Smart Agriculture Living Lab Call for Proposal

• Up to five (5) grants of a maximum of CAD 100,000 each will be awarded per project.
• Funding covers up to 50% of eligible project costs; the remaining amount must be secured from other sources.
• Project duration is up to twelve (12) months, including all research, testing, validation, and reporting activities.
• No reimbursement is made until a duly signed Ultimate Recipient Agreement (URA) is returned to CENGN.

• The applicant must be a Canadian-registered organization with 499 or fewer full-time employees.
• The proposed technological solution must be deployable within a CENGN Living Lab.
• At least 90% of the project’s eligible work must be conducted in Canada.
• The applicant must demonstrate the ability to manage project finances, including providing credit verification and a two-year cash flow forecast.
• All participants must be willing to sign a participation agreement, and project collaborators must declare combined government funding levels as specified.

Who is eligible?

• Canadian startups in smart agriculture technology
• Canadian scaleups developing agri-tech solutions
• Organizations working in agricultural robotics and automation
• Companies engaged in AI and IoT-driven farm management systems
• Firms focused on sustainable agriculture and agri-food innovation

Who is not eligible

• Organizations not registered in Canada.
• Companies with more than 499 full-time employees.

Eligible expenses

• Salaries of personnel directly involved in project activities.
• Purchase or rental of equipment and office supplies required for project implementation.
• Professional services such as consulting and technical support directly related to the project.
• Operational overhead costs associated with project delivery.
• Travel expenses necessary for project-related activities.
• Costs related to organizing networking events, R&D collaborations, and participation in industry conferences or workshops.
• Expenses for operating regional offices in Canada directly linked to the project.
• Research and development (R&D) costs that support innovation and commercialization aligned with the project objectives.

Eligible geographic areas

• Organizations registered in Canada.
• Projects deployable in CENGN Living Labs located in British Columbia, Ontario, or Quebec.

• Understanding of the market challenge, the solution's value proposition, and commercial potential (Maximum score: 10).
• Experience and skills of the project team (Maximum score: 10).
• Feasibility to achieve project technical and commercial objectives within the Living Lab environment (Maximum score: 30; Minimum required: 22).
• Quality of the project plan (Maximum score: 25; Minimum required: 20).
• Risk management and mitigation strategies (Maximum score: 10).
• Benefits to Canada (Maximum score: 15; Minimum required: 10).

• External evaluators, infrastructure partners, and Living Lab hosts involved in supported projects may access sensitive data and intellectual property only as required for project activities and under strict confidentiality.
• Summaries of non-confidential project results and intellectual property must be provided by participants and may be shared with other CENGN partners for potential collaboration.
• Any intellectual property developed by participating organizations remains their ownership unless otherwise agreed.
• Credit checks and a two-year cash flow forecast are required as part of the financial management demonstration.