Digital Technology Supercluster COVID-19 Program
The Digital Technology Supercluster is one of Canada’s five Innovation Superclusters, which are initiatives financed by the Government of Canada that aim to foster strong connections between stakeholders in Canada’s most promising clusters. The program provides Canadian government grants and other supports for business-led R&D projects that focus on transformational digital technologies.
The Digital Technology Supercluster has extended its regular programming with the creation of a COVID-19 Program.
Funding will be allocated to projects that supports the development, deployment, scale-up, and adoption of products, services, and technologies to help address the needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Digital Technology Supercluster COVID-19 Program aims to use digital technologies to address issues created by the COVID-19 outbreak as well as build expertise to address and anticipate future health crises.
Digital Technology Supercluster Call for COVID-19 Solutions
COVID–19 has created truly unique circumstances in Canada and around the world, calling for exceptional responses and innovation. Through its COVID-19 Program, the Digital Technology Supercluster is investing up to $60 million to improve the health and safety of Canadians and Canada’s ability to address issues created by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Successful applicants may receive between 50-100% of eligible project expenses. The projects will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine the amount of funding based on impact.
Applicant Eligibility
To apply for the Digital Technology Supercluster COVID-19 Program, applicants should align with the following criteria:
- Must have at least two contributors to the project – single company initiatives will be reviewed only in exceptional circumstances;
- Participants can come from all industries and sectors;
- All project contributors must be members of the Supercluster (membership is free); and
- Projects must have experienced and capable project management.
What Projects is the COVID-19 Program Looking For?
Projects should focus on one of the following priority areas:
- Diagnostics and Therapeutics: Platforms that support sharing of data, research and scientific developments, and support for clinical trials in the drive to discover and deploy new vaccines, diagnostic tests, and therapies for COVID-19.
- Health System: Technologies that support health systems, hospitals, and healthcare workers to effectively manage resources to provide high quality care to patients (i.e. clinical decision support tools, HR and supply chain management, and first responder supports).
- Community Health: Technology solutions that enable Canadians to access care in their homes, their communities, and/or remote locations (i.e. virtual care and digital solutions for rapid screening, testing, monitoring, and delivery of care to remote communities).
- Emergency Response: Tools and techniques that can be used to predict, plan, and respond to subsequent COVID-19 waves and other crisis situations (i.e. population level predictive analytics, modelling tools, and simulations using virtual and augmented reality with data from multiple sources).
- Safe Living: Enabling technologies to live safely and securely, and to access the support and resources needed (i.e. secure messaging, virtual health programs for physical and mental health needs, resources for substance abuse, work safe programs, or delivery of food, medication, and supplies).
The projects can have timelines of up to 18 months and technologies should have an immediate impact (<6 months).
Apply for Digital Technology Supercluster COVID-19 Funding
There is a continuous intake of applications and no specific deadline, though the program encourages applications to be submitted as quickly as possible.
If you are interested in this program, please contact Mentor Works to assist you in confirming eligibility.
For more Government Support for COVID-19, we encourage you to register for our upcoming webinar on April 23!
