Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program

• Standard Application Form and Proposal Format
• Annex A – Budget Form (MS Excel)

Who is eligible?

• Aquaculture producers operating within Canada who are directly involved in producing marine aquatic species for pre-commercial or commercial purposes
• Producers undertaking commercial or developmental production activities on existing or new aquaculture species
• Aquaculture companies or associations involved with sea ranching mariculture operations
• Industry producer associations or consortia of producers

Eligible expenses

• Wages and salaries plus associated required payroll benefits of project-specific personnel, or post-doctoral or graduate student support
• Equipment directly related to the work
• Laboratory and field supplies
• Travel costs directly related to the goals of the project
• Other expenses agreed to be necessary to the success of the project

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Projects on transgenic aquatic organisms
• Projects related to improving fish production solely for economic objectives

• The project is consistent with the program objectives and research priorities, and addresses a significant constraint to the Canadian aquaculture sector.
• The project contributes to the sustainable development of aquaculture in Canada and shows sufficient industry input, practical benefits, and technology transfer or research commercialization potential.
• The project is cost effective, with a clear overall objective and methodology, and the project team is qualified to conduct the work.
• The project is technically feasible, has scientific merit, is original, and presents a well-defined problem, objectives, experimental methodology, and scientific approach.
• Applications are ranked according to research and development priorities and national program objectives, and the amounts requested and anticipated schedule of money available may also be considered.

• Prepare the application using the standard Application Form and Proposal Format.
• Ensure the application conforms to the application form and proposal guideline format.
• Submit a completed application in advance of the deadline.

• Proposals are reviewed for completeness, followed by a scientific peer-review, and then by the ACRDP Technical Review Committee.
• The committee makes recommendations for project approval.
• Applications may be categorized as fully recommended, recommended with changes or conditions, or not recommended.
• The collaborative arrangement is a formal agreement between Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Industry Collaborator(s), and may also involve other funding partners.
• The agreement sets out the project description, activities, deliverables, timeframes, payment schedule, reporting requirements, and categories of eligible expenses.
• If appropriate, an intellectual property agreement will be negotiated.
• Industry and DFO partners must provide annual progress reports and a final report.

• There will be no additional calls under this program.