The College and Community Innovation program (CCIP) was launched as a Tri-Agency program in 2004 and is administered by NSERC, in collaboration with CIHR and SSHRC. A key objective of the CCIP is to increase innovation at the community and/or regional level by enabling Canadian colleges, Cégeps and polytechnics to increase their capacity to partner with local or regional organizations from academia, private, public, and not-for profit sectors to ultimately generate business, social and health outcomes for Canada.
Between 2019-2021, the 14 program streams that comprised the CCIP were simplified and streamlined into a suite of five streams. At the time of evaluation, it was too early to examine the newly launched Mobilize grant program stream, while Applied Research and Development (ARD) grants had been assessed in the previous evaluation. Since Technology Access Centre (TAC) grants and College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) grants remained relatively unchanged, these two program streams became the focus of this evaluation.
This evaluation concludes that the CCIP continues to play a vital role in supporting Canadian colleges in their efforts to advance applied research activities and capacity building, collaboration with community and industry partners, and address local and regional challenges. Its alignment with federal priorities remains strong, and the program is unique in the Canadian postsecondary landscape as one of the few dedicated funding sources for college-based applied research. Since the last evaluation of the CCIP in 2017-18, applications for funding have continued to increase and success rates for many grants have decreased, underscoring the program’s ongoing relevance and the high demand for funding to meet applied research needs in Canadian colleges to address the research priorities of their partner organizations and the communities the colleges serve.
This evaluation found that the CCIP, and TAC and CCSIF grants, have many positive features and are successfully enabling collaborations among colleges and diverse partners across private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, and these partnerships are facilitating applied research with real-world impact. At the same time, there is high demand creating competitive pressures, and calls for more transparent adjudication processes for new vs. renewing TAC applicants. Additionally, the value of the TAC and CCSIF grants has remained static since their inception, which may impact the extent to which they are able to achieve expected outcomes and remain competitive within Canada’s research innovation ecosystem. Lastly, given that these programs have remained unchanged for some time, there is an opportunity to revise the literature for greater clarity and continued alignment with other CCI programs.
While the report recognizes CCIP’s ongoing relevance and contributions, it also identifies key areas for improvement to enhance the programs’ effectiveness and alignment with federal government priorities in supporting applied research and innovation that results in economic, social and community impacts.
Program management appreciates the time and energy of participants who contributed to the evaluation, wishes to thank those who participated in the interviews and responded to surveys conducted by the evaluation team, and notes the feedback received will inform actions to address the recommendations from the evaluation.
This management action plan responds to the findings and recommendations of the program evaluation, where implementation plans will include community engagement to improve the achievement of results going forward.
Review the value and number of TAC and CCSIF grants as well as the design and delivery of the TAC grants, considering the evolving innovation ecosystem and maturing college applied research capacity, to ensure it aligns with Canadian federal government priorities. This includes consideration of the distribution of TAC grants across Canada and the possibility of a single funding model for all TACs, as well as clarifying the process for assessing TAC renewals vs. new TAC applications.
Management agrees with the recommendation.
| Program | Proposed action | Responsibility | Target date |
|---|---|---|---|
| TAC | a) Design a single national funding model while considering different budget scenarios. | Director, Colleges and Networks, RTP | Late 2026 |
| TAC | b) Develop a transition plan to implement the new funding model, accounting for various budget scenarios. | Director, Colleges and Networks | Late 2026 |
| TAC | c) Revise the adjudication process and improve management of merit review and funding recommendation processes. | Director, Colleges and Networks | Late 2026 |
| CCSIF | d) Consider changes to the value and number of CCSIF grants. | Director, Colleges and Networks | Late 2026 |
Update the reporting instruments for the TAC and CCSIF grants to reflect expected program outcomes and improve performance monitoring. This includes clarifying definitions of students and partners, integrating clear metrics regarding EDI and student training, and considering ways to further improve the systematic collection of quality data across CCIP grants.
Management agrees with the recommendation.
| Proposed action | Responsibility | Target date |
|---|---|---|
| a) For TAC and CCSIF grants, revise reporting materials and grant metrics to align with tri-agencies monitoring requirements, reduce redundant or non-essential inputs, and ensure consistency and coherence with other CCI reporting outcomes. | Director, Colleges and Networks | Early 2028 |
Strengthen communications with and to the college community with a focus on clarifying information about the CCIP, namely the TAC and CCSIF grants. This includes improving the transparency, consistency and clarity about the application process, selection criteria, and the review process for TAC and/or CCSIF grants. There are also opportunities to clarify program expectations and objectives of the TAC grants in order to better support Canadian colleges with respect to change management and the evolving college funding landscape.
Management agrees with the recommendation.
| Program | Proposed action | Responsibility | Target date |
|---|---|---|---|
| TAC | a) Review and clarify TAC grant objectives to be more consistent with tri-agency strategic priorities. | Director, Colleges and Networks | Spring 2026 |
| TAC | b) Revise and adapt TAC merit evaluation criteria, ensuring alignment with the CCI logic model. | Director, Colleges and Networks | Spring 2026 |
| TAC | c) Revise application processes to simplify and streamline information requested. | Director, Colleges and Networks | Late 2026 |
| TAC | d) Update program literature for greater clarity and to ensure clarity and transparency of the adjudication process. | Director, Colleges and Networks | Late 2026 |
| CCSIF | e) Review program literature for opportunities to clarify the application and adjudication process. | Director, Colleges and Networks | Fall 2027 |
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