Indigenous Innovation Initiative – Request For Proposals

The Indigenous Innovation Initiative was started to address health, social, and economic challenges and spark community-led Indigenous innovation. Our vision is to improve all life through Indigenous innovation. The core principles of the Indigenous Innovation Initiative are to:  

• Honour Indigenous ways of knowing and being; 
• Honour Indigenous laws and rights; and 
• Honour the Land and Water. 

We are pleased to launch the next phase of its program: Advancing Indigenous Gender Equality through Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship.  

We are seeking bold and transformative projects that are led by First Nations, Métis, or Inuit female, Two Spirit, queer, trans, non-binary, or gender-diverse persons in Canada that align with one (1) of our four (4) investment priority areas: 

• Land story (environmental sustainability) – solutions that directly address or mitigate climate change 
• Food sovereignty (agriculture) – solutions that help address food security, including supply chains, food production and food access   
• Tech (digital access and data sovereignty) – tech innovations that increase digital access or data sovereignty for Indigenous communities  
• Wellness – solutions that address the mental health and well-being of people using an Indigenous approach. We are particularly inviting projects that focus on youth mental health.  

All projects should speak to how their project will directly and/or indirectly honour the Lands, Waters, and Skies (environmental sustainability practices) and how they are grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. 

Applicants will be able to self-select requests for innovation funding for projects at either the proof of concept (Seed) or transition to scale (TTS) stage.  

In this Request for Proposals (RFP) you will find background information, funding overview, program scope and eligibility, the application process, the review process, the evaluation criteria, and instructions for applying. This information will help you submit a proposal for funding from the Indigenous Innovation Initiative. You can submit your application anytime. Application reviews will be ongoing, beginning in the Spring of 2023 and until the RFP is withdrawn by the Indigenous Innovation Initiative. Projects will be selected for support on an ongoing basis, pending the availability of funding. 

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How to Apply:

Apply here.

For any support or questions, please e-mail: [email protected].