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Seed

Video description 

Thinking about applying to Seed? Ready to kickstart a small-scale innovation activity that explores and develops capacity, partnerships, and promising innovation ideas? In this video, we’ll guide you through the program guidelines, eligibility, and evaluation criteria to help determine if this stream is right for you, your group, collective, or organization.

To learn more about the Seed grant, check out the guidelines.  

If you’re looking for more information to get started on your Seed project, we have a booklet available to further assist you in your understanding of the Council’s new Strategic Innovation Fund and its Seed component.

Publication date 

September 2, 2022 

Slide 1: Seed Grant  

Welcome to the Seed grant.  

Slide 2: Introducing the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF)     

In this short video, we’re going to introduce and explain the Seed grant — a component of our Strategic Innovation Fund.  But first, here’s a quick overview of the Fund so you can see where the Seed grant fits in.      

The Strategic Innovation Fund aims to build a more inclusive, resilient, sustainable arts sector. It includes 

  • Three main components — Seed, Cultivate and Grow     
  • Two support components — Digital Generator and Digital Greenhouse. 

Now let’s turn the spotlight on the main components.   

Slide 3:  Main components of the Strategic Innovation Fund   

To support bold ideas to transform the arts sector, the Strategic Innovation Fund offers three main funding components.  

  • The Seed component is designed to help you think, explore, experiment and prepare for innovation.   
  • The Cultivate component is designed to implement, pilot and protype innovation projects that will strengthen the arts sector.  
  • The Grow component provides multi-year grants for a limited number of collaborative, game-changing initiatives with the potential for broad impact.  

We’ll explore the Cultivate and Grow components in other videos. If your focus is on small scale innovation projects to plan, research or explore potential solutions to systemic issues in the arts sector, keep watching.

Slide 4: What do we mean by Innovation?  

 For the Canada Council for the Arts, Innovation is about creating change, trying new things, taking risks, changing models and trying new approaches. In the context of the Strategic Innovation Fund, innovation:  

  • Should not be confused with artistic creativity.  
  • Rather, it tackles key systemic issues in the arts sector, including social inequalities.  
  • And addresses clearly identified challenges and produces fundamental change. It is both a process and a goal.  
  • Innovation is the key to solving the pressing and enduring issues we face as a global society, including exclusion, environmental sustainability and failing economic models.  

Slide 5: Seed: What you can do  

Seed grants support small scale activities to explore and develop innovation projects and partnerships that address systemic issues in the arts sector. A Seed grant can give you the support to explore change and what innovation can mean for you, your organization or your arts community.  

For example, suppose you want to explore new governance models to support emerging artists from equity seeking communities. A Seed grant could be a good place to start.  

You can apply to Seed for up to $25,000 for:  

  • Sector research and exploration  
  • Planning and project development  
  • Evaluation, gathering and knowledge sharing  
  • Partnership and network building  
  • Organizational transformation  

Slide 6: Key Strategic Areas of the Fund   

Since the Strategic Innovation Fund aims to address systemic issues in the arts sector, your project must respond to at least one of the Fund's Key Strategic Areas. These touch on resilience and sustainability, social justice, accessibility, decolonization, climate change, health and wellness, strengthening the arts ecosystem, and amplifying the benefit of the arts. This list can also be found in the Seed guidelines.    

Slide 7: The Seed grant: The fine print      

To apply, you need to be an individual, group, collective or organization with a validated Canada Council profile.   

There is no deadline.  

Keep in mind that this grant is not for regular operating costs, including the salaries of permanent staff, or for creating, producing, or programming artistic works.   

And remember, you need to clearly identify which of our key strategic areas your project responds to in your Seed application. 

Slide 8: Guidelines and Resources 

If you’re still not sure whether your project is a good fit for this grant component, visit our website. You’ll find:    

Slide 9: Contact Us  

If you still have questions, we want to hear from you! Please email us at InnovationFund@canadacouncil.ca.   

Send us a few lines about your project and questions. We’re here to help!     

And keep an eye out for more videos with details about the other Strategic Innovation Fund grant components.