OCI Collaborate 2 Commercialize (C2C)
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- The work here is mostly writing long answers. For 59%, the job is assembling documents instead.
- What does not disqualify you: No $500,000 lifetime cap. 119 record an exemption like this.
- Asks 14 written answers. The median programme we have read asks 5.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Fosters collaboration between academia and industry to solve industry-based problems and drive the commercialization of intellectual property, using the skills and infrastructure of Ontario colleges, universities, and research hospitals.
Eligibility Requirements
- Must be an Ontario-based company or industry partner
- Incorporated in Ontario for at least two years (for-profit, with a valid Ontario-based CRA business number)
- Must partner with an Ontario college, university, or research hospital (publicly funded institution; the researcher must be arm's-length from the industry partner; NSERC-Alliance additionally needs a university researcher with an active OCI or NSERC peer-reviewed grant)
- Project uses the skills and specialized infrastructure of an Ontario post-secondary institution to solve an industry-based problem, with results the industry partner can commercialize within 3 years of the project ending (IP arising from the project is managed by the participants; OCI does not claim or manage IP rights)
- Industry partner must provide 50% cash co-funding of eligible project costs - at least half of it paid to the institution; the remainder may be spent at the company
- Fewer than 500 global full-time employees, at least five full-time equivalent employees in Ontario, and more than half of company headcount in Ontario
- Open to companies in any sector that are using or developing technology innovation or innovative processes
- Company has operations (production and/or R&D) located in Ontario related to the project
- NSERC co-funded streams (Alliance/ARD) require at least two of the Ontario FTE employees to be full-time salaried staff
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- $20,000–$150,000 (50% of eligible project costs; industry partner must provide 50% cash)
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Provincial
- Co-Funding
- Up to 50% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Both 2026-27 targeted calls closed September 15, 2026. No new call has been announced.
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Moderate — standard application process
Moderate competition — prepare a strong application
Moderate — standard requirements
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipThe industry partner drives this application — do not wait for the academic institution to lead.
Rejection Pitfalls 8
- Company incorporated less than 2 years in Ontario
Success Profile
How Ontario Centre of Innovation judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents on oc-innovation.ca, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-11.
6 of the sources
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What Ontario Centre of Innovation favours
Use post-secondary skills to meet industry innovation needs◦
“Utilizes unique skills/resources of post-secondary institution to meet industry innovation and commercialization needs”
The form
Intake
- 1OCI Company Intake Form - contactshort answerno limit
- 2OCI Company Intake Form - business descriptionwritten answerno limit
In one to two sentences, describe your company's business
- 3OCI Company Intake Form - what you want to developwritten answerno limit
We are interested in understanding what you are looking to develop or commercialize, let us know! Also, if there is anything else you’d like to share, comment below
- 4OCI Company Intake Form - existing OCI contactyes/no + writtenno limit
- 5OCI Company Intake Form - programme interestcheckboxno limit
- 6OCI Company Intake Form - post-secondary affiliationyes/no + writtenno limit
- 7OCI Company Intake Form - company informationshort answerno limit
1: Challenge and proposed solution
- 1.A1: Challenge and proposed solution - industry partner core businesswritten answer · 2 pagesno limit
- 1.B1: Challenge and proposed solution - the technology challengewritten answer · 2 pagesno limit
- 1.C1: Challenge and proposed solution - fit with business strategywritten answer · 2 pagesno limit
2: Project plan and budget
- 2.A2: Project plan and budget - plan, milestones, deliverableswritten answer · 3 pagesno limit
- 2.B2: Project plan and budget - budget, resources, staffingwritten answer · 3 pagesno limit
- 2.C2: Project plan and budget - risks and mitigationwritten answer · 3 pagesno limit
3: Project team members and roles
- 3.A3: Project team members and roles - company teamwritten answer · 1 pageno limit
- 3.C3: Project team members and roles - how the partners interactwritten answer · 1 pageno limit
4: Implementation and commercialization
- 4.A4: Implementation and commercialization - plan, resources and IP managementwritten answer · 2 pagesno limit
- 4.B4: Implementation and commercialization - commercial impact in Ontariowritten answer · 2 pagesno limit
- 4.C4: Implementation and commercialization - quantitative outcomes tabletable · 2 pagesno limit
Supporting documents and budget
- 19Industry partner letter of support (cash contribution)listno limit
- 20AccessOCI budgettableno limit
- 21Industry cash payment schedule (pre-activation)tableno limit
NSERC-Alliance application
- 22Partner organization information (NSERC online system)short answerno limit
bar = length the funder allows, from its stated limits
Judged against
- 1
Is this a real company problem worth solving?
Show them Describe the company's core business, the specific technical problem, and why solving it matters to the company's growth strategy.◦
In the funder’s words · 2
- Significance of the challenge/opportunity to support the company’s business strategy and/or growth.
- Rationale for the proposed project to address the company‐specific problem or opportunity.
- 2
Can this team and plan actually deliver?
What to show, and the funder’s 4 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Will the partners genuinely work together?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 4
Will Ontario see commercial benefit in three years?
What to show, and the funder’s 3 criteria behind it in Premium
Where applicants fail
“Please note that completion of this form does not constitute an application for funding.”
“Please ensure that when registering on AccessOCI, the legal company name is used for the Industry Partner.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 19 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
17 more rules that can reject you · 8 more criteria · 20 more prompts
Do you pass?
19 can rule you out; 2 are preferences. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
Fewer than 500 global employees
The C2C program funding is focused on supporting small and medium size enterprises (SME) with fewer than 500 global full-time employees.
The training provider
Max three active C2C projects
Principal investigators (universities/research hospitals) or professors carrying out the project (colleges) can have up to three (3) active C2C projects at a time.
1 thing this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
OCI maximum50 per cent max; $20,000-$150,000
50 per cent (maximum) of total eligible project costs, from $20,000 to $150,000
Where match is spentHalf at institution; rest company
At least half of the 1:1 match must be spent at the post‐secondary institution; remainder may be spent at the company
NSERC-Alliance amountsUp to $50,000 per partner
Individual proposals can request from $20,000 up to $50,000 from NSERC Alliance grants and from $20,000 up to $50,000 from OCI C2C, with a corresponding $20,000 to $50,000 from the industry partner (at least 50% must be cash provided to the academic institution).
NSERC-ARD amountsUp to $40,000 per partner
Individual proposals can request from $20,000 up to $40,000 from NSERC ARD grants and from $20,000 up to $40,000 from OCI C2C, with a corresponding $20,000 to $40,000 from the industry partner (at least 50% must be cash provided to the academic institution).
Overhead10% OCI direct costs
Overhead on the OCI contribution will be remitted separately by OCI to the institution (10 per cent of OCI contributions to direct project costs)
Advance and holdback25% advance; 10% holdback
Upon activation, OCI will release an advance payment equal to 25 per cent of the OCI award amount. Subsequent payments are made upon submission and approval of progress reports and reimbursement requests. 10 per cent of the OCI award will be held back until project completion.
Your shareMinimum 1:1 cash match to OCI
50 per cent (minimum) of total eligible project costs (i.e., minimum 1:1 match to OCI contribution), in cash
StackingCannot leverage other federal/provincial grants unless stated
Cannot be leveraged with other federal or provincial grant programs unless otherwise stated in this program guideline
Costs before approvalExpenses at own risk from approval letter
The project team may begin to incur expenses at their own risk from the approval letter date.
What it pays for · 7
- Salaries and benefits for technicians, support staff, post‐doctoral fellows,
- Research materials, licence fees, publication, workshop costs, supplies, and
- Pro‐rated research equipment purchase for project activities (up to a
- Lab analyses and related services
- Sub‐contractor and consultant fees if approved by OCE management prior to the start of the project and if procured in accordance with the BPSAA
- Direct Project management (i.e. dedicated project management resource) expenses up to 10% of OCI contribution
- Replacement costs associated with faculty release to enable college faculty to conduct research projects (up to $9,000 per course load reduction, per semester, per faculty)
What it does not pay for · 6
- Wages and benefits of faculty, adjunct or visiting professors (with the
- Salaries and benefits for Principal Investigators (PI)
- Intellectual property protection costs
- Infrastructure costs
- Travel outside the province of Ontario
- Overhead is not an eligible project expense and should not be included in the project budget
From application to money
- Contact the BDMContact OCI BDM for AccessOCI link
- 2026 call windowsDefence and AI calls open 2026
- AccessOCI application open90 daysApplicants submit jointly to Research Office
- Peer review and decisionDecision within 35 days
- Sign funding agreementSign agreement within 30 days
- Progress and final reportsProgress every six months; final after end
In the funder’s words · 6
- Contact the BDM
- The industry partner contacts an OCI Business Development and Commercialization Manager (or completes the Program Enquiry Form), who vets the opportunity and then sends the AccessOCI link.
- 2026 call windows
- Defence and Dual-Use Technologies runs June 1 to September 15, 2026 and the Artificial Intelligence call runs July 15 to September 15, 2026.
- AccessOCI application open
- The Research Partner and the Industry Partner complete the application jointly and submit it to the institution's Research Office.
- Peer review and decision
- Complete applications get a written external peer review by three subject-matter experts, and OCI's Internal Review Panel makes the final decision.
- Sign funding agreement
- The institution and the industry partner sign the trilateral funding agreement through OCI's online electronic signature function.
- Progress and final reports
- A Progress and Claims Report is due at six months and every six months after, with final reports due within 30 days of the project end.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win C2C
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 8 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 12-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 4-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 not yet documented.
Required Documents 12
Deadline Notes
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Unknown RiskHow C2C Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
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| OCI Collaborate 2 Commercialize (C2C) | $20,000–$150,000 | Moderate | Varies | Both 2026-27 targeted... |
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