NHS Demonstrations Initiative

The National Housing Strategy Demonstrations Initiative (Demonstrations) provides a platform to:

• create and disseminate real-world data and information on affordable housing
• demonstrate innovative solutions that aim to improve the performance, viability and effectiveness of affordable housing solutions
• foster a culture of innovation in the affordable housing sector that will better meet the housing needs of Canadians

The Demonstrations initiative offers solutions aiming to:

• strengthen, better equip and innovate the affordable housing sector
• increase stakeholder’s awareness, knowledge and acceptance of promising innovations

Demonstration formats include on-site tours, virtual tours, best-practices guides, case studies, factsheets, website content, user experience videos, surveys and innovation profiles.

Funding for successful projects will range from $25,000 to a maximum of $250,000. Projects in the Demonstrations initiative should have a duration of up to 18 months. Considerations for determining demonstration funding include the:

• nature of the demonstration
• complexity of the proposed demonstration
• potential value and impact of the innovation demonstrated
• cost to carry out the eligible activities
• knowledge dissemination plan
• deployment readiness and feasibility of the project
• project relevance to the NHS priority areas, vulnerable population groups and expected outcomes
• available budget

Funded eligible elements will primarily focus on showcasing and knowledge dissemination activities. This includes:

• planning, fabrication, installation, operation and maintenance and removal of demonstration platform(s)
• surveys of demonstration audiences, property owners and managers, tenants
• monitoring and documentation of the demonstration and related activities for the creation of the final outcomes report

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).

As an innovation champion, you will:

• receive funding to showcase, communicate and assess innovations applied to affordable housing projects
• be a leader and innovator in the affordable housing sector
• broaden your business, community and stakeholder network and develop collaboration opportunities
• provide insights into the performance, costs, benefits, acceptance, feasibility and limitations of the innovation

To be eligible for this initiative projects must:

• be located in Canada
• include an affordable housing “Host” as partners and collaborators
• align with the strategy’s priority areas and priority populations
• demonstrate a solution of a minimum of Readiness Level of 7 (prototype has been tested in a simulated environment and is ready to be demonstrated in a real-world environment)
• showcase cutting-edge, innovative technologies, practices, programs, policies and strategies
• be replicable and near- or market-ready solutions to affordable housing challenges
• be delivered and completed within an 18-month timeframe

Projects may address any housing form (singles, detached, row, multi-unit) and type of ownership (non-profit, public, private rental or 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 and/or priority population groups.

Eligible applicants include:

• Canadian citizens
• Canadian companies, organizations, associations, private and non-profit builders and developers of affordable housing projects
• design, construction and renovation professionals
• non-profit affordable housing organizations and cooperatives
• First Nations, Métis and Inuit organizations, housing organizations agencies and authorities,
• Non-governmental organization (NGOs) seeking to demonstrate and showcase new and innovative approaches to the efficient and effective provision or delivery of affordable housing projects such as Habitat for Humanity, Tower Renewal Partnership, CaGBC or FCM
• Governmental and non-governmental organization (NGOs) seeking to demonstrate and showcase new and innovative approaches for the effective and efficient provision and/or delivery of programs and services supporting and improving the quality of life of vulnerable populations living in affordable housing.

Note: International organizations and individuals may be members of the demonstration team but not the primary lead applicant (i.e. they must partner with a Canadian lead that acts as the ’Applicant’).

We invite you to consult the Applicant Guide for a detailed description of eligibility criteria.

An evaluation committee made up of subject-matter experts from the affordable housing and innovation sectors will evaluate all eligible applications. The eligible applications received will be reviewed, scored and prioritized based on merit, using the scoring scale and evaluation criteria presented in the Applicant Guide.

Recommendation for funding will be provided to the highest scoring applications, based on budget available. In all cases, only applications scoring 80% or higher will be eligible for funding.

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.

High-scoring projects will be well-aligned with the National Housing Strategy priority areas and expected outcomes, including the project's relevance to priority populations. High-impact demonstration projects will support a better quality of life by improving housing conditions for Canadians. This will be achieved by contributing to the development of sustainable housing and other social, economic and environmental goals.

• NHS Demonstrations Initiative Applicant Guide
  Note: Barring inconsistencies between the National Housing Strategy Demonstrations Initiative website content and the Demonstrations Initiative Applicant Guide content, the Applicant Guide content will prevail.
• NHS Demonstrations Initiative Application Form*
  *To use the interactive PDF, right click (Ctrl + click on Mac) the link to save the file, and then open it in Adobe Acrobat.
• Glossary
• CMHC Brand Guidelines

External resources:

• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council – Guidelines for Effective Knowledge Mobilization
• Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans – TCPS 2 (2018)

General inquiries about the National Housing Strategy or technical support:

• Phone: 1-800-668-2642 (Business hours: 8:00 am to 7:00 pm Eastern Time)
• Email: Innovation-Research@cmhc.ca