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Eligible Activities
ICCI supports initiatives that promote and sustain foreign direct investment in Canadian communities. The program assists communities in developing the tools needed to attract and retain investment.
Typically, a community begins by undertaking basic research to determine its strengths, identify key sectors, and determine the level of investment already located in its territory. This research will allow the community to set realistic and appropriate targets when it develops a strategy to attract and retain investments. For communities that have completed basic research and are ready to identify targets, developing a strategy and/or producing promotional tools is the next step. A series of activities ICCI supports includes:
- Investment training for economic development staff
- Conducting business retention and expansion research
- Identifying investment strengths and local assets
- Developing a community profile to show potential investors
- Identifying specific potential foreign investors and developing corporate profile and contact database
- Developing and implementing a targeted strategy for encouraging foreign investment
- Developing and implementing a targeted strategy for retaining and expanding existing foreign investments
- Developing or substantially upgrading websites for foreign direct investment purposes
- Implementing strategies to retain or expand the investment of foreign affiliates already located in Canada
Eligible Expenses
(In purchasing goods or services for the performance of the Activity, recipient shall provide a full and fair opportunity for the use of Canadian carriers, suppliers and subcontractors to the extent that they are competitive and available.)
- Research and studies: identification of target corporations, comparative competitive analyses, development of business cases, business retention and expansion studies, etc.
- Economic data: collection of community and economic data for investment profiles, etc.
- Strategic FDI planning: facilitators, consultant costs, community consultations, development of strategic plans.
- Website development: development and/or major redesign, addition of significant architecture and functionality.
- Translation: translation of documents or website content into either one of Canada's official languages or foreign languages;
- Promotional materials (print or electronic): design and layout only (printing costs and the pressing of CDs and DVDs are not eligible).
- Advertising: design and layout.
- Investment Training including EDAC annual conference: courses as part of the community's investment attraction and retention strategy for employees of the Community.
- Travel costs (only for economic development staff and only in association with an investment training program), including transportation, hotel, per diem allowances, airport departure taxes, fees and insurance, as per Treasury Board guidelines.
- Meeting room rental (in-Canada).
- Software customization (but not the cost of software license nor off-the-shelf add-on modules).
- Consultants/contractors.
Ineligible Expenses
- Research activities not associated with investment attraction, retention and expansion.
- Collection or purchase of statistical data not associated with investment attraction, retention or expansion activities.
- Development of training courses/modules.
- Consultants hired to facilitate a training session.
- Costs associated with hiring consultants to develop ICCI applications.
- Regular website maintenance and updating web content, site hosting, software licensing,
- Corporate logo design, costs of printing, pressing CDs, or DVDs, and recording videocassettes.
- All give-aways: gifts, events/shows/concerts tickets, logo items, cups, mugs, pens, etc.
- Design and layout of non-investment ads (promoting tourism, for example), cost of ad placement in any media.
- Travel costs incurred by applicants, partners or consultants not related to training; travel costs incurred by potential investors.
- Taxes: GST, PST, HST, VAT or taxes applied by foreign governments.
- Hospitality: Cost of meals or alcohol; lodging; clothing and uniforms; and all give-aways.
- Trade show/conference participation: registration fees at international trade shows or conferences (in Canada and abroad), booth design / purchase / assembly and shipping, design of promotional material specifically for a trade show, overhead costs such as pre-show mailing, stationery and long distance phone calls, research to target companies at a trade show, consultant costs for organizing outgoing missions (including training participants); consultant costs to develop target business cases for follow up with potential investors after show; cost of developing an advertisement (design and layout) for show specific publications.
- Activities or projects related to attracting infrastructure for tourism and motion picture industries, e.g: to develop ski resorts, theme parks and film production facilities.
- Capital costs: infrastructure development, capital expenditures to acquire or enhance assets, software licenses, electronics (computers, fax, machines, digital cameras, etc.), demonstration aids. Capital costs include the direct costs of acquisition, construction, expansion, modification, conversion, transportation, installation and insurance (during construction) of fixed assets, as well as the cost of licensing and franchising fees.
- Overhead costs: Postage, including postage for direct mail campaigns; phone; office space rental; photocopying.
- Salaries and benefits of personnel.
- Miscellaneous: activities to attract investment from inside Canada; costs incurred before the application's approval date; activities for which one or more partners expect to receive compensation in the form of a commission, finder's fee, or other form of remuneration; promotion activities related to properties or business investment in which one or more partners receive a personal or corporation financial gain.
