STDP AO 6.3 Space R&D – Feasibility studies

Question 1: We are considering proposing a project that would require non-Canadian expertise in order to support the key project activities that will otherwise be conducted in Canada. In order to help us scope the project work share, could you please clarify the following:

1. Are there any rules we should apply in terms of maximum work share (e.g. as a percentage of the total project budget) that can be allocated to the non-Canadian partner?
2. Are there any specific justifications that our proposal should contain in order to explain why the work to be performed by the non-Canadian partner cannot be conducted in Canada?
3. There are no evaluation criteria related to the presence of a non-Canadian partner. Can you confirm that the presence of a non-Canadian partner will not penalise the evaluation of the proposal, that no evaluation criteria take into account the presence of a non-Canadian partner, and that having a non-Canadian partner will not have a negative impact on the chances of success of a proposal?

Answer 1:

1. Please see section 3.5: Basic R&D activities supported under this AO shall be undertaken in Canada unless it is essential to the success of the project.

   The intent of this AO is to provide funding to enhance the R&D capacity of the Canadian industry and, as such, R&D activities supported under this AO shall be undertaken in Canada. Foreign consultants are acceptable as eligible costs as long as reasonable efforts to find Canadian consultants have been demonstrated.

2. It is up to the applicant to provide the appropriate justification as to why the work to be performed by the non-Canadian partner cannot be conducted in Canada as the justification can vary. The CSA will evaluate the justification on a case-by-case basis.

3. As mentioned in answer 1b, it is up to the applicant to justify why the work needs to be performed outside of Canada and although there is no specific evaluation criterion related to the presence of non-Canadian partners, the following criterion evaluates the creation of highly skilled jobs in Canada: Outcomes and benefits to Canada.

Question 2: Consultant services

1. For pricing purposes, could you please clarify what constitutes a valid 'consultant service', versus the work to be conducted by the project team and that should be costed under the category 'salaries and benefits'?
2. Can you please also clarify if cost of consultant services may include a profit margin?

Answer 2:

1. Consultants can not be employees on the recipient's payroll. Eligible personnel for the "salaries and benefits" category must be employees on the recipient's payroll. Please also see Eligible Costs Definitions.
2. Consultant services may include a profit margin. Please refer to section 6.2.

Question 3: "Eligible projects do not include application development related to Earth Observation data, Satellite Telecommunications data, and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) data."

If a private sector study aims to discriminate between surface types using RADARSAT-2 and field validation data to develop and publish new scientific knowledge does it fall within the scope of this AO? (i.e. there is no consideration for any "application" development (software) or use of the data in an automated computerized system).

Answer 3: Each application and proposal will be screened for eligibility (see section 5.1) based on its entire content following the closing date of this AO, and not on limited information. Scientific studies are generally not eligible as the objective of this AO is to support the development of Canadian industrial capabilities in the area of space technologies for the purpose of increasing the commercial potential of Canadian space companies.

Question 4: To make an application, is a company required to be anything more than a legally registered corporation? Are there any other licenses or registrations that would be required?

Answer 4: The eligible recipients for this AO are described as the following: "Eligible recipients are limited to for-profit and not-for-profit organizations established and operating in Canada, excluding academic institutions" (see section 3.1). Each application to this AO must include a copy of the document(s) confirming the legal name of the applicant (see section 4.1 Required documentation). The document that confirms the legal name of the applicant is the Certificate of Incorporation or the Letters Patent of Incorporation.

Question 5: If we collaborate with an academic partner and that partner leverages additional funding to support their portion of the work such as NSERC Engage grants or provincial OCE grants, would this cause the CSA to reduce their maximum contribution to the project below the maximum?

Answer 5: The total governmental assistance of 75% (i.e. stacking limit) applies to the total project costs. If the other government grant supports the same eligible costs of the project then it will count towards the stacking limit or 75%. The CSA's maximum contribution amount listed in the AO remains the same and the other government support can be in addition to the CSA maximum as long as the total government support does not exceed 75% of total project costs (see section 6.1).

Question 6: For the purposes of this AO, what definition of Highly Qualified People (HQP) is being used? Are HQP considered to be only current masters or PhD students, or do they also include college students in a STEM-related field, or individuals who have already graduated?

Answer 6: HQP in this AO is defined as project managers, engineers, scientists, post-doc fellows, and technicians. Students are defined separately and can be current Masters, PhD, and college students in a STEM-related field.

Question 7: Regarding the above announcement of opportunity, does the SACC manual apply in this case? Specifically, does the SACC manual, Section 1, subsection 07 (2012-03-02) on delayed bids apply for this submission?

Answer 7: The SACC Manual does not apply as the AO generates contributions managed by the CSA and not contracts managed by Public Services and Procurement Canada. In terms of deadlines for applications, please see Section 4.1. All applications received after this date and time will be rejected.

Question 8: In order to apply to this AO, my enterprise has just registered as a sole proprietorship. Do I have to incorporate?

Answer 8: It is not required to incorporate. Eligible recipients are for-profit and not-for-profit organizations established and operating in Canada, excluding academic institutions (see section 3.1). The CSA requires documents that prove the legal status of an enterprise. This could include registration documents, a Certificate of Incorporation or the Letters Patent of Incorporation. The proof of legal status of the enterprise is required with the application and before the closing date of the AO.

Question 9 : In reference to section 4.1 – Required documentation
The financial statements of the two past years as well as the most recent interim results of an enterprise have to be provided along with the application.. My enterprise has just been registered. I do not have financial statements for the past two years, nor interim results. May I still apply?

Answer 9: Yes, you may still apply. In the case the enterprise has recently been registered and financial statements do not exist, they will not be required. The date of registration or incorporation will be required to prove that the enterprise has not existed long enough for financial statements to exist and to be provided.

Question 10: Is it sufficient to utilize a labor category rate (minus overhead) or is the individual's salary necessary. For example, at my company we have labor categories for RF engineer, all RF engineers are billed internally to projects at that rate. However an employee is paid a salary which may be more or less than the hourly labor category rate. Which rate is required by the CSA?

Answer 10: The individual's salary is required. The amount invoiced shall be actual gross pay for the work performed and shall include no markup for profit, selling, administration or financing. Labour claims must be supported by suitable records such as time sheets and records, and be held for verification at time of audit. Management personnel are required to maintain appropriate records of time devoted to the project. For complete details, please see definition of salaries and benefits provided in section 6.2.

Question 11: Can the CSA comment on eligibility of suggested projects?

Answer 11: For the sake of fairness, the CSA cannot provide feedback on project eligibility during the AO's posting period. Applicants must refer to section 3 to determine if a project is eligible.

Question 12: Can you clarify what is meant by "Eligible projects do not include application development related to Earth Observation data, Satellite Telecommunications data, and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) data."?

Answer 12: Any form of application development using space-based data is considered ineligible for funding under this AO.

Question 13: Can we provide figures to support our proposal?

Answer 13: Yes, figures need to be included in the form along with the answers to the questions.

Question 14: Can we provide letters of interest or support letters?

Answer 14: Yes, these can be included in Annex and referenced in the body of the answer in the application form.

Question 15 : Section 6.1 says "Each eligible recipient can be funded for a maximum of 2 projects under this AO." In that sentence, does "this AO" refer to the current AO (ex: AO 6.1), or AO6 as a whole?

Answer 15: We refer to the current AO.

Question 16: Can you clarify what is understood by Earth Observation Data?

Answer 16: Earth Observation data includes any data that is coming from the observation of the Earth.

Question 17: Can you clarify if only one entity can submit a proposal for this AO or a consortium of partners are also accepted?

Answer 17: The contribution agreement can be put in place with only one recipient organization.

Question 18: If eligible, can an organization submit one project to two different AO categories.

Answer 18: Yes. The organization is required to submit the required documentation as defined in section 4.1 for each application.

Question 19: Can additional technical and corporate material be added in annex?

Answer 19: Additional relevant documentation can be added in annex and referenced in the application form. Adding a bibliography is optional.

Note that only the content of the application form will be evaluated.

Question 20: Can academic institutions apply as partners?

Answer 20: Only eligible recipients can apply as partners. Academic institutions are encouraged to be included in the work as consultants to the recipient but are not eligible as recipients of the contribution agreements.

Question 21 : In regards to section 3.2 Eligible projects, would basic R&D projects on technologies not included be eligible would they not be financed through other opportunities?

Answer 21: Projects targeting:

• Application development related to Earth Observation data, Satellite Telecommunications data, and GNSS data;
• Development of space related medical technologies;
• Development of lunar exploration technologies

are not eligible under this AO.

Question 22 : In regards to section 3.2 Eligible projects, can you clarify what is understood by Satellite Telecommunications data in the context of Application Development?

Answer 22: In the context of application development, Satellite Telecommunications data  includes any data coming from telecommunications satellites.

Question 23: How many projects can be submitted under each category?

Answer 23: There is no restriction on the number of projects submitted. However, as stated in section 6.1 Available funding and duration, each eligible recipient can be funded for a maximum of 2 projects under this AO, i.e. under each AO.

Question 24: Can the CSA provide guidance on which category I should apply based on the project to be proposed?

Answer 24: For the sake of fairness, the CSA cannot provide guidance during the AO's posting period.

Question 25: Are technologies intended for terrestrial applications but derived from space eligible?

Answer 25: Only projects for the development space technologies are eligible.

Question 26: If a technology targets sectors other than the space sector, how will this be considered in the evaluation?

Answer 26: The evaluations looks primarily at the technology in the space sector.

Question 27: Can you specify what is meant by space related medical technologies, and would this include medical technologies derived from space technologies?

Answer 27: The development of space related medical technologies includes any project that would propose the development of medical technologies with potential applications in space. This would include any medical technology. As mentioned in section 3.2, the AO aims to support the development of space technologies.

Question 28: We have received funding from a past CSA AO for a given technology. Is it possible to propose a new project to increase the TRL of the same technology?

Answer 28: If a proposal is for pursuing the R&D of a specific technology found in another awarded contribution (past or on-going), the proposed follow-up R&D, even if funded in a new contribution agreement under another AO, is considered another phase of R&D of the same project and subject to the CSA G&C program cumulative limit of $5M, on top of the limit of each individual AO.

Also, as stated in section 3.2, all development phases necessary for a project are eligible. Any logical breakdown or combination of these phases can constitute a funded project. However, breaking down a project into numerous phases to obtain more than the maximum contribution is not allowed. Furthermore, even if the maximum funding for one project is not reached, the completion of a funded phase does not automatically guarantee funding of the remaining phases.

Question 29: Can the application deadline be postponed?

Answer 29: The application deadline has been updated to January 24, 2020.

Question 30: In the application form, can the applicant remove the questions from CSA to make room for the answer?

Answer 30: For clarity purposes, the questions must remain within the form.

Question 31: In our company, HQPs act like independent consultants and get paid based on the work done and contracts executed.

What do you suggest we use as a salary rate for eligible costs?

Answer 31: The eligible costs must be based on the actual salaries of the individuals performing the work. If the work is done through consultants, the expected consultant fees based on the work to be performed should be used.

The "salaries and benefits" category should be used to cover the salary of employees for which the company (employer) produces a statement of remuneration paid (T4).

For workers hired as consultants, the "consultant services" category should be used.

Question 32: We would like to support postdocs and students on projects relating to our proposed project. The postdocs and students are working in the laboratory of an academic PI who is a stakeholder in the company. Is this acceptable?

Answer 32: Only work done directly for the proposed project can be accepted as eligible cost.

If the company uses the services of postdocs or students directly, the company needs to identify if these are employees to be reported in the project through the "salaries and benefits" cost category, or consultants and reported through the "consultant services" category.

If the enterprise is paying a university for the services of postdocs or students, this should be reported through the "consultant services" cost category.

Question 33: Can a company rent university premises as the main place of business for the company?

Answer 33: Yes. Fees related to the place of business can be considered under the "Overhead (administrative) costs". Please refer to section 6.2 for the definition of eligible costs.

Question 34: Can the deadline be extended further?

Answer 34: The closing date of the AO will not be extended and will remain as defined in section 4.1.

Question 35: How should the electronic version of the letters of support be included?

Answer 35: Letters of support should be included in the PDF document as stated in section 4.1.

Question 36: If Mitacs is funding students in the project, is there any specific document coming from Mitacs to be included in the application?

Answer 36: No specific document is required. Mitacs' contribution should be listed in section 4 of the application form.

Question 37: Concerning the financial statements and interim results, our company's year end is in April and we have our financial statements until then. Can you please elaborate what is needed for the interim results?

Answer 37: Interim results are interim financial statements composed of the same elements as the annual financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, statements of changes in equity, statement of cash flows and notes) except that the latter are prepared on a given date during the financial year or for a period ending on a date different from that of the end of the financial year.

If interim financial statements are not available, the applicant should provide a summary of revenues and expenses for the most recent period at the time of the request.

Question 38: Our company's financial statements are publicly available on the internet. Instead of printing and sending a large amount of paper, can we provide the PDF hyperlink to the financial statements?

Answer 38: The financial statements have to be submitted in paper and in PDF as stated in the AO.