Mitacs Elevate Government Funding for Postdoctoral Research & Development

Mitacs Elevate is a two-year collaborative R&D program that offers small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to benefit from the work of postdoctoral fellows that choose to undertake an industrially relevant research project. In return, postdoctoral fellows receive experiential training in R&D directly through their industry-academic research collaboration as well as leadership training and business acumen through the program’s training curriculum.

Mitacs Elevate Research and Development Funding: Amount

Government funding for research and development offered through the Mitacs Elevate program will go towards paying a post-doctoral fellow while also supporting some research costs. Funding offered through this program is provided jointly through Mitacs and the partner company. $50,000 in total funding is offered through this research and development funding program to the post-doctoral fellow. Up to $7500 is also available to help offset research costs.  Note: For every $1 of a partner organization’s $25,000 contribution, Mitacs provides $1.30 in matching funds.

Mitacs Elevate Canadian Government Grants: Details

Mitacs Elevate small business government grants support research work on a post-doctoral fellow who works as an intern. 50% of the intern’s time is spent at the company’s location and 50% of the time is spent at the university campus.

What companies are eligible to participate in the Mitacs Elevate program?

Mitacs small business grants support Canadian for-profit companies, and Canadian business locations of a foreign-owned for-profit companies. Organizations that are not eligible to be partners include:

• Funding agencies, government agencies or ministries;
• University-based research centers, hospitals, or charities;
• Foreign companies;
• Municipalities; and
• Non-government / not-for-profit organizations.

Small businesses of all sizes are eligible so long as they have an independent site where the intern can work with company personnel for approximately 50% of the time he or she is employed.

Mitacs Postdoctoral Fellowship Research and Development Funding: Candidate Eligibility Criteria

Mitacs Elevate is open to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and international applicants. The fellow must be based at a university located in the same province as the partner organization for the duration of the fellowship. Fellows who have held a Mitacs-Accelerate award as a Masters or PhD student are eligible to apply, but must not have received a Mitacs-Accelerate award since graduating from their PhD program. Postdoctoral fellows who have already held a Mitacs Elevate award are not eligible.

Are applications from any discipline accepted?

The Mitacs Elevate government grants for hiring program has priorities for each province and applications that fit with these priority areas are more likely to be accepted. For Ontario, the priority areas are:

• Health science and advanced health technologies;
• Clean and sustainable technologies;
• Digital media, information and communications technologies;
• Advanced manufacturing;
• Finance; and

Find out More about Mitacs Elevate Small Business Grants for Hiring

Choose from one of the following in order to learn more about the Mitacs Canadian small business grants program:

Mitacs Elevate Research Grants Deadline

There are typically two Calls for Proposals for the Mitacs Elevate program that occur in the spring and fall of every year. The deadline for the next round of letter of intents is November 26, 2014. Learn about additional funding programs available for hiring, training, purchasing of capital equipment, and business expansion by signing up for a Free Canadian Government Funding Workshop or Webinar.