Mitacs — Business Strategy Internship

• The proposal template provided through the Registration and Application Portal (RAP)

Who is eligible?

• For-profit companies
• Hospitals
• Municipalities
• Eligible not-for-profit organizations

Eligible expenses

• Direct project costs for Business Strategy Internship innovation projects, in accordance with the Tri-Agency Financial Administration guidelines.
• Direct project management expenses, up to 10% of the value of the standard cash contribution of the partner organization to the grant, prior to any discounts.
• For Indigenous research and innovation projects, eligible costs include community mobilization and engagement costs, culturally relevant promotional items, cash reimbursements to compensate community participation, honoraria for Indigenous Elders and community experts, and knowledge translation or communication contracts or consultant fees.
• A salary research allowance to temporarily replace co-applicants from eligible Indigenous not-for-profit organizations to release them from their duties to the organization.
• For colleges only, eligible project costs include faculty releases from teaching duties and part-time faculty participation.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Mitacs funds cannot be used to buy goods or services from organizations listed as partners on the project.
• Mitacs funds cannot be used to cover expenses incurred by partner organization personnel.

• For BSI proposals, reviewers assess whether the described activities show potential to deliver innovative outcomes for the partner organization(s), whether the project is novel, and whether it goes above and beyond the day-to-day operations of the partner.
• Reviewers assess whether the project describes a clear innovation challenge or improvement priority, and whether the intern’s expertise is suitable for addressing it.
• Reviewers assess whether the project objectives, approach, and timeline are well defined, reasonable, and sufficiently detailed.
• Mitacs proposals are also assessed for alignment with the intent of the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships and the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern, and for whether proposals demonstrate adequate benefits to Canada to qualify for Mitacs funding.

• Apply directly through the Mitacs Registration and Application Portal (RAP).
• The proposal template will be provided through the RAP.
• You can also download the template for review prior to submission.
• Any COIs involving the academic supervisor and the partner organization must be disclosed to Mitacs during the application process and will be reviewed by the Mitacs COI committee.

• Projects submitted to Mitacs will be adjudicated to ensure that the participants meet the necessary requirements and that the work outlined is eligible for the program.
• Projects should start within one year of the receipt of research approval.
• Accelerate and BSI internship units should not start until both the research review approval has been obtained and the partner organization funds have been received at Mitacs.
• Individual internship start dates will not be confirmed by Mitacs staff until the receipt of the partner funds.
• Participants will be notified as the end date of their project is approaching and must request an extension to Mitacs; project end dates can be extended by one year past the original projected end date, and incomplete internships may be subject to cancellation.

• Mitacs provides online professional development courses to interns through its e-Campus, EDGE.
• Interns are expected to meet weekly with both supervisors to report on project progress, and virtual meetings are acceptable.
• Interns and both supervisors are required to complete an exit survey at the end of the program reporting on project outcomes, skills developed, and feedback on the program experience.
• Interns must deliver a final presentation to their supervisors summarizing the work at project completion.