STDP AO 8.3 Space R&D – Next wave of technologies

Announcement of Opportunity

Publication date: January 8, 2024

Application deadline: March 4, 2024

3.1 Eligible recipients

Eligible recipients are limited to for-profit and not-for-profit organizations established and operating in Canada, excluding academic institutions.

Multiple eligible recipients can collaborate on the same project through a partnership, where all partners are liable in the contribution agreement and are all considered funding recipients. In the case of a partnership, one of the recipients must be responsible and accountable for the integration and oversight of the project and must be the main point of contact with the CSA for the execution of the project, including receiving payment.

3.2 Eligible projects

The CSA's Space Technology Development Program (STDP) aims to support the strengthening of industrial capabilities (new concepts, products and/or know-how) related to basic R&D of space technologies (space and/or ground segment).

Eligible projects do not include the following development as they are or will be supported through other funding opportunities:

• Applications related to developing earth observation data processing solutions, eligible through CSA's smartEarth initiative program.
• Development of space-related medical technologies
• Development of prospecting and In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) related technologies

To be eligible, projects should strive to achieve technology readiness level (TRL) of 3 or 4 at the end of the project and to generate economic benefits in the medium to long term, within five to ten years following project completion.

Projects aiming at TRLs higher than TRL-6 are not eligible. There is no restriction on starting TRL.

Any logical breakdown or combination of project phases can constitute a funded project. However, breaking down a project into numerous phases to obtain more than the maximum contribution in this AO is not allowed.

Furthermore, if a proposal is for pursuing a standalone R&D funded in another awarded contribution (past or ongoing), the proposed follow-up R&D, even if funded in a new contribution agreement, is considered another phase of R&D of the same G&C project which the program has a cumulative limit of $5M. 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.

Applications must be unique to this AO. An applicant can not summit the same project under different categories of the AO8 or to another open CSA AO. If multiple submissions of the same project are detected CSA will declare the submission as not eligible and will not proceed with evaluation.

3.3 Links to CSA priorities

This AO focuses on the CSA's priority of building capabilities and positioning Canada's commercial space sector to help grow the economy and create the jobs of the future. It will support projects that aim to develop new concepts, products and/or know-how. Industrial capability building therefore encompasses all projects aimed at strengthening the industry core capabilities with particular focus on developing its people and technologies.

3.4 Links to program objectives

This AO supports the Space Technology Development Program (STDP) objectives to support innovation for the growth of the Canadian space industry and to reduce technological unknowns. Projects also address the Space Capacity Development Program (SCDP) objective to increase space and market readiness for both science and technologies to be flight-ready for space missions. This AO also contributes to the following objectives of the CSA Class G&C Program: To support the development of technologies relevant to Canada; and, To foster the continuing development of a critical mass of highly qualified personnel (HQP) in Canada.

3.5 Basic R&D definition

Eligible projects supported under this AO must comply with the following definition for basic R&D by providing the required justification within section 5 of the Application form:

"Any pre-commercial technology activities that are carried out to resolve unknowns regarding the feasibility of space concepts in the space sector."

The following due diligence process will be applied to determine whether projects are compliant with this definition. To that end, justification to be provided in section 5 of the Application form should:

• Quantify the technical objectives being sought and must describe how the expected results will be measured;
• Clearly state which technological unknowns are proposed to be answered;
• Clearly state the working hypotheses behind solving the unknowns and describe how plausible it is anticipated to solve these unknowns;
• Demonstrate that the proposed project consists of more than ordinary engineering or current operations; and
• Substantiate the current TRL and the proposed TRL expected to be reached (up to TRL 4).

The following TRL definitions must be used:

TRL 1

Basic principles observed and reported

TRL 2

Technology concept and/or application formulated

TRL 3

Analytical and experimental critical function and/or characteristic proof-of-concept

TRL 4

Component and/or breadboard validation in laboratory environment

TRL 5

Component and/or breadboard validation in relevant environment

TRL 6

System/subsystem model or prototype demonstration in a relevant environment (ground or space)

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

4.1 Required documentation

The application must include the following:

• A completed original Application form signed by the duly authorized representative;
• The résumés of each team member responsible for managing the project and key technical personnel. The résumés should be limited to two pages with only information that is relevant to the application;
• Proof of incorporation or registration and a copy of the document(s) confirming the legal name of the applicant;
• Letters from other funding contributors confirming their contributions, if applicable;
• Letters of intent demonstrating interest in the outcomes of the project, if applicable;
• Letters of support, confirming participation to the project if applicable;
• The Declaration on Confidentiality, Access to Information Act and Privacy Act form signed by the duly authorized representative (refer to the Applicant Declaration on Confidentiality, Access to Information Act and Privacy Act section included in the application form);
• For organizations in Quebec, M-30 Supporting Documentation form completed and signed by the duly authorized representative (refer to the M-30 form for organizations in Quebec included in the application form);
• If the project is executed through a partnership, a completed original Partner Application Form for each partner, signed by the duly authorized representative of the partner;
• Optional: Corporate plans and / or policies addressing equity, diversity and inclusion in the workspace.

The documents must be combined in a single PDF formatted file, in the same order as presented above with all security features disabled. The application form and supporting documents must be included in the file as a searchable PDF formatted document (PDF/A-1a format preferred). If there are any accessibility issues with the submitted PDF file, all consequences reside with the applicant.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the application complies with all relevant federal, provincial/territorial and municipal laws and regulations.

The applicant must keep one hard copy of all the original documents above. The CSA may require applicants who successfully passed the evaluation stage described in Section 5 of the AO to send a hard copy of their complete application with the original documents.

Additional governing documents might be requested in a later phase of the evaluation process.

In a later phase of the evaluation process, the applicant's financial statements for the previous two fiscal years prior to the submission of this application and the most recent interim results will be requested. The reception of these statements by CSA is a precondition for producing a contribution agreement. It is not required to submit financial statements with this application.

4.2 Submit the completed application electronically

The applicant is encouraged to submit their application electronically by following the steps below,

• Submit an account creation request using the Electronic Proposal Portal. Note that Google Chrome is the browser of choice for submissions. Supported browsers are Google Chrome and MS Edge.
• In the "Proposal title" field of the Electronic Proposal Portal, use the following formatting standard: STDP AO83_ Name Of Organization_Short project name (e.g. STDP_AO83 _SpaceCompanyA_OpticalSensorDevelopment).
• The "Applicant" section should contain the information for contact person listed in the application form.
• After the request has been submitted, the applicant will receive an email confirming the account creation. Applicants should expect three business days to receive the confirmation which will also include instructions (user guide) on how to access the platform. It is strongly recommended that the account creation request be submitted as early as possible and no later than February 19, 2024.
• Using the temporary password assigned by the CSA, login to the secured portal to upload application documents.
• Please refer to the user guide for instructions on how to securely upload documents.

Please note:

• If technical issues related to account creation or to electronic submission cannot be resolved, applicants must submit their application by mail. Applicants are strongly encouraged to upload their complete application well before the submission deadline;
• Applications must be submitted (successfully uploaded) by the applicants no later than March 4, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. (ET).
• The onus is on the applicant to ensure that their application is complete and that all documents are uploaded on the Electronic Proposal Portal before the prescribed deadline;
• The CSA is not responsible for any delays under any circumstances, and will reject any applications that are uploaded after the stipulated deadline;
• Applications hand-delivered to CSA will not be accepted;
• Applications sent by e-mail will not be accepted;
• Applicants are asked to not send their application both electronically and by mail or courier service. If multiple applications are submitted, only the latest valid version received will be considered;
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.

4.3 How to submit an application by mail or using a recognized courier service

The applicant is encouraged to submit their application electronically following the instructions provided in Section 4.2 of the AO. However, if the applicant is unable to submit their application electronically, please communicate with pdts-stdp@asc-csa.gc.ca as soon as possible but no later than February 26, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. (ET) to obtain instructions on how to submit a paper application by mail or using a recognized courier service.

Applications submitted by mail or using a recognized courier service must be received at the CSA no later than March 4, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. (ET).

The onus is on the applicant to ensure that their application is complete and that all required documents are received by the CSA before the prescribed deadline. The CSA is not responsible for any delays under any circumstances, and will reject any applications that are received after the stipulated deadline.

Questions and answers related to this AO will be posted on the CSA website in the Frequently asked questions (Section 10).

4.4 Service standards

Applicants will be notified in writing of decisions regarding their application. Selected applications will be announced on the CSA website. The CSA has set the following service standards for processing times, acknowledgement of receipt, funding decisions and payment procedures.

Acknowledgement: The CSA's goal is to acknowledge receipt within five (5) business days of receiving the completed application package.

Decision: The CSA's goal is to respond to the proposal within sixteen (16) weeks of the AO's closing date and to send a contribution agreement for signature within four (4) weeks after formal approval of the proposal.

Payment: The CSA's goal is to issue payment within six (6) weeks of the successful fulfillment of the requirements outlined in the contribution agreement.

Compliance with these service standards is a shared responsibility. Applicants must submit all required documentation in a timely fashion. Service standards may vary by AO.

5.1 Eligibility criteria

• Represents an eligible recipient as defined in Section 3.1;
• Represents an eligible project as defined in Sections 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4;
• Meets the basic R&D definition in Section 3.5; and
• Meets program funding provisions in Section 6.1.

5.2 Point rated evaluation criteria

Applications will be evaluated according to the following point rated criteria:

1. Innovation and market need (30%)
2. Project feasibility, resources and risk assessment (30%)
3. Outcomes and benefits to Canada (40%)

The page count limit to support each of the previous criteria is implemented in the Application form. The definition of the criteria and scoring grid are specified in Appendix A.

5.3 Evaluation process

Only applications that have passed the eligibility assessment listed in Section 5.1 will be given further consideration.

Once the eligibility criteria are confirmed, an individual evaluation of the screened applications will be performed according to the criteria listed in Section 5.2. Evaluators shall be experts in the field relevant to the applications and may include representatives of other Canadian government departments as well as external consultants. A review committee will then make an overall selection based on the priorities of the Government of Canada and the CSA such as, but not limited to, geographic representation, gender representation, growth potential, commercialization opportunity, return on investment, implication of HQP and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students. Contribution agreements will be offered to the applicants in this final list to maximize the use of available funding (Section 6).

Before a final decision is made, the CSA's Program manager responsible for this AO may seek input and advice from other organizations, including (but not limited to) federal, provincial, territorial and municipal government agencies and organizations.

An application must receive an overall minimum score of 65% as well as the minimum specified thresholds for each criterion to be considered further for funding.

6.1 Available funding and duration

The total funding available under this AO 8.3 is currently expected to be approximately $2M.

The maximum CSA contribution for any project is $500K. The target duration for any project is 24 to 36 months. Please see section 7 for details.

The overall number of contributions awarded will depend on the availability of funds.

Each eligible recipient can be funded for a maximum of 2 projects under AO8 (regardless of the category).

Approved proposals will be eligible for a total government (federal, provincial/territorial and municipal) assistance of up to a maximum of 75% of total eligible project costs.

The following examples are acceptable cases:

The following example is not an acceptable case.

To determine the amount of funding to be allocated, consideration will be given to the availability of CSA funds, the total cost of the project, and the other confirmed sources of funds provided by other stakeholders and the applicant.

Applicants must identify all sources of funding in their applications and confirm this information in a funding agreement if the project is selected for funding. Upon completion of a project, the recipient must also disclose all sources of funding.

The CSA reserves the right not to accept any proposals or to reduce the amount of the contributions at its entire discretion.

6.2 Eligible costs

Eligible costs are direct expenses that are associated with the delivery of the approved project and that are required to achieve the expected results of the project. Expenses will be covered subject to the applicant signing a funding agreement in the form of a contribution with the CSA.

Eligible costs are limited to one or a combination of the following categories (see definitions):

• acquisition or rental of equipment including software (not to exceed 20% of the total project eligible costs);
• consultant services;
• data acquisition;
• laboratory analysis services;
• material and supplies;
• overhead (administrative) costs (not to exceed 15% of project eligible costs);
• salaries and benefits^{Footnote *} (only the real salary rates are authorized as admissible costs);
• travel expenses including accommodation and related meal allowances;
• taxes for goods and services acquired in a foreign country net of any rebate or reimbursement received in the foreign country.

7.1 Payments

The CSA and each successful applicant (the recipient) will sign a funding agreement. This is a condition for any payment made by the CSA with respect to the approved project.

Payments for contribution agreements will be made in accordance with the process and the reporting requirements described in the signed funding agreement. Upon notice of a successful application, the CSA will have no liability until a funding agreement is signed by both parties. Only eligible costs incurred after the funding agreement is signed and indicated in the agreement will be reimbursed.

7.2 Audit

The recipient of a funding agreement shall keep proper records of all documentation related to the funded project, for the duration of the project and for six (6) years after the completion date of the project, in the event of an audit. This documentation shall be available upon request.

7.3 Conflict of interest

In the funding agreement, the recipient will certify that any current or former public office holder or public servant it employs complies with the provisions of the relevant Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders and the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector respectively.

Note: Current employees of the CSA are not eligible to participate in any way in any application under this AO.

7.4 Intellectual property

All intellectual property developed by the recipient in the course of the project shall vest in the recipient.

7.5 Organizations in Quebec

An organization in Quebec whose operations are partially or fully funded by the province of Quebec may be subject to the Act Respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif, R.S.Q., Chapter M-30.

Under Sections 3.11 and 3.12 of this Act, certain entities/organizations, as defined in the meaning of the Act, such as municipal bodies, school bodies, or public agencies, must obtain authorization from the Secrétariat du Québec aux relations canadiennes (SQRC) , as indicated by the Act, before signing any funding agreement with the Government of Canada, its departments or agencies, or a federal public agency.

Consequently, any entity that is subject to the Act is responsible for obtaining such authorization before signing any funding agreement with the Government of Canada.

Quebec applicants must complete, sign and include the M-30 Supporting documentation form with their application.

7.6 Performance measurement

The recipient will have obligations to report on various performance measurement indicators throughout the execution of the project. Examples include but are not limited to the number of HQP involved in the project, return on investment and growth of the organisation.

8.1 Eligibility

Project extensions are subject to availability of funds.

Project extensions can only be requested after the ongoing projects have achieved the halfway point for their original scope.

Project extensions are only eligible to performing recipients. Performing recipients are those, who in the judgment of the CSA, have progressed the project according to the originally submitted implementation plan. The proponent will have to demonstrate the project schedule, budget, accomplishments and quality have progressed nominally.

8.2 Extension proposal

Recipients will have the opportunity to provide the following documentation for extension evaluation:

One copy of the extension proposal:

• A description of the extension project that responds to the evaluation criteria 2 and 3.2 in Appendix A
• An itemized and balanced budget for the extension project, indicating projected expenditures, cash flow requirements as well as confirmed other sources of funds;
• Letters of intent /support;
• Recipients must confirm the allocation of the same project team to work on project extension.
• Recipients must demonstrate that all project resources (project team, access to facilities, materials, consultancy, equipment) are available within the time frame of the project extensions.

Any ambiguity or lack of confirmation regarding availability of resources will be interpreted as a project risk as part of evaluation criteria 2.

8.3 Evaluation of the extension request

Extension proposals will be evaluated according to point rated criteria 2 and 3.2 of Appendix A.

An extension proposal must receive an overall minimum score of 75% to be considered further for funding.

8.4 Available funding and duration of the extension

The total funding available for extensions is unknow and depends on availability of funds.

The total maximum contribution for any project including an extension is $1,000,000. The extension duration can be of 12 to 24 months.

The overall number of extensions awarded will depend on the availability of funds.

Approved extension proposals will be eligible for a total government (federal, provincial/territorial and municipal) assistance of up to a maximum of 75% of total eligible project costs.

1. Innovation and market need (30% of overall score)

• Maximum: 30 points
• Minimum: 15 points (50%)

2. Project feasibility, resources and risk assessment (30% of overall score)

• Maximum: 30 points
• Minimum: 18 points (60%)

This criterion evaluates the completeness and effectiveness of the proposed implementation plan in directing the project to successful completion as well as the combined technical qualifications and experience of the team assembled to carry out the proposed work.

This criterion seeks answers to the following:

• Does the combined team have the necessary technical and managerial qualifications to execute the project?
• Does the proposal include a clear and complete implementation plan consisting of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), detailed Work Package Descriptions (WPD), schedule, milestones, resource (personnel, facilities, laboratories, field sites, specialized equipment, etc.) availability and allocation as well as risk identification and mitigation?
• Does the proposed implementation plan seem credible and well suited to the project objectives, and does it embody sound methodology and management?
• In CSA's opinion, does the applicant have a track record of completing projects on time and achieving the planned outcomes according to the original proposal?

3. Outcomes and benefits to Canada (40% of overall score)

• Maximum: 40 points
• Minimum: 20 points (50%)