Homegrown Innovation Challenge

Eligibility

• You may enter as a single lead organization or as a team, however, all teams must include a lead organization.
• Lead organizations must be qualified donees, as this term is defined by the Canada Revenue Agency. Lead organizations must also be based in Canada.
• Lead organizations must be in compliance with their obligations under the Canada’s Income Tax Act and with all CRA guidelines governing qualified donees. Only qualified donees can receive grants from the Weston Family Foundation and these funds must be used solely in the furtherance of eligible research and development projects.
• Subject to the Terms and Conditions outlined in the grant agreement, organizations may join or leave a team at any stage of the Challenge provided the lead organization does not change.
• Organizations that are not classified as qualified donees (including international and for-profit entities) can participate as part of an innovation team led by a qualified donee (lead organization).
• Each submission must name a principal investigator (individual leading the submission, affiliated with the lead organization). This individual must spend >50% of their time in Canada for the duration of their participation in the Challenge. Each principal investigator can only lead a single application but can collaborate or partner on other submissions for which they are not the principal investigator. Should the principal investigator sever their relationship with the lead organization, the Foundation reserves the right to cancel future payments under any grants that have been awarded and remove the lead organization from the Challenge.
• The proposed system must be optimized for the Canadian market. At a minimum, all research, development, testing and demonstration activities in the Scaling Phase of the challenge must be conducted in Canada. While international organizations may be part of innovation teams, solutions solely tested or demonstrated outside of Canada are not eligible.
• The proposed system must be designed to produce one or more berries according to the following inclusion and exclusion criteria listed on the Homegrown Challenge Eligibility Criteria website

Summary

Catalyzing change through the Homegrown Innovation Challenge

In a climate-changing world, Canada’s high dependence on imported fresh fruits and vegetables make it vulnerable to food systems disruption. By solving the interconnected challenges that currently prevent out-of-season production at scale, the Homegrown Innovation Challenge will catalyze a range of solutions relevant to a broad array of fruit and vegetable crops in Canada and around the world.

The Challenge is funded and delivered by the Weston Family Foundation, which has had a longstanding interest in supporting initiatives that bolster healthy ageing and healthy ecosystems as a means to improve the well-being of Canadians. The initiative launched in February 2022 and an innovation team that progresses through all challenge phases and ultimately claims the final awards would receive up to $8 million in funding to develop and scale their innovation.

Submission Process

Applications are submitted through the Research Management System (RMS) to initiate internal approvals.  Please note, when the RMS record finally reaches Research Services by the internal deadline, it should contain all the relevant Department and Faculty approvals, so please allow additional time for these steps.  Late applications will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances.  If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you will need to secure additional late approvals from your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) and the Executive Director, Research Services.  A link to RMS can be found here which includes training resources.

Phase 2 Shepherd Phase:

1. Upload a copy of your final and complete application to the RMS Application record, and submit for academic approvals.  Please ensure that you allow enough time for academic approvals prior to the Research Services (RSO) final internal deadline of NOON, December 15, 2022. Please note this is a hard deadline. Exceptions will only be made with the approval of your faculty Associate Dean (Research).
2.  RSO will provide institutional sign-off on the application and internal approvals in RMS. RMS will notify you that institutional approval has been provided and any institutional signatures will be provided
3. Full Proposals must be submitted using the Foundation’s online grants management system (https://westonfdn.smartsimple.ca/s_Login.jsp)  by 12:00pm ET/ 10:00am MST December 20, 2022

Resources

There is extensive information about this opportunity available on the website, please see link for more information:

https://homegrownchallenge.ca/

Overhead: 10%

Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

The Homegrown Innovation Challenge launched in February 2022 and is made up of three distinct stages:

1. Spark Phase (now closed, due in May 2022) - PLEASE NOTE, Spark Awards are NOT MANDATORY and teams can apply starting at phase 2

2. Shepherd Phase (due December 20, 2022)

The top 10 innovation teams selected by an independent judging panel will be awarded up to $1 million each across an 18 month period to develop and demonstrate a small-scale proof of concept of their system, generating evidence and learning to be assessed for progression to the Scaling Phase. Solutions should be reaching Technology Readiness Level 5 or higher by the end of the Shepherd Phase (when being submitted to the Scaling Phase).

Please note that you do NOT need to be a Spark Awardee to apply for the Shepherd Phase.

3. Scaling Phase (deadline Sept 2024)

The top 4 innovation teams selected from the Shepherd Phase will be awarded up to $5 million each across three years to build and demonstrate their system at farm scale in Canada, providing the judging panel with evidence that it has produced berries out of season during the trial. Solutions should be reaching Technology Readiness Level 8 or higher by the end of the Scaling Phase (when being submitted for final assessment).

Innovation teams that have best met the Challenge statement — “Create and deliver a market-ready system to reliably, sustainably and competitively produce berries out of season and at scale in Canada” — by the end of this period qualify to be considered for the final prizes. $1 million will be awarded to the best overall team and $1 million will be awarded to the team that has demonstrated the greatest breakthrough vis-à-vis its technology.

Note that both final prizes could be won by the same team.