilities to execute the proposed activities and meet CanExport Innovation Recipient requirements;
  • Have sufficient financial resources generated from private sources to cover their share of proposed CanExport Innovation activities;
  • Not be funded entirely by Canadian government organizations (federal, provincial, territorial, municipal or Crown corporations);
  • Be one of the parties performing the R&D work resulting from the Contractual Agreement(s);
  • Demonstrate clear benefit to the Canadian economy should the proposed project be successful; and
  • Applicants who have previously been approved and completed a CanExport Innovation Project must not have any outstanding documents still remaining to be submitted to CanExport Innovation. All reporting requirements for previous projects must be fulfilled in order to be considered for current CanExport Innovation funding.

Eligible Cost

  • For activities requiring travel, CanExport Innovation determines the eligibility of travel expenses based on the following criteria:
  • Travel duration: Reasonable travel duration is determined based on the scope and complexity of the R&D collaboration. In general, a maximum of four days travel is supported. Exceptions may be approved with sufficient justification. For destinations that involve long overnight flights or which exceed five time zones, the CanExport Innovation travelers may arrive one full day prior to meetings.
  • Number of participants: Only the travel costs of participants deemed as essential to formalizing the collaboration will be considered for CanExport Innovation funding. Travel expenses for individuals who are assessed as non-essential to the formalization of the R&D collaboration will not be funded.
  • Costs: Funding of costs is allocated on a per person and or per date rate. Request for funding are assessed based on reasonability of estimated costs provided in the application submission. For certain expenses, reasonability of estimated costs is assessed against established CanExport Innovation guidelines. Those guidelines are detailed below in the description of each type of expenditure.
  • Eligible expenditures are funded on a cost-sharing basis with CanExport Innovation supporting up to a maximum of 75 percent of the eligible expense type.
  • Requested funding for eligible expenditures may be adjusted upon assessment based on current CanExport Innovation policies.
  • Economy class airfare: Only the cost of lowest return economy class airfare for the straight route is eligible. For CanExport Innovation purposes, the straight route is defined as the route between the traveler’s home location and the location of the approved CanExport Innovation activities, without any additional stops/legs/destinations for non-CanExport Innovation related purposes. For trips that include multiple activities and destinations that require additional air travel, only the cost of a multi-city lowest economy class airfare rate is eligible. A multi-city airfare rate must represent the travel route starting from the traveler’s home location to the first approved location, travel route between the approved locations, and the travel route from the last approved location back to the traveler’s home location.
  • Accommodations: In determining reasonable accommodation rates, as a guide CanExport Innovation uses the Public Works and Government Services of Canada Accommodation Rates. Hospitality is ineligible for CanExport Innovation reimbursement and must not be included in accommodation estimates.
  • Meals: CanExport Innovation allows for a daily per diem limit of CAD$100 per day to cover the cost of meals on the dates of travel to the location of the approved CanExport Innovation activity; dates of the meetings and/or site visits; and the dates of travel back to the Applicant’s home location.
  • Local transportation: Reasonable local transportation in Canada and the foreign country, such as taxis, car rentals, public transportation, train in market, etc., are eligible expenses. All local transportation costs must be for the following purposes:
  • To and from airports;
  • To and from meetings; and,
  • To and from site visits.
  • Legal fees: CanExport Innovation may provide a maximum of $1,000 in CanExport Innovation funding (e.g. 75% of $1,333 in legal fees) towards legal services to develop instruments necessary to formalize a contractual agreement for the R&D collaboration.
  • Translation and interpretation costs: CanExport Innovation may provide a maximum of $1,000 in CanExport Innovation funding (e.g. 75% of $1,333 in expenses) towards translation and interpretation costs.
  • Registration fees: CanExport Innovation supports project-driven activities and is not event-driven. Only in exceptional circumstances will CanExport Innovation support registration fees for a conference. If conference attendance is approved, only the lowest cost entrance fee to participate in the event is eligible.
    For registration fees to be considered eligible for consideration, Applicants must provide:
  • Sufficient evidence to justify why the meeting with the foreign partner cannot be held anywhere else or at any other time;
  • Evidence that cost of registration is for the lowest entrance fee rate. Booth fees are an ineligible expenditure.
  • Photocopies or printed material: Photocopies or printed material includes informational materials used to inform the foreign partner of the applicant’s capacity or technology. CanExport Innovation may provide a maximum of $500 in CanExport Innovation funding (75% of $666 in expenses) towards photocopies or printed materials. Printing costs of material not directly related to a CanExport Innovation funded activity are ineligible.
  • Shipping of equipment: CanExport Innovation may provide a maximum of $3,000 in CanExport Innovation funding (e.g. 75% of $4,000 in expenses) towards expenses related to shipping equipment for the purposes of technology demonstration to the foreign partner. Shipping costs of material not directly related to a CanExport Innovation funded activity are ineligible.
  • Meeting room rentals: CanExport Innovation provides support for reasonable meeting room costs. CanExport Innovation will consult with the Department’s locally engaged staff to determine reasonability of estimated costs. Applicant may provide a quote outlining the meeting cost for a location near the partner’s site as evidence of estimated costs.
  • Audio/visual equipment rental: CanExport Innovation provides support for reasonable audio/visual equipment rental costs. Audio/visual equipment rental expenditures covered under Meeting room rentals are not eligible as separate expenses. CanExport Innovation will consult with locally engaged staff to determine reasonability of estimated costs. Applicant may provide a quote outlining the audio/visual equipment rental costs as evidence of estimated costs.
  • Visas: Only expenses for single entry visas are eligible.