Showcasing innovative technologies, practices, programs, policies and strategies
The NHS Demonstrations Initiative showcasing innovative practices, technologies, programs, policies and strategies. These will help improve the performance, viability and effectiveness of affordable housing projects. There is $500,000 available for the 2018 – 2019 year. It will grow to $1.5 million in subsequent years. Typically, each demonstration project will range from $25,000 to $250,000 of funding.
Note: The pplication deadline has been extended to June 29, 2018
NHS Demonstrations Initiative (Demonstrations) provides a platform to create and disseminate real-world data and information on affordable housing. The Demonstrations showcase innovative technologies, practices, programs, policies and strategies improving the performance, viability and effectiveness of affordable housing projects. Ultimately, fostering a culture of innovation in the affordable housing sector that will better meet the housing needs of Canadians.
Lessons learned and knowledge gained from the Demonstrations will be shared to help strengthen, better equip and innovate the affordable housing sector. Outreach activities will help increase housing stakeholders’ awareness of demonstration project outputs. This can include a wide variety of outreach activities, such as:
Knowledge products will be developed that are relevant to the targeted stakeholder. This can include best-practices guides, case studies, factsheets, website content, user experience videos, surveys and innovation profiles.
CMHC will conduct market studies to assess the impact of demonstrated innovations on target audiences.
The budget for 2018 – 2019 is $500,000. It will grow to $1.5 million in subsequent years. We anticipate that budgets for this initiative will range from $25,000 to $250,000 per demonstration project. Projects should have a duration of no more than 18 months.
Considerations for determining demonstration funding will include:
Funded eligible elements will primarily focus on showcasing and knowledge dissemination activities. This includes:
Costs not directly associated with deploying the innovation, showcasing, communicating, knowledge dissemination and reporting on the demonstration will be ineligible (although such costs may be eligible if they are integral to the larger project).
You will receive funding to showcase, communicate and assess innovations applied to affordable housing projects. As an innovation champion, you will be a leader and innovator in the affordable housing sector. This initiative will allow you to broaden your business, community and stakeholder network and develop collaboration opportunities. It also allows you to gain insights into the performance, costs, benefits, acceptance, feasibility and limitations of the innovation.
To be eligible for this initiative projects must:
Projects may address any housing form (singles, detached, row, multi-unit) and type of ownership (non-profit, public, private rental, ownership). To determine the initiative’s outcomes, you must provide a final report of the project’s deployment, operations, outputs and knowledge transfer activities. Pertinent information must be collected on the demonstrated innovation during implementation. This will include costs, benefits, impacts, increased demonstration audience awareness and knowledge through on-site performance monitoring, occupant surveys, exit surveys of demonstration audiences.
Note: Eligible applicants must indicate any relevant project funding that they have applied to, been approved for, or have received. Also, please indicate partner or co-applicant funding and include funding from other strategy initiatives (for example: National Housing Co-investment Fund – Housing Construction Stream, National Housing Co-investment Fund – Renewal and Repair Stream, Rental Construction Financing Initiative).
Demonstrations funding is available to those who wish to address housing related issues identified under the strategy’s priority areas. Eligible applicants include:
There are four Demonstrations streams:
An open-call competitive application process will occur annually, typically launching early April.
The primary Demonstrations stream for 2018-2019 is an open-call for the initiative which will launch on May 2, 2018 and close on June 29, 2018.
For the annual open-call and strategy initiatives streams, applications will be reviewed after the closing date for submissions. The review process typically takes one month. For other application streams, the review process timeline will be determined.
Demonstrations selected from or nominated by strategy-funded affordable housing projects:
National Housing Innovation Demonstration Challenge: every three (3) years.
The funding, applicant eligibility requirements and review process timeline will be determined.
Directed Demonstrations: as required and identified by CMHC in consultation with stakeholders, the National Housing Council, and provincial, territorial, municipal partners. The funding, applicant eligibility requirements and review process timeline will be determined.
An evaluation team will score applications based on:
The evaluation process will prioritize demonstrations with the highest impact potential. This includes high project feasibility, deployment readiness, and replicability throughout the sector. Other determining factors include the amount of funding requested, the annual budget availability and the leveraging of outcomes through co-funding and partnerships.
Higher priority will be given to demonstrations that focus on innovative solutions applied to actual affordable housing projects. These solutions must address substantive, long-standing problems in the sector, or represent a significant opportunity to improve affordable housing project performance and outcomes.
The evaluation process will target regional representation (for example, projects located in Canada’s North or projects that positively impact the range of vulnerable populations).
Highly competent teams with proven capabilities, experience and expertise will positively impact the scoring.
Note: Prioritization will be given to demonstration projects aligned with the strategy’s environmental, affordability and social inclusion objectives. Demonstration projects may be conducted in innovation parks or labs, however demonstrations in actual affordable housing projects will be prioritized.
High-scoring projects will be well-aligned with the strategy’s priority areas and expected outcomes, including the project`s relevance to priority populations. High-impact demonstration projects will contribute to the development of sustainable housing and other social, economic and environmental goals that support a better quality of life by improving housing conditions for Canadians.
There are two portions to this application process: creating an online profile and a record of your application, and completing this fillable Demonstrations Initiative Application Form. **Important: To use this interactive PDF, right click (Ctrl + click on Mac) the link to save the file, and then open it in Adobe Acrobat.
Once complete, you will need to upload the form into the online applications for your application to be considered.
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