Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS)

Receive up to $20M in Government Funding.

Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) is a federal government procurement program. Administered through the Department of National Defence (DND), the program seeks pre-commercial military and defence technologies that have the potential to address current challenges faced by Canada’s Armed Forces. Applicants respond to open Calls for Proposals and are eligible to receive federal government contracts based on their proposed technology plans/prototypes.

Funding Amount

Access up to $1.2 million in government contracts for initial R&D. Fully-developed solutions may also access up to $20 million through a procurement program.

Eligible Applicants

All organization types are eligible to apply. Applicants must demonstrate at least 50% Canadian content for goods and services.

Eligible Activities

Research, development, and demonstration of innovative military technologies with a technology readiness level (TRL) of 1-6.

Deadline to Apply

The Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security program offers a Call for Proposals for identified innovation challenges.

Apply Now

Mentor Works Government Funding Application Success Rate

Apply for Funding

Give your application the best chance at approval. Mentor Works has an 86% approval rating across all Canadian funding programs.

Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS)

Amount of Funding

There are two components to the IDEaS Program which receive different funding allottments:

Component 1a: Recipients may receive up to $200,000 for up to a 6 month period; and
Component 1b: Recipients may receive up to $1M for up to a 12 month period.

Applicants that are selected for both components of the IDEaS program may receive a maximum of $1.2M for a period of 18 months.

Amount of Funding from the Canadian Government

Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS)

Eligible Applicants

All organization types are eligible to apply. Applicants must demonstrate at least 50% Canadian content for goods and services. Federal public servants are not eligible.

Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS)

Eligible Activities

The IDEaS program focusses on initiatives that can help solve challenges faced by the Canadian Armed Forces. Therefore, research, development, and demonstration of innovative military technologies with a technology readiness level (TRL) of 1-6 are ideal candidates. However, eligible activities must fall in line with each individual competitive project’s criteria.

To see the full list of opportunities, visit the IDEaS Competitive Projects page.

Eligible Expenses for Canadian Government Funding

Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS)

Program Deadline

The Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security program offers a Call for Proposals for identified innovation challenges. Therefore, there is a rolling intake for proposals until the program closes. There is no formal deadline for this program.

Apply for Government Grants with Mentor Works for Time Savings

Apply for Funding

We provide an average 95% time savings to our clients, compared to businesses that apply for funding in-house.