Canada-Italy Innovation Award 2026 - Call for proposals

Overview

The Embassy of Canada to Italy is pleased to accept applications for the 14th edition of the Canada-Italy Innovation Award. This Award provides funding to members of the Italian innovation ecosystem including start-ups, innovation experts, researchers, scientists, or creative industry professionals to develop collaborative projects with Canadian partners in areas that will drive innovative, inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development.

Over the last decade, the award has resulted in transformational discoveries, research, and applications showcasing the significant potential for and impact of Canada-Italy cooperation.

Scope and priority areas

Through this Award, the Embassy of Canada to Italy aims to support the development of strong, targeted relationships between leading individuals, researchers and institutions in Italy and their counterparts in Canada.

Projects must seek to solve a problem in new ways, result in concrete outcomes, and address the thematic priority detailed below, which is aligned with Government of Canada policy priorities and expressed in the Italy-Canada Roadmap for Enhanced Cooperation:

Thematic priority: Innovative and diversified agriculture

(In collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

Agriculture and agri-food systems are the backbone of global food security and economic resilience, yet they face mounting challenges from climate change, resource constraints, and shifting consumer demands. Canada and Italy share a strong commitment to building sustainable, innovative agri-food systems that can withstand these and other global challenges. Both countries are leaders in agricultural research and technology, with complementary strengths. Cutting-edge innovations - such as precision agriculture, advanced genetics (or biotechnology), digital platforms, and sustainable processing - are redefining how food is grown, distributed, and consumed. These innovations are essential to building resilient, climate-smart and inclusive food systems that can meet the needs of a growing population while safeguarding the environment.

Projects funded through the Award aim to strengthen and expand networks and partnerships between Canada and Italy in the following areas:

1. Accelerating research on plant-based protein sources to enhance food diversity and sustainability. Focus on sustainable systems that offer plant-based foods with comparable nutritional benefits to non-plant-based proteins. This includes addressing consumer acceptance and regulatory challenges, as well as opportunities for scaling production.
2. Developing sustainable agri-food processing and supply chain solutions that minimize waste and enhance circularity. This includes research to support adoption of green technologies & practices in agriculture; ways to transform agriculture and agri-food waste to animal feed, biofuel or fertilizer or the identification and analysis of the key drivers of food waste.
3. Exploring novel approaches such as biotechnology and digital tools to accelerate innovation and improve food system resilience. Focus on advancement of genomic and biotechnology innovations; application of data management and real-time analytics to access information; approaches to improve quality of agriculture products, including nutrition, and resiliency of crops, including drought and pest resistance.

Note: The Government of Canada is committed to equitable and inclusive research practices and to having policy and programs informed by (but not limited to) age, disability, education, ethnicity, gender expression and gender identity, immigrant and newcomer status, Indigenous identity, language, neurodiversity, parental status/responsibility, place of origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. For this reason, all applications should clearly explain how gender equality, diversity and inclusion considerations have been taken into account in the design of the project and/or in the composition of the project team, and how they will be promoted through the projects’ objectives and implementation.

See What is Gender-based Analysis Plus for definitions and more information on GBA+ tools.

Funding scope

Awards are to support the applicant’s travel to Canada. The value of an Award will be up to a maximum of €4,000 (EUR). Travel expenses that are eligible for reimbursement include:

• economy class airfare (not premium economy)
• accommodation
• local transportation
• €75 (EUR) per diem (per day of travel)

Insurance is not eligible for Innovation Award funding.

Eligibility and funding criteria

The Canada-Italy Innovation Award is available to start-ups, innovation experts, researchers, scientists, and creative industries professionals, collaborating with Canadian partners. Private/public partnerships are encouraged.

Funding through the Canada-Italy Innovation Award is to support expenses incurred by the Italian awardee only for travel to Canada. Successful applicants will be required to complete a report immediately following the completion of the travel and must commit to providing brief updates on follow-up activities and outcomes 6 and 12 months after the completion of the project.

Evaluation criteria

Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Research excellence: Quality, originality, and potential impact of the proposed research project.
• Relevance to innovation goals: Alignment of the research project with the program’s objectives of fostering innovation and knowledge transfer.
• Collaborative and long-term impact: Strength of collaboration with the Canadian partner, including mutual, societal, or economic benefits and knowledge exchange leading to sustainable partnerships.
• Feasibility: Practicality and achievability of the research plan, including timeline, methodology, resources, and outcome.
• Track record of applicant: Applicant’s prior research achievements, publications, and experience relevant to the proposed project.
• Concrete outcome: Tangible, measurable, and clearly demonstrable results.
• Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+): Alignment of the project with the GBA+, the process for understanding who is impacted by issues or opportunities addressed by the initiative.

Special consideration will be given to applications that demonstrate why the proposed project would particularly benefit from an international collaboration.

Applications will be reviewed by relevant experts from the Embassy of Canada to Italy.

How to apply

Applications should be prepared in English or French using the Canada-Italy Innovation Award application form and submitted according to the instructions.

Note: If the link will not open the PDF, you can right-click on the link and select “Save link as…” to download it to your device. For more information, please contact rome-pa@international.gc.ca.

Disbursement of the Canada-Italy Innovation Award

The Canada-Italy Innovation Award will be provided as a reimbursement for the expenses incurred. The original expense receipts, a letter from the Canadian partner, and the final report must be returned for the payment to be issued.

Important dates

• October 15, 2026: (23:59, Rome time): Application deadline
• All applicants will receive an email acknowledging receipt of their application (if you don’t receive the acknowledgment, please contact rome-pa@international.gc.ca immediately)
• October 30, 2026: Announcement of the winner
• The winner will be notified by email and their name announced on the Embassy's social media. All other applicants will receive a standard email.
• February 15, 2027: Deadline for completion of the trip to Canada.
• March 1, 2027: Deadline for submission of the final report, the letter by the Canadian partner, and the expenditure records.

For more information, please contact rome-pa@international.gc.ca.