Social economy support program (PSES) – Stream 1

• Maximum funding of $150,000 per year when the project involves a single social economy pole.
• Maximum funding of $300,000 per year when the project involves several social economy poles or spans multiple regions.
• Financial assistance covers up to 80% of eligible project expenses.
• Total government aid cannot exceed 80% of eligible project costs.
• Maximum project duration is 3 years, and all projects must end by March 31, 2025.

• The application must be submitted jointly by at least one social economy hub (Pôle d’économie sociale) and the Quebec Regional Development Cooperative (CDRQ) or the CDRQ's representative for the Outaouais and Laurentides regions.
• The project must provide specialized support for social economy enterprises at any stage of development, from creation to growth or restructuring.
• The application must be submitted in French and include all mandatory supporting documents with the initial submission.

Who is eligible?

• Social economy poles (Pôles d’économie sociale)
• Regional Development Cooperative of Quebec (Coopérative de développement régional du Québec - CDRQ)

Who is not eligible

• Companies that are not social economy organizations or entities.
• Businesses that do not submit applications in French.
• Applicants who do not include all required supporting documents at the time of submission.
• Individual companies applying alone without the required partnership (must be at least one social economy hub and the CDRQ or its mandated representative).

Eligible expenses

• Expenses related to specialized support services provided to social economy enterprises throughout different phases of their development (creation, growth, restructuring).
• Costs associated with the collective provision of services such as ideation, co-creation, and pre-startup support within the scope of the project.
• Expenditures for coordination and concertation activities among local and regional actors participating in the project's pre-startup and startup interventions.

Eligible geographic areas

• Quebec
• The regions of Outaouais and Laurentides, when involving the designated representative (mandataire) of the CDRQ for those areas

• Demonstrates the presence of unmet support needs in the targeted territory.
• Offers new services and addresses unmet needs in the territory.
• Is complementary to other specialized support services available in the territory.
• Is carried out in collaboration with local and regional organizations and partners.

• All application documents must be submitted in French.
• Applications are accepted by email at any time until the program's budget is depleted.
• Missing or incomplete documents at the time of submission will result in the application being deemed inadmissible.
• Dynamic PDF forms require Adobe Reader version 10 or later for proper use.