Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) challenge

Value

Phase 1: $150,000.00 CAD; Phase 2: $1,000,000.00 CAD

Description

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) challenge is seeking labour-saving automation and robotic technologies to reduce time spent on labour intensive tasks and reduce costs for CEA facilities. These labour intensive tasks include production (planting, trimming and pruning) and harvesting tasks.

Eligible Applicants

Solution proposals can only be submitted by a small business that meets all of the following criteria:

for profit
incorporated in Canada (federally or provincially)
499 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
research and development activities that take place in Canada
50% or more of its annual wages, salaries and fees are currently paid to employees and contractors who spend the majority of their time working in Canada
50% or more of its FTE employees have Canada as their ordinary place of work
50% or more of its senior executives (Vice President and above) have Canada as their principal residence

Eligible Expenses

Eligible costs are specified in individual funding agreements and may include:

salary costs: meaning amounts that are paid, or to be paid by an employer on a regular basis in the undertaking of the project, from which the employer withholds payroll deductions to the proper authorities on behalf of the employee. Salaries can include statutory holidays. Exclusions from salary costs are sick leave, vacation pay, profit, overhead, benefits, incentives and bonuses.
contractor’s fees and sub-contracts (not to exceed one-third (1/3) of total eligible project costs
travel costs in accordance with the National Joint Council Travel Directive
reports and studies
overhead (maximum amount of eligible costs is set at 15 %): meaning those costs which, though necessarily having been incurred during the period of the performance of the Project activities for the conduct of the eligible recipient’s business in general, cannot be identified and measured as directly applicable to the project
material cost: meaning the costs of materials which can be specifically identified and measured as having been used or to be used for the performance of the Project and which are so identified and measured consistently by the eligible recipient’s cost accounting system as accepted by Canada
patenting costs
capital costs: capital items (fixed assets) include equipment, testing tools, and instruments that have residual values as determined by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) at the end of the funding period. The eligible expense items allowed by the ISC are the cost of utilization/depreciation of capital item (fixed assets) specifically required for the delivery of the eligible project.