Indo-Pacific Regional Connectivity Envelope – Call for proposals

The Indo-Pacific Regional Connectivity Envelope (RCE) is a one-stage application process. Eligible not for profit organizations will submit a completed proposal that describes their proposed project and its alignment to Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS).

This call is open for projects planned to start after April 1, 2026, and end prior to March 31, 2028. We do not anticipate another call for proposals before March 31, 2028. We may fund any number of proposals, or none, up to the total funding available. 

On this page:

• Objective
• Eligibility
• How to apply
• Project parameters
• Indo-Pacific organization
• Eligible expenditures
• Ineligible expenditures
• Accessing and using PDF forms 
• Questions specific to this call
• Resources
• Additional information

Objective

The RCE is designed to connect Canadian researchers, institutions (including academic institutions such as universities and colleges, research centres, think tanks, cultural organizations and associations, non-profit chambers of commerce or business associations, advocacy groups, notably those representing Indigenous Peoples (Inuit, Métis and First Nations), women, youth and LGBTQ2+ communities) and organizations with regional stakeholders, rightsholders and counterparts. It also aims to enhance Canada’s profile in the region, accelerate Canada’s ability to develop or gain access to influential networks and form strategic partnerships.

The RCE will support Canadian non-governmental stakeholders and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis organizations engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. The focus of this enhanced engagement will consist of participation and facilitation of events in the region or in Canada.

You must choose an eligible project activity category, and if your organization will be facilitating or participating in the event. Applicants must select one main project category for this initiative. If a secondary category is proposed, the applicant must demonstrate how it is related to the main project category. 

Participating: Attending a conference/event/training or research without leading or playing a key role in its implementation. 

Facilitating: Hosting/cohosting a conference/event/training or research and playing a key role in its implementation.

Eligible project activity categories: 

• Knowledge sharing;
  • Conferences
  • Workshops
  • Round table discussions
  • Panels
• Training;
• Research;
• Indo-Pacific cultural events;
• Indigenous events and reconciliation.

Eligibility

To be eligible, projects must meet each requirement and, where stipulated, provide supporting documentation:

• Your organization is legally incorporated in Canada and can provide a Canada Revenue Agency business number;

or

• Your organization is an Indigenous organization or government (Inuit, Métis and First Nations organization) in Canada. Your organization must provide supporting documentation about its history, governance structure, and/or ownership;

 and

• You are not a consortium, only one Canadian organization collaborating with one Indo-Pacific organization per proposal;

• You are not a sovereign entity (government), for-profit organization, a multilateral institution, or an individual.

Each eligible organization may submit up to four (4) proposals. Organizations must coordinate internally to develop the proposals. If an organization submits more than four proposals, any additional submissions beyond the limit will be rejected.

How to apply

1. Register in the Collaboration@International (C@I) portal
   • You will need to create a GCKey, create a user and organizational profile in the C@I portal. It is preferable that only one member per organization creates an account on the portal to upload and submit documents.
   • For a step-by-step guide on how to register, visit: How to register your organization.
   • For technical difficulties while registering or trying to submit a proposal, send an email to RCE-ECR@international.gc.ca.
   • Technical support sessions will be offered to guide applicants through the account creation and submission processes via the online portal. To register to a technical support session, please complete and submit the online form: Regional Connectivity Envelope – Technical Support Registration.
2. Download the RCE application package from the portal.
   The package will include the:
   • RCE application form
   • RCE project attestation of collaboration
   • RCE Budget template
   • Anti-Corruption Declaration (PDF version - 159 KB)
   • Declaration regarding outstanding debts due to His Majesty (PDF version - 52.3 KB)
3. Complete and upload all documents to the Collaboration@International portal before 12 pm (noon) Eastern Time on September 18, 2025.

Please read the portal instructions and we recommend that you plan to submit your application by September 15, 2025. This will ensure that technical difficulties don’t prevent you from submitting your proposal by the final deadline of September 18, 2025. We won’t accept late submissions.

Application package must include all of the following documents: 

• Indo-Pacific Regional Connectivity Envelope application form completed
• Financial statements for the last two fiscal years, signed (audited statements are preferred)
• A completed preliminary budget
• RCE Project Attestation of Collaboration completed. Both the Canadian and Indo-Pacific organizations must complete and sign this form. The form should be signed by authorized representative such as a director, faculty head, dean, or equivalent, depending on the project design and institutional structure.  
• Anti-Corruption Declaration (PDF version - 159 KB) signed by the chief financial officer or by a member of the board of directors duly authorized to sign;
• Declaration regarding outstanding debts due to His Majesty (PDF version - 52.3 KB) signed by the chief financial officer or by a member of the board of directors duly authorized to sign;
• Proof of your organization’s legal status or proof of incorporation in Canada

Project parameters 

You must be able to answer “yes” to all of the following statements in order for your application to be considered: 

• Your proposed project is starting after April 1, 2026, and ending prior to March 31, 2028.
• You are requesting Global Affairs Canada funding of at least $20,000 and no more than $250,000 
• If the total project value exceeds $40,000, your organization will provide at least 15% of the total eligible direct project costs: Policy on Cost-Sharing for Grant and Non-Repayable Contribution Agreements
• Your proposed project is in line with one or more of the Strategic Objectives of the Indo-Pacific Strategy 
• Your application identifies an Indo-Pacific regional organization, who is based in the region, and how they will meaningfully support the project’s implementation
• Your proposed project duration is no longer than 2 years
• The geographic focus of your project is in the Indo-Pacific (as defined by the Indo-Pacific Strategy), in Canada, or in both regions
• You have identified at least one intermediate outcome and one immediate outcome, based on the project’s activity category
• Your application package documents are complete and presented in either English or French 

Indo-Pacific organization 

• In this Program, Canadian organizations must identify one Indo-Pacific (IP) organization with whom they will collaborate. 
• The Indo-Pacific regional organization can be a non-governmental organization from the Indo-Pacific region including researchers, academic institutions such as universities and colleges, research centers, think tanks, cultural organizations and associations, non-profit chambers of commerce or business associations, advocacy groups, notably those representing Indigenous, women, youth and LGBTQ2+ communities. This relationship will be further defined in the RCE project Attestation of Collaboration.
• The IP organization must be based in the IP region as defined by the Indo-Pacific Strategy, including Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, the Pacific Island Countries ( Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu ), Pakistan, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.
  • While included in the Indo-Pacific Strategy, this program will not fund activities in Myanmar or Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) due to current Government of Canada travel advisories. Please consult the Government of Canada Travel advice and advisories (TAA) before applying, as this program won’t fund proposals in economies (or in regions of a country) where TAA advises to avoid all travel (red category) or non-essential travel in the country (orange category).
• It will be preferable that they are registered in their country of origin, but we do not require proof of registration of the IP regional organization for this call for proposal
• Only one IP organization can be identified. Other orgs can be involved at the discretion of the Canadian organization 
• We don’t require previous experience with the organization. 
• The IP regional organization must be an entity established in the Indo-Pacific region and should not be a branch or an affiliate of the Canadian organization.
• The IP organization cannot apply to this call, the Canadian organization must apply and collaborate with the IP organization.

Eligible expenditures

Preliminary budgets must adhere to expenditures eligible under the RCE, such as: 

• Registration and participation fees;
• AV equipment and IT services;
• Venues and hospitality (excluding alcoholic beverages);
• Promotional publications and training material (printing, translation, and distribution);
• Travel costs, including round-trip airfare (the most direct and economical route), meals, incidentals, visa and related costs, travel insurance, health insurance;
• Research materials and equipment, laptops, and specialized research instruments;
• Event registration costs (excluding extended training courses);
• Translation fees;
• Student allocations/hiring;
• Event organization costs, such as:
  • Facility costs for workshops, seminars, etc. (for example hospitality (excluded alcoholic beverages), conference room rentals);
  • Coordination/administrator/implementation costs directly related to the activities; 
  • Materials and supplies (for example event handouts and name tags);
  • Travel costs for event participants and organizers (as described above) and all other actual necessary, reasonable and justifiable out-of-pocket travel-related expenses arising from organizing and/or participating in the event activities;
  • Personnel costs (costs directly related to the personnel engaged in headquarters and in the region to conduct the event activities, including training sessions, conference and workshop facilitation).

Ineligible expenditures

• Indirect/overhead costs: Indirect costs are those costs that cannot be obviously traced to a specific program/project, i.e. all indirect costs associated with the organization’s Canadian office(s).
• entertainment costs, including alcohol;
• luxury goods;
• financial carrying charges;
• membership fees;
• patents;
• non-essential and/or basic day-to-day immunizations and medications not essential or required for the purposes of the implementation of the Project, subject to prior written approval of the Department;
• interest costs;
• costs related to non-authorized accompanying family members or other non-project related personnel.

No profit can be generated from any activities under this program.

Accessing and using PDF forms 

Use only Adobe Reader/Adobe Acrobat to work on the standardized PDFs to submit with your application package. If you use other software, the data you enter may not appear once submitted to the department, and the application will be ineligible. 

If you are having difficulty downloading the proposal form, it is generally due to the type of software you have (or do not have) on your computer. Please read and follow the help instructions. If you have all the correct software installed, download the form to your desktop and open it directly in Adobe Reader; otherwise, other software installed on your computer may try (and fail) to open the form using your default settings. 

Question specific for this call

Please send your questions by email to RCE-ECR@international.gc.ca by  September 11th. We will not respond to questions received after the deadline or to inquiries about specific organizational circumstances or project proposals. We will address questions under the additional information section of this webpage throughout the call window.

Global Affairs Canada hosted an information session on the RCE call for proposals: Regional Connectivity Envelope – Information Session EN

Resources

We encourage you to read all the following tools and guidance before beginning your application process.

• Indo-Pacific Regional Connectivity Envelope – Questions and Assessment Criteria
• Results Based Management: A how to guide
• Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy 
• Collaboration@International – Frequently Asked Questions

Additional information

• Cost-share contributions must be directly tied to the specific activities of the project. If the RCE project is part of a larger initiative, only the costs that are directly related to the RCE component can be counted as cost-share.
• The Indo-Pacific regional organization may consist of a non-governmental organization, a government agency/department or Ministry, or an organization representing a larger network from the Indo-Pacific region.
• If the total project costs exceed $40,000, GAC will provide 85% of the total eligible direct project costs. In their budget form, organizations must provide the total project value and determine their cost share. On the final page of the sheet, it will show if the cost share is compliant.
• The Call for Proposals does not specify a fixed percentage for administrative costs. All eligible expenditures, including coordination and administrative costs, must be directly related to project activities.
• Projects in one Indo-Pacific location are not automatically ranked as a higher priority than a project in another. However, projects are evaluated to determine their alignment to Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, and how the project location is aligned to the themes of the project.
• Current applicants cannot access a list of previously successful applicants from the 2024 RCE Call for Proposals.
• The Anti-Corruption Declaration and the Declaration Regarding Outstanding Debts to His Majesty must have been signed and dated within the last six months of your proposal's date of submission.
• Personnel cost for a training session is an eligible expense under remuneration.
• The RCE initiative is designed to align with Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. As long as proposed activities align with one of the five strategic objectives, eligible organizations may organize or participate in events and activities under this framework.
• University affiliated research groups are eligible to apply separately from the university’s central research office if they have a distinct CRA registration number.
• Project funds can be used to support participation of both Canadian and Indo-Pacific participants.
• Funding floors and ceilings are on a per proposal basis, not by organization. For example, an eligible organization can submit 4 proposals up to $250,000 each.
• While the proposal must identify one Indo-Pacific regional organization as the primary partner, the scope of the project itself can span several countries.
• Costs of coordination/administration/implementation directly related to organizing an event is an eligible cost under personnel.
• The call for proposals page uses ‘proposal’ and ‘project’ interchangeably. Each proposal would become one project, if approved. With their proposal, applicants must select one main project category for this initiative. If a secondary category is proposed, the applicant must demonstrate how it is related to the main project category.
• RCE Funds can be used to cover travel costs for the participation of non-Canadian government officials and Indigenous group officials to the RCE project.
• If Canadian Organizations chooses to submit more than one proposal, they may collaborate with different Indo-Pacific organization for each proposal.
• Organizations must submit one completed RCE project attestation of collaboration. If an organization would like to submit additional RCE project attestations of collaboration or a letter of support they are welcomed to but it is not necessary. Note that preference will not be given for submitting more than one attestation. 
• Components of a project may take place online, however, there needs to be a physical connectivity element in the proposal.
• Cost-share is calculated on the total project value, not GAC’s contribution.
• It is not necessary to hire new staff to work on the RCE project. It is up to the applicant to demonstrate and justify the salary of staff for tasks directly related to the RCE project.
• Artistic related activities are eligible for funding under this Program, as long as they are directly related to the project.
• If your project include investigators hired by your organization, they do not need to be Canadian Citizens.
• RCE program funds cannot be used for construction activities.
• An organization may lead a maximum of four proposals. It is up to each organization to decide whether they wish to participate in projects led by other organizations.
• Only Canadian organizations are eligible to receive funding from GAC under this program. It is the responsibility of the Canadian organization to manage the transfer of funds to the regional organization for activities directly related to the project.
• Non-Canadian organization are not eligible to apply to this call.
• The People's Republic of China (PRC) is not an eligible location for projects under the RCE. However, projects with a thematic focus on China but taking place in another country or economy in the Indo-Pacific Region, as defined by the IPS, remain eligible.
• If any other Canadian organization will be involved in implementing the RCE project, they should be listed as subcontractors in the budget form. Please note that subcontracting costs must not exceed 20% of the total project value.
• Personnel costs for Indo-Pacific organization can be an eligible cost under the RCE program, if the costs are directly related to the project. It is up to the applicant to demonstrate and justify the salary of staff for tasks directly related to the RCE project.
• The budget provided at the submission stage may be modified to reallocate funds between categories, if the project is approved for funding. Terms regarding budget modifications will be set out in the funding instrument.
• Project results can be measured at the end of the project duration. However, annual reporting reflected project progress will be required.
• If the RCE project you propose is part of a larger initiative, you may describe the initiative at large and clearly specify the RCE component throughout your proposal.
• The 'Current or Past Project Example' section of the application form should highlight a project that the Canadian organization has undertaken.
• The RCE is designed to connect Canadians from all backgrounds with the Indo-Pacific region.
• Project funding allocations will depend on the nature and quality of the proposals received, as well as their alignment with program objectives.
• The person who signs the Attestation of Collaboration on behalf of the Canadian organization does not need to be the same person who signs the application form.
• There are no specific restrictions on the portion of funds that can be transferred to the Indo-Pacific organization for the implementation of the project. However, budgets will be reviewed to ensure all expenses are reasonable to achieve project results.
• RCE is designed to foster engagement between Canadian organizations and the those in the Indo-Pacific region. While in-person engagement can strengthen relationships and visibility, it is not mandatory for the project to have a physical component in the region.
• Training activities can include building institutional or organizational capacity of Indo-Pacific organizations.
• As part of the evaluation process, proposals will be reviewed by GAC.
• Funding under the RCE can only be used for activities taking place in Canada or in the Indo-Pacific region.
• RCE funds can be used for the mobility of participants regardless of their nationality for activities directly related to the RCE project taking place in Canada or in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The 15% cost share element can be covered both by, the Canadian organization and the Indo-pacific organization.
• Policy on Cost-Sharing for Grant and Non-Repayable Contribution Agreements is a general GAC policy particularly related to international development assistance projects. While the RCE uses this policy as a reference—particularly for definitions—it does not follow all of its guidelines. For this reason, please refer to the specific instructions provided on the Call for Proposals page, as they have been tailored for this funding opportunity.
• RCE projects are not considered as institutional support.
• Employee/researcher work hours contributing to the project can be counted as part of the cost share. However, it is important to confirm that the employee is not receiving separate compensation from the GAC contribution for the tasks they perform specifically for the RCE project.
• Internal charges for venue rentals within the organization (e.g., when a university charges its own units for using conference/meeting facilities) are eligible, as long as they are directly tied to the delivery of the funded project.
• Organizations may choose to identify multiple outcomes in the Logic Model. If more than one immediate outcome or output is provided, the organization must still adhere to the character limit specified in that section. Your project may include secondary outcomes or outputs that are not listed in the Logic Model section. These can still be part of your broader project design, but only those included within the Logic Model section will be considered for assessment.
• The maximum GAC contribution per proposal is $250,000, regardless of the number of activity categories selected. The total value of the project, which includes the applicant's cost-share may exceed $250,000.
• In the “budget by activities” tab, you may identify the activities related to the RCE activity categories. Please note that this is a preliminary budget. If your project gets approved for funding, you will need to provide a more detailed budget by activity.
• GST can be included in the RCE project budgets.
• Carbon Credits are an eligible expenditure for RCE.
• The 15% cost-share requirement can be met entirely through in-kind contributions.
• Equipment and materials essential to the deliver activities related to the RCE project may be eligible.
• There is no limit on the portion of RCE funds for travel and hospitality expenses.
• Tuition can be an eligible expense under training costs if it is directly related to the project. It is the responsibility of the organization to demonstrate its relation to the project.
• Municipalities are not eligible for funding under RCE.
• Non-profit organizations that receive funds from the government are eligible to apply to this call.
• RCE funds may be used to fund the participation of other organizations regardless of their legal status to participate in the RCE activities/events.
• If you would like to submit more than one attestation letter, please ensure to combine them in one document.