Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS)
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- Winning means you must assign rights to the funder. 9 ask that.
- Scored mainly on how novel the work is. Only 10 lead with that.
- Publishes the score sheet reviewers actually use. Only 30 do.
Can you win this grant?
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Who actually receives this funding
59 businesses received this funding in 2025 — 322 awards since 2019. Typical award: $349K. Half of all awards fall between $35K and $1M. The advertised maximum is $6.75M — most awards land closer to $349K. 50% of recipients are for-profit businesses. Top sectors among classified recipients: Professional, scientific, technical. Top provinces: Ontario 46% · Quebec 17% · Alberta 14%. Covers: DND IDEaS all sub-streams (Competitive Projects, Innovation Networks/DISH-phase, Concept Development, Contests). Source: Government of Canada proactive disclosure data · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada · Data through October 2026.
The typical Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security award is $349K — the median of 322 awards since 2019, even though the program advertises up to $6.75M. In 2025, 59 businesses were funded; 50% were for-profit companies.
Named recipients
Recent recipients of Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security include École de technologie supérieure (Montreal, QC, 2026), École Polytechnique De Montréal (Montreal, QC, 2026) and University of Victoria (Victoria, BC, 2026).
- 2026École de technologie supérieure
- 2026École Polytechnique De Montréal
- 2026University of Victoria
- 2026University of Calgary
- 2026University of Waterloo
- 2026SkyReach Aerospace Inc.
- 2026Avestec Technologies Inc.
- 2026The Governors of the University of Alberta
- 2026Thius Canada Inc.
- 20262345081 Ontario Inc.
Show 25 more recipients
- 2026AVSS - Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc.
- 2026The University of British Columbia
- 2026ARA Robotic Inc.
- 2026Lodge Systems Inc.
- 2026Tarkka Manufacturing Solutions Inc.
- 2026Gull Systems Corporation
- 2026Superwake Ltd.
- 2026FPDynamics Advanced Robotics Ltd.
- 2026Humanitas Solutions Inc.
- 2026University of Ottawa
- 2026Reaction Dynamics Lab Inc.
- 2026DARIT Technologies
- 2025Canadian Autonomous Defence Corp.
- 2025EigenArmour Defence Systems Inc.
- 2025University of Alberta
- 2025Volatus Aérospatial Corp
- 2025C-Core
- 2025Lockheed Martin Canada Inc.
- 2025Qillaq Innovations
- 2025Complex Systems Inc.
- 2024Think Solutions Engineering
- 2024Halifax Regional Police
- 2024Boeing Company
- 2024LiveLink Aerospace Limited
- 2023The University of New Brunswick
Source: Government of Canada proactive disclosure
Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Provides funding for innovative solutions to defence and security challenges through competitive calls. IDEaS runs through several elements — Competitive Projects, Contests, Sandboxes, Test Drives, Innovation Networks, and the POINT acquisition pilot — and each call names its own submission mechanism.
Eligibility Requirements
- Canadian entity — company, university, or individual — addressing an active IDEaS challenge posted by the Department of National Defence
- Canadian content rules are set by each call, typically 50 to 80%; Competitive Projects use a 70% Canadian content certification as a conditional set-aside (if two or more unaffiliated offerors on a challenge certify, only certified proposals can win; otherwise all proposals remain eligible)
- Not a federal public servant or federal government department (employees may participate in personal capacity in some streams)
- Not subject to unresolved Canadian sanctions or controlled goods restrictions
- Innovation addresses a specific defence or security challenge posted in the current IDEaS call
- Technology is at an early stage (TRL 1-5 typical for contest streams)
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Up to $6.75MCompetitive Projects: up to $6.75M in phased development funding; Innovation Networks: up to $3M
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Federal
- Deadline
- IDEaS runs rolling challenges and contests. Open now: the RF data fusion challenge closes October 29, 2026, and the urban counter-UAS sandbox call closes December 1, 2026. New calls are posted through the year.
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Difficult — significant preparation needed
High competition — many applicants
Complex — detailed documentation needed
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipIDEaS is challenge-driven -- you cannot submit unsolicited proposals.
Rejection Pitfalls 8
- Proposal does not directly address the specific posted challenge
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How the Department of National Defence judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents on canada.ca, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-10.
6 of the sources
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What the Department of National Defence favours
Demonstrate capability and a thorough, concise, clear approach◦
“The Offerors should explicitly demonstrate their capability and describe their approach in a thorough, concise and clear manner for carrying out the work.”
The form
Choose an element
- 1Choose the element and the specific challengeselectionno limit
Competitive Projects: eligibility and portal
- 2Who may apply (Competitive Projects, CFP 006)checkboxno limit
- 3Register for the Defence Innovation Portal and open the Challengeshort answerno limit
- 4Defence Innovation Portal account and applicant profileshort answerno limit
Competitive Projects: proposal
- SC-1SC-1: Financial Proposal (screening, pass/fail)spreadsheetno limit
- MC-1MC-1: Current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of Proposed Solutionwritten answerno limit
Accurately identify the current TRL; Describe the research and development (R&D) activities that have taken place to advance the proposed solution to the stated TRL.
- MC-2MC-2: Alignment of Proposed Solution to S&T Challengewritten answerno limit
Describe the proposed solution and how it addresses and aligns to the identified S&T Challenge by including a description of the scientific and technological basis upon which the solution is proposed, and clearly justify how the solution meets the Essential Outcomes.
- PRC-1PRC-1: Scientific and/or Technical (S/T) Merit of Proposed Solution (10 points)written answerno limit
- PRC-2PRC-2: Novel and Innovative Solution (20 points)written answerno limit
- PRC-3PRC-3: Impact of Proposed Solution (20 points)written answerno limit
- PRC-4PRC-4: Feasibility and Approach of Proposed Solution (20 points)written answerno limit
- PRC-5PRC-5: Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) of Proposed Solution (5 points)written answer · 3,000 characters
- PRC-6PRC-6: Alignment of Desired Outcomes (15 points)written answerno limit
- PRC-7PRC-7: Alignment of Proposed Solution Costs (10 points)spreadsheetno limit
- 15Solution Progression to Follow on Componentswritten answerno limit
- 16References (open-source documents only; no attachments)listno limit
- 17Government Furnished Property request and mitigation (Components 2 and 3 only)yes/no + writtenno limit
- 18Certifications with the proposalcheckboxesno limit
Contests
- 19Contests — the call's own proposal formwritten answerno limit
Sandboxes
- 20Sandboxes — apply through the specific Call For Applicationswritten answerno limit
Test Drives
- 21Test Drives — PSPC solicitationwritten answerno limit
bar = length the funder allows, from its stated limits
Judged against
the Department of National Defence publishes its score sheet. in Premium
- 1
Does the solution answer this exact challenge?
Show them Work through the challenge's Essential Outcomes and Desired Outcomes one by one and give the scientific basis for meeting each.◦
In the funder’s words · 3
- MC-2: Alignment of Proposed Solution to S&T Challenge (Mandatory – Pass/Fail)
- PRC-1: Scientific and/or Technical (S/T) Merit of Proposed Solution — 10 points 10 points
- PRC-6: Alignment of Desired Outcomes — 15 points 15 points
- 2
What is genuinely new here?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Can you deliver at the TRL and price?
What to show, and the funder’s 4 criteria behind it in Premium
- 4
Will DND/CAF actually want to field it?
What to show, and the funder’s 8 criteria behind it in Premium
10 questions the reviewer answers about you, in Premium.
Where applicants fail
“Proposals submitted in alternate format will not be accepted.”
“Registration requests received within 48 hours of the Challenge close date and time may not be actioned.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 15 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
14 more rules that can reject you · 14 more criteria · 18 more prompts
Do you pass?
15 can rule you out; 3 are preferences. Tick the ones you meet.
You
Open to any industry or region preferred, not required
By its nature, IDEaS is an access to innovation program and does not have a preference for any particular industry, region, or domain.
Open to these applicant types
This CFP is open to individuals, academia, not-for-profit organizations, provincial/territorial or municipal government organizations, and all industry.
1 thing this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Component ceilingsCAD 250K–5M depending on component
1a - Conceive ≤ 6 months ≤ CAD 250K; 1b - Design ≤ 12 months ≤ CAD 1.5M; 2 - Build ≤ CAD 5M (performance period determined at contract negotiations); 3 - Test Drive determined at the time of Contract negotiations.
Innovation Networks maximumUp to $3M per proposal
Up to $3M per proposal for up to 48 months
Contest maximumUp to $1M per applicant
up to $1M per applicant
First-half cost cap70% of total cost
The cost proposal for the first half of all milestones combined, must be no greater than 70% of the total cost for the proposed solution.
Milestone paymentsPaid per Schedule of Milestones
Canada will make milestone payments in accordance with the Schedule of Milestones detailed in Annex TBD and the payment provisions of the contract
Funding is not repaidNo repayment required
Funding does not have to be repaid even if the project does not return the intended results.
StackingTotal government assistance capped at 100% of costs
The total Canadian government (federal, provincial/territorial and municipal) assistance cannot exceed 100% of total project costs.
What it pays for · 1
- Funds can only be used for incremental resourcing costs associated with delivering a proposed solution - for example, material and supplies, equipment rentals, subcontractors, casual or permanent employees (incremental labour costs for indeterminate employees at the federal level of the Government in Canada cannot be included). Therefore, funds can only be used for expenditures that are not amortized.
What it does not pay for · 2
- The Offerors should make all reasonable attempts to avoid requesting travel funding within their proposal unless absolutely operationally required.
- This procurement does not offer exchange rate fluctuation risk mitigation.
From application to money
- Register on the portalSet up portal account early
- Submit the proposalOctober 20, 2026 at 2 p.m. EDTSubmit proposal by October 20, 2026
- Evaluation and pre-qualificationScore at least 70 of 100 points
- Contract negotiationtwelve (12) monthsProposal open for acceptance 12 months
- Milestone paymentsPayments follow Schedule of Milestones
- Surveys and auditsSurveys and audits after work ends
In the funder’s words · 6
- Register on the portal
- Set up a Defence Innovation Portal account early, because credentials are issued only after registration is reviewed.
- Submit the proposal
- Draft and submit the Challenge Electronic Proposal Form on the Defence Innovation Portal, one form per challenge.
- Evaluation and pre-qualification
- Proposals must score at least seventy (70) of one hundred (100) points to proceed to the Strategic Decision Parameters.
- Contract negotiation
- Once pre-qualified, the proposal stays open for acceptance while Canada considers it for the challenge.
- Milestone payments
- Payments follow the Schedule of Milestones and the payment provisions of the contract.
- Surveys and audits
- Contractors respond to IDEaS surveys and Canada may request audits after the work ends.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win IDEaS
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 8 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 8-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 6-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 6-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 8
Eligible Expenses 8
Ineligible Expenses 5
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
- 5 more application steps
- 6 more required documents
- 8 eligible expenses
- 5 ineligible expenses
- Intake periods
- Deadline notes
- Ineligible organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Medium RiskHow IDEaS Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
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| Innovation for Defence Excellence and... | up to $6.75M | Hard | Milestone-Based | IDEaS runs rolling... |
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| Innovative Solutions Canada | up to $150,000 | Hard | Milestone-Based | Challenge-specific — new... |
| CFIB Big Thank You Contest | $4,000 cash prize for a small business | Easy | Lump Sum | June 29 to July 13, 2026... |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about IDEaS