CRITERIA
Financial assistance for certain projects may be paid in the form of debt service repayments if the project’s main expenses can be capitalized.
Eligible applicants must:
- Operate primarily in the fields overseen by the Ministère, CALQ and SODEC
- Be legally constituted for more than 12 months and have its head office and principal place of business in Quebec and be able to demonstrate that effective control of the company is mainly held by persons having their tax residence in Quebec
The following applicants are ineligible:
- Crown corporations, public agencies, municipalities, universities and research centers, and sole proprietorships
- Applicant organizations registered in the Registry of Companies Not Eligible for Government Contracts (RENA)
- Applicant organizations which, during the 2 years preceding this application for financial assistance, have failed to meet their obligations after having been duly served with formal notice in connection with the granting of previous financial assistance by the granting department or agency
Eligible projects must:
- Be complete (the completed form and all requested documents attached) and clearly defined
- Contribute fully and concretely to the achievement of the objectives of this program
- Involve at least one partner in their implementation
- Contribute to one or more of the sectors overseen by the Ministère, CALQ or SODEC
- Respond to a documented problem and be based on a detailed and approved strategy or business plan
- Be rooted in a digital approach or strategy
- Be supported by one or more partners who demonstrate that they are able to carry the project out in its entirety and within the planned budget
Eligible projects must also address one or more of the following activities:
- The implementation of new business processes
- The implementation of a system, tool or infrastructure that aims to discover, market, export or better monetize cultural products
- The development of marketing mechanisms adapted to current consumer practices
- The deployment of digital infrastructures related to one or more sectors of intervention
The following projects are ineligible:
- Projects relating to the day-to-day operations of an organization
- Projects funded under another financial assistance program of the Ministère, CALQ or SODEC
- Projects of a recurring nature (by “recurring nature”, the Ministère means, for example, the presentation of the same project each year; however, a multi-year project, evolving in different phases, is considered eligible)
- Business acquisition
Applications will be evaluated according to the relevance of the project, as indicated by:
- Their consistency with the purpose and objectives of this program
- Consistency with the applicant’s primary mission and other activities (ongoing or under development)
- The absence of overlap or direct competition with existing activities or ongoing projects
- The demonstration of lasting, high-quality collaborations or partnerships between various stakeholders in the cultural, communications or creative industries sector, at the provincial, Canadian or international level
- Their ability to respond to specific issues or problems
Applications will also be evaluated according to the quality of the project, as indicated by:
- The clarity and precision of the objectives pursued
- The experience and competence of the production team
- The applicant organization’s ability to carry out the project
- The feasibility and realistic nature of the project, its budget estimates, financial arrangements and timetable
- The quality and relevance of the proposed technological approach
- The quality of the data exploitation plan (descriptive metadata and usage data), both for the implementation of the project and for the development of the targeted sector(s) of intervention
- The innovative nature of the project
- Respect for the principles of sustainable development
Applications will also be evaluated according to the foreseeable impact of the project on the relevant sector(s) and the applicant, as indicated by:
- Demonstration of the long-term viability of the proposed approach
- Their structuring effects and contribution to the relevant sector(s)
- Their effects on the development of audiences and artists’ working conditions and remuneration
- The project’s impact on the dissemination of culture
- The scope of the plan for transferring knowledge and project results to the cultural milieu
- The total of public aid from all funders cannot exceed 90% of the total cost of the project for not-for-profit organizations or cooperatives or 75% for for-profit companies, including tax credits and aid granted in the form of a loan or loan guarantee
- The applicant organization’s financial contribution to the project must be at least 5% for a not-for-profit organization or cooperative and 10% for a for-profit company; this contribution must be included in the budget estimates and may include the goods and services to be provided, along with an estimate of their market value
- Funding will be disbursed, upon signature of the financial assistance agreement, in a first installment of the grant representing 50-80% of the announced amount; the balance is paid according to terms, conditions and milestones determined by the nature of the project, its duration and the expected deliverables; large grants may be paid in installments according to the project phases identified in the financial assistance agreement
