What kinds of projects does CIRA Net Good Grants fund?
- Infrastructure
- Online safety
- Policy engagement
We support communities working to close Canada’s digital divides, prioritizing those experiencing the greatest barriers.
Infrastructure
CIRA aims to increase the number of Canadians who can access high-quality and high-performing internet. Through our Net Good Grants, we fund community-led connectivity research, network planning and infrastructure solutions. Connectivity projects must be community-led and owned, contributing to long-term community development.
- Deploying upgraded wireless infrastructure that provides access to low earth orbit (LEO) technology for remote communities in Nunavut.
- Connecting homes and buildings to existing coaxial community lines in an Indigenous community.
- Building a solar-powered radio tower to connect a remote BC region to Wi-Fi and cellular service.
Policy engagement
CIRA works to foster a legislative and public policy environment that supports a trusted internet for Canadians and reflects the voices of diverse stakeholders committed to closing Canada’s digital divides. We fund research, convene events, and support advocacy efforts that raise awareness, influence policy, and help build a more inclusive digital landscape for everyone in Canada.
- Research report on digital equity and internet affordability across low-income communities in Canada.
- Targeted policy engagement training to empower Indigenous connectivity advocates to directly connect with policy makers.
- National event to engage youth aged 18-30 from across Canada in multistakeholder Internet governance and policy discussions through panels, workshops, and mentorship opportunities.
Online safety
CIRA understands that safety is essential for everyone to participate online with confidence. That’s why we fund projects that build cybersecurity skills and deliver training and tools to help people counter threats like misinformation, exploitation, harassment, surveillance, and online violence.
- A lab facility for college students in IT to practice detecting and addressing cybersecurity attacks and threats.
- Youth trained in three rural and remote communities to become peer educators and deliver workshops on online exploitation, boundary-setting and respectful digital communication.
- Training programs for seniors and newcomers to increase online confidence and reduce vulnerability to scams.
- Projects focused on building online apps, websites or platforms
- Projects focused on data hosting, cloud hosting, software solutions or online services
- Schools, libraries and municipalities, except where they are applying as a registered charity or non-profit organization
- Requests focused solely on travel and expenses to attend conferences
- Proposals that provide generic IT training and/or equipment to support such training
- More than 25 per cent of project budget for equipment, except for infrastructure projects
- End user equipment for individual use (e.g., personal and/or mobile devices, CPE, etc.)—any equipment must stay with the applicant organization or institution
- Ongoing core operations (e.g., permanent staff salaries, administrative functions such as firewalls and intranets, etc.)
- Retrospective costs
- General fundraising appeals
- Projects focused outside of Canada
- Non-profit organizations
- Registered charities
- Indigenous communities
- Academics at a Canadian college or university
- We accept only one application at a time from an organization, either alone or as part of a partnership. There are no limits for academic institutions; however, the lead researcher(s) may submit only one application at a time.
- It’s not mandatory to have a .CA to receive a CIRA Grant. However, as an organization whose initiative benefits Canadians, .CA will help brand you as Canadian. Learn more about the benefits of having a .CA.
