Grand Challenges Canada

• Proof of Concept grants offer up to $250,000 CAD per project over 15, 18, or 24 months.
• Transition to Scale grants range from $300,000 CAD to $1,500,000 CAD per project over 12 to 48 months, with a mandatory 1:1 cash-based matching contribution from strategic funders/partners.
• Ecosystem Catalyst grants provide between $200,000 CAD and $300,000 CAD per project for a 24-month period.
• Projects are entitled to indirect/overhead costs, calculated as 10% of all direct costs.
• Advance disbursements are provided based on the project's estimated cash flow needs, subject to a 5% holdback until completion and submission of final justifications and reporting.

• The applicant must be a legally registered organization (such as a social enterprise, non-profit, for-profit, limited liability company, or research/academic institution) capable of receiving and administering funding.
• The organization must implement its project in at least one of the following priority countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, or Vietnam.
• The project must align with specific country priorities and focus areas as defined in the program documentation.
• There must be a single Project Lead for each project, affiliated with the applying organization.
• Eligible applicants must obtain any legal or regulatory approvals required to conduct project activities and accept foreign grant funds in the country of implementation.

Who is eligible?

• Social enterprises
• Non-profit organizations
• For-profit organizations
• Limited liability companies
• Research and academic institutions

Who is not eligible

Being will not fund certain projects and organizations based on their main activities or compliance with specific guidelines. Here are the restrictions related to types of companies or activities that are not eligible for this grant.

• Projects implemented in countries outside of the 12 priority countries.
• Projects focusing on mental health treatment and care, such as reducing symptom severity for youth with mental health conditions or capacity building of health professionals to deliver treatment and care.
• All projects for which the core intellectual property rights are owned by a third-party institution, unless specific conditions regarding intellectual property are met.

Eligible expenses

• Salaries and benefits for employees directly involved in the project.
• Subcontractor fees for external services (e.g., consultants, facilitators, technical advisors, translators, researchers).
• Travel costs directly related to project implementation, including participation in required meetings.
• Purchase, rental, or maintenance of goods, assets, and supplies needed for the project (e.g., workshop materials, tablets, training manuals, PPE).
• Purchase of equipment with a useful life over one year and a value above CAD $500 per unit (e.g., laptops, projectors).
• Administrative costs directly related to the project (e.g., participant stipends, bank fees, telecommunications, printing, translation, meeting and workshop costs, office space and utilities, publication fees, ethical approval costs).
• Sub-granting to external partner organizations required for project delivery.
• Indirect/overhead costs up to 10% of direct costs.

Eligible geographic areas

• Organizations legally incorporated and based in any country are eligible to apply.
• Projects must be implemented in at least one of the following 12 priority countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, or Vietnam.

The evaluation and selection of projects for this grant are based on specific criteria with allocated point scores to ensure the projects meet the grant's objectives and, focus on promoting the mental health and wellbeing of young people in the specified countries.

• Leadership Capability to Champion Change (10% of score): Assessing local leadership, youth-led initiatives, and the expertise of project teams.
• Relevance, Innovativeness, and Impact (50% of score): Evaluating alignment with country-specific priorities, boldness, and innovativeness of the approach, potential to improve priority health outcomes, and integration of different types of innovation.
• Project Execution Plan (25% of score): Reviewing the feasibility and technical soundness of the project design, presence of young people in the project, risk management, and engagement with gender equality, environmental sustainability, and human rights.
• Pathway to Sustainable Scale (5% of score): Assessing the clarity and feasibility of scaling the innovation beyond the initial project setting.
• Value for Effort (10% of score): Ensuring the requested funds and proposed budget are reasonable and efficient relative to the outlined project goals.

• Applications can be submitted in English or French, and the quality of language will not affect evaluation unless clarity is compromised.
• Orygen provides technical support, learning opportunities, and venture advisory services to funded projects as the Being learning and support provider.
• Applicants are encouraged to utilize Grand Challenges Canada’s Innovator Toolbox, including resources related to gender equality and monitoring/evaluation planning.
• Being-funded projects are expected to participate in peer-to-peer learning activities within the program ecosystem.