Sponsor
George Weston Limited and Loblaw Companies Limited
Program
Seeding Food Innovation Grants 2020
Description
In response to the immediate need to feed and sustain future generations, George Weston Limited and Loblaw Companies Limited believe it is vital not only to intensify production of more nutritious and ecologically-produced foods that reduce the reliance on water and chemicals in food production, but also innovate to improve food safety, reduce food waste, and ensure the ongoing health of soils. The Seeding Food Innovation Grants provides seed funding for research or technology development that help accelerate solutions to sustainable food challenges. Projects should focus on the intensification of the production of food in ways that are sustainable: environmentally, economically and culturally. Research outcomes should be highly innovative and impact primarily Canadians, but also deliver key learnings towards issues of global concern.
Eligibility
Applicant Eligibility:
Eligible Principal Applicants must be:
- at or above the level of Postdoctoral researcher OR have an Administrative Supervisor that has a permanent post at a recognized Canadian post-secondary institution
- be affiliated with a Canada Revenue Agency-qualified donee institution located in Canada
- working in Canada at least 30% of the time
Project Eligibility:
- Projects need to be focused on the safe and sustainable intensification of the food production system (e.g. Sustainable Agriculture or Aquaculture; Soil Microbiome; Food Safety)
- Projects must demonstrate meaningful research partnerships and/or collaborations, with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 10 additional collaborators, beyond the Principal Applicant.
- Potential partnerships might include different academic institutions/schools; not-for-profit organizations; public and private organizations or any combination of these.
Maximum Project Value
Maximum $250,000 per project to be deployed over a duration of up to 24 months.
Indirect Costs
0%
Special Notes
Seeding Food Innovation Funding Guidelines
Download and review the Funding Guidelines document for a complete overview of the program requirements.
Information Webinars
Weston will hold two webinars to provide further details on the program and answer any questions. However, if you have a question specific to your project (e.g. scope), Weston encourages those interested to email Food.Innovation@Weston.ca
- Register for Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at 12:00pm ET here.
- Register for Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 2:00pm ET here.
Deadlines
If College-level review is required, your College will communicate its earlier internal deadlines.
| Type | Notes |
|---|---|
External Deadline | Letter of Intent (LOI) postponed until further notice. |
Internal Deadline | If invited to submit a full application based on the results of the LOI round, please submit the complete application package along with a signed OR-5 form to resserv@uoguelph.ca two weeks in advance of the external deadline. |
External Deadline | Full proposal due to Weston through online system. This proposal must be authorized by the Office of Research Services through the Weston online system. |
How to Apply
There are two stages in the application process:
- Letter of Intent (LOI)
- Proposal
An application requires the submission of the online Letter of Intent which will be reviewed by the Weston scientific review committee. Following evaluation, applications that are deemed to be high potential projects will be invited to submit a Proposal. Only ~15% of LOIs are invited to the Proposal phase, so that applicants and reviewers spend their time on Proposals that have an excellent chance of being funded.
Sign-in to the Weston online system or register for a new account to submit a letter of intent.