Innovative Solutions Canada
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- Scored mainly on how novel the work is. Only 10 lead with that.
- Publishes the score sheet reviewers actually use. Only 30 do.
- The work here is mostly writing long answers. For 59%, the job is assembling documents instead.
Can you win this grant?
Get your instant eligibility verdict plus a head start on the application. Free, no account needed.
We use this program’s real eligibility rules. 4 short questions follow.
Want your full match picture across 850+ programs? Take the 2-minute quiz →
Who actually receives this funding
9 businesses received this funding in 2025 — 132 awards since 2018. Typical award: $200K. Half of all awards fall between $150K and $996.5K. 99% of recipients are for-profit businesses. Top sectors among classified recipients: Computer systems design services, Automatic environment control mfg, Communications equipment. Top provinces: Ontario 42% · Quebec 23% · British Columbia 15%. Covers: ISC Challenge Stream (Phase 1 + Phase 2) and Testing Stream R&D contracts disclosed by participating federal departments (ISED, NRC, AAFC). Source: Government of Canada proactive disclosure data · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada · Data through Q3 2026.
The typical Innovative Solutions Canada award is $200K — the median of 132 awards since 2018. In 2025, 9 businesses were funded; 99% were for-profit companies.
Named recipients
Recent recipients of Innovative Solutions Canada include Volta Energy Inc (Scarborough, ON, 2026), Alfapur Technologies Inc. (Sainte Catherine, QC, 2026) and TerraFixing Inc. (Ottawa, ON, 2026).
- 2026Volta Energy Inc
- 2026Alfapur Technologies Inc.
- 2026TerraFixing Inc.
- 2026VEI Contracting
- 2025Chalumeau
- 2025Dark Matter Materials Inc.
- 2025Saltworks
- 2025Trium Environmental Inc.
- 2025Facca Inc.
- 2024Ekstera Inc.
Show 22 more recipients
- 2024Qubic Inc.
- 2024aiRadar Inc.
- 2024Irreversible Inc.
- 2024Plascon Plastics Corporation
- 2024Kinova Inc.
- 2024Exonetik Inc.
- 2024E.O.I Technologies
- 20231QBit
- 20235REDO
- 2023Response Biomedical Corporation
- 2023PharmaPlanter Technologies Inc
- 2022One Lightwave Mfg.
- 2022E.O.I. Technologies Inc.
- 2022Roswell
- 2022Sanozone Technologies Incorporated
- 2021LuminUltra Technologies Ltd.
- 2021Mode40 Ltd
- 2021Analytika
- 2021Cole Webber Productions, Inc.
- 2021Roswell Downhole Technologies Inc
- 2021Precision ADM Inc.
- 2020Precision Al Inc.
Source: Government of Canada proactive disclosure
Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Helps Canadian entrepreneurs bring their innovations to market by connecting them with federal departments and agencies that have a challenge to solve.
Eligibility Requirements
- Challenge stream: incorporated Canadian for-profit SME (not-for-profit organizations and cooperatives are ineligible). Testing stream: a private company, public company, not-for-profit organization, university or individual may submit a proposal
- Challenge stream: 499 or fewer full-time equivalent employees
- Majority of operations, wages, and senior executives located in Canada
- Challenge stream: the innovation addresses a specific active federal department challenge posted on the ISC website. Testing stream: the applicant offers a pre-commercial good or service between TRL 7-9 that the government can buy and test in a real-life setting; entry is through a periodic PSPC Call for Proposals (roughly 2-3 a year), not the challenge form — none was open as of this record's last check.
- Challenge stream: Technology Readiness Level must match the phase the challenge is open to — TRL 1-4 to enter at Phase 1, TRL 5-9 to enter at Phase 2. Each Challenge Notice states which phase(s) it accepts.
- Challenge stream: at least 2/3 of Phase 1 R&D work must be performed internally (subcontracting capped at 1/3 of budget)
- Proposal must address all mandatory Essential Outcomes listed in the challenge notice
- ISC funds through either a grant or a procurement contract depending on the challenge — the Challenge Notice states which. A contract challenge is governed by the PSPC Call for Proposals EN578-24ISC4; a grant challenge by the ISC Grant Instructions and Procedures. The mechanism changes what you sign, who you email with questions, and whether the government can buy the result.
- Pre-agreement costs back to the date the proposal was submitted may be considered eligible, at the applicant's own risk until a funding agreement is signed, capped at 20% of total eligible costs.
- The 499-FTE count includes every affiliated business worldwide, including a foreign parent company and its subsidiaries, in or outside Canada. An FTE is someone receiving a T4 or equivalent at 30+ hours a week, with part-timers counted as fractions.
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Phase 1: up to $150,000; Phase 2: up to $1,000,000 (DND challenges may be higher)
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Federal
- Co-Funding
- Up to 100% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Challenge-specific — new challenges posted periodically with individual closing dates
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Moderate — standard application process
Moderate competition — prepare a strong application
Complex — detailed documentation needed
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipThe single most important success factor is directly addressing every Essential Outcome listed in the challenge notice — evaluators cannot infer anything not explicitly stated in your proposal.
Rejection Pitfalls 12
- Failing to address ALL Essential Outcomes in the challenge notice (mandatory pass/fail — automatic rejection)
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How Innovative Solutions Canada judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents on ised-isde.canada.ca, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-03.
6 of the sources
Sign up free to save this programme and track your application in your workspace.
What Innovative Solutions Canada favours
Support early-stage pre-commercial innovations by SMEs answering federal challenges◦
“The Challenge Stream is designed to support the development of early-stage, pre-commercial innovations by small and medium-sized businesses that demonstrate the capacity to develop an innovative solution in response to a challenge issued by a federal department or agency.”
The form
Eligibility certification
- 1Program eligibility certificationcheckboxes
Phase 1 proposal questions
- 2Question 1 a: Scope (Phase 1)written answer
Describe the proposed innovation and demonstrate how it responds to the challenge. Include in your description the scientific and technological basis upon which the solution is proposed and clearly demonstrate how the solution meets all of the Essential Outcomes in the Desired Outcomes section in the Challenge Notice.
- 3Question 1b: Scope - Additional Outcomes (Phase 1)written answer
Demonstrate the scientific and technological basis of how the proposed solution addresses the Additional Outcomes (if identified) in the Desired Outcomes section in the Challenge Notice. If no Additional Outcomes are identified in the Challenge Notice, text entered in this section will not be considered.
- 4Question 2: Current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) (Phase 1)selection + written
- 5Question 3a: Innovationwritten answer
- 6Question 3b: Advance on State of the Artwritten answer
- 7Question 4: Phase 1 Science and Technology (S&T) Riskswritten answer
- 8Question 5: Phase 1 Project Riskswritten answer
- 9Question 6: Phase 1 Project Plantable
- 10Question 7: Phase 1 Implementation Teamtable
- 8Question 8: Inclusivitywritten answer
- 12Question 9: Phase 1 Financial Controls, Tracking and Oversightwritten answer
- 13Question 10: Phase 2 Overview (asked inside the Phase 1 proposal)written answer
Financial Proposal (Section D)
- DFinancial Proposal (Section D of the Challenge Stream Submission Form)spreadsheet
Phase 2 proposal questions
- 15Question 1 a: Phase 2 Scopewritten answer
- 16Question 1b: Scope - Additional Outcomes (Phase 2)written answer
- 17Question 2: Proof of Feasibility and Current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) (Phase 2)selection + written
- 18Question 3a: Innovation (Phase 2)written answer
- 19Question 3b: Advance on State of the Art (Phase 2)written answer
- 20Question 4: Phase 2 Science and Technology Riskswritten answer
- 21Question 5: Phase 2 Project Riskswritten answer
- 22Question 6: Phase 2 Project Plantable
- 23Question 7: Phase 2 Implementation Teamtable
- 24Question 9: Phase 2 Financial Controls, Tracking and Oversightwritten answer
- 25Question 10: Commercialization Strategywritten answer
Challenge-specific attachment
- 26Challenge-specific attachment (example: critical components and country of origin)table
Advancement to Phase 2
- 27Advancement to Phase 2 after a completed Phase 1 - Supplemental Submission Formlist
Innovative Solutions Canada states no length limits for these answers.
Judged against
Innovative Solutions Canada publishes its score sheet. in Premium
- 1
Does it meet every Essential Outcome?
Show them Turn the Challenge Notice's Essential Outcomes list into a checklist and answer each one with the specification, measurement or test result that proves it.◦
In the funder’s words · 2
- Q1a Scope - does the solution clearly address ALL Essential Outcomes? (pass/fail)
- Q1b Additional Outcomes - 10 10
- 2
Is this an innovation at the right TRL?
What to show, and the funder’s 4 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Can this team deliver inside the notice's duration?
What to show, and the funder’s 5 criteria behind it in Premium
- 4
Beyond the score, would Canada choose this?
What to show, and the funder’s 9 criteria behind it in Premium
Where applicants fail
“The proposal does not clearly demonstrate how the proposed solution addresses all Essential Outcomes identified in the challenge.”
“The proposed solution is an incremental improvement, "good engineering", or a technology that would go ahead in the normal course of product development (i.e. the next version or release).”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 12 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
10 more rules that can reject you · 18 more criteria · 25 more prompts
Do you pass?
12 can rule you out; 1 is a preference. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
For-profit company
For profit
Incorporated in Canada
Incorporated in Canada (federally or provincially)
1 thing this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Phase 1 grantup to six months
Phase 1 is the proof of feasibility, up to six months at program level; the Challenge Notice states the available funding and the duration for that challenge.
Phase 2 grantUp to $1M over 2 years
Up to $1M in funding over a maximum period of 2 years at program level; the Challenge Notice sets the maximum funding and the duration for that challenge, and both can be smaller.
Costs never payableLand/buildings, financing, legal, taxes, lobbyist fees
Land acquisition, leasing land, buildings (acquisitions and leasing), renovation or construction, and other facilities, real estate fees and related costs; Financing charges, legal fees (not linked to patenting) and loan interest payments; Any goods and services costs which are received through donations or in kind; Property taxes; Lobbyist fees
Your shareExcess over maximum grant is applicant co-investment
If the applicant's Financial Proposal exceeds the maximum grant funding level specified in the Challenge Notice, any dollar value exceeding the maximum grant funding amounts will be the applicant's commitment of co-investment funding or funding through sources other than the ISC program.
StackingGovernment support capped at 100% of eligible costs
Funding Recipients are required to inform Canada of any government (federal, provincial, territorial, municipal) financial assistance they have requested and/or received towards the Eligible Activities prior to Canada approving an ISC grant. Total Canadian government assistance for all projects, including federal, provincial/territorial and municipal, must not exceed 100 % of eligible costs funded. In no instances will the total Canadian government assistance be allowed to exceed the total of eligible costs. Funding recipients must inform Canada of any government financial assistance (including tax credits) received towards the eligible activities during the project period covered by an ISC grant.
Costs before approvalCosts before signing case-by-case, max 20% eligible costs
Costs incurred before the agreement is signed may be considered case by case, 'but not earlier than the date on which a proposal has been submitted', and 'Retroactively eligible costs must not exceed 20 % of total eligible costs'. Any such spend is at the applicant's own risk until an agreement is signed.
What it pays for · 8
- salary costs: meaning amounts that are paid, or to be paid by an employer on a regular basis in the undertaking of the project, from which the employer withholds payroll deductions to the proper authorities on behalf of the employee. Salaries can include statutory holidays. Exclusions from salary costs are sick leave, vacation pay, profit, overhead, benefits, incentives and bonuses.
- contractor's fees and sub-contracts (not to exceed one-third (1/3) of total eligible project costs for a Phase 1 and half (1/2) for a Phase 2
- travel costs in accordance with the National Joint Council Travel Directive
- reports and studies
- overhead (maximum amount of eligible costs is set at 15 %)
- material cost
- patenting costs
- capital costs:... The eligible expense items allowed by the ISC are the cost of utilization/depreciation of capital item (fixed assets) specifically required for the delivery of the eligible project.
From application to money
- Find an open challengeChallenge Notices open one at a time
- Ask questions earlyQuestions due 10 days before closing
- Submit the formSubmit form before closing date and time
- Evaluation and poolScore out of 130, 65-point floor
- Funding agreementAgree project activities in funding agreement
- Report and surveyReports each phase; surveys for 5 years
In the funder’s words · 6
- Find an open challenge
- Challenge Notices are published one at a time, each with its own opening and closing date and time in Eastern time, and the notice sets the phase and the Essential Outcomes you must answer.
- Ask questions early
- Responses are published as an amendment to the Challenge Notice on CanadaBuys, so every other applicant sees your question answered too. (no later than (10) ten calendar days before the Challenge Notice closing date)
- Submit the form
- One completed Challenge Stream Submission Form per challenge, filed in the ISC web-based portal before the Challenge Notice closing date and time. (before the Challenge Notice closing date and time)
- Evaluation and pool
- Proposals are screened against the mandatory criteria first, then point-rated out of 130 with a 65-point floor, and responsive proposals go into a Challenge Pool of Pre-Qualified Proposals from which Canada may or may not select.
- Funding agreement
- Canada and the applicant (offeror) will work together to agree on the specific project activities (including deliverables and milestones, where applicable). A funding agreement will contain the project activities
- Report and survey
- Interim progress reports and a Final Report in each phase, plus business surveys for up to 5 years after the project completes.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win Innovative Solutions Canada
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 12 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 21-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 7-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 7-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 21
Eligible Expenses 9
Ineligible Expenses 6
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Low RiskHow Innovative Solutions Canada Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Innovative Solutions Canada | up to $150,000 | Hard | Milestone-Based | Challenge-specific — new... |
| NRC IRAP Clean Technology Program | $100,000–$500,000 | Hard | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing |
| CanExport Innovation | Up to $37,500 | Moderate | Reimbursement | The 2026 intake window... |
| Mitacs Accelerate | $15,000 per internship unit | Easy | Advance Payment | Ongoing |
| Strategic Response Fund (formerly Str... | Minimum $10 million contribution | Hard | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing — continuous... |
Related Programs
Other programs you might be eligible for
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about Innovative Solutions Canada