The Canada Council for the Arts has introduced an updated Sector Support, Innovation and Development funding opportunity that is designed to make it easier for artists, arts workers, and organizations to strengthen their capacity, build resilience, and explore new solutions to sector-wide challenges. This refreshed program replaces the previous Sector Innovation and Development component and brings a more inclusive, accessible, and flexible approach to supporting the Canadian arts ecosystem. Applications can be submitted at any time.
To learn more about what’s changed, what kinds of projects are eligible, and how to prepare a strong application, The Arts Firm connected with program staff at the Canada Council for the Arts. In this Q&A, they share key insights into the updates, examples of supported activities, and practical tips to help applicants put their best foot forward.
If you or your organization are interested in this funding opportunity, we encourage you to read this Q&A, review the guidelines and attend a webinar. Reach out to The Arts Firm for more resources or project inquiries.
What changes have been made to the Sector Support, Innovation and Development component?
The Canada Council for the Arts is rolling out some key updates with the new Sector Support, Innovation and Development funding opportunity, which replaces the previous Sector Innovation and Development grant. These changes make funding easier to access and more flexible for the Canadian arts sector.
Now, all eligible applicants—including those who receive core grants—can apply for support for building capacity or developing their organization. This can include activities like succession planning, adapting digital tools, or reinforcing internal processes. The new Sector Support, Innovation and Development funding opportunity is also open to more applicants including individual artists, arts workers, and First Nations, Inuit, or Métis artists and cultural workers, artistic and arts supporting groups, and organizations. Another big change is that there are no more deadlines. You can submit your proposal any time before the start of your project so you can move forward with your ideas as soon as they take shape.
There have also been updates to the assessment criteria. Applications will continue to be assessed according to relevance, impact and feasibility but the sub-criteria have been adjusted with plain language to cover the full range of activities now eligible. The adjustments will also help applicants link the assessment criteria more clearly with the questions being asked in the application.
What types of activities will the grant fund? What are some examples?
The Sector Support, Innovation and Development application includes 7 main activity groups to help you match your project with the program’s goals for growing, strengthening and developing the Canadian arts sector. These give you a solid starting point for ideas that help people and organizations grow, explore new solutions or skills, and spread knowledge, all to make our arts community more resilient.
- Advancing or developing resources in the arts sector. This activity group supports adaptations of structures, systems, digital platforms, or resource-sharing models to improve efficiency.
- Supporting artists. Eligible projects in this group could propose production, representation, or management services to promote Canadian artists, groups, or organizations.
- Nurturing learning and continuous improvement. This category covers mentoring, professional development, or networking for artists and arts workers.
- Gathering, collaborating, and exchanging. This activity group supports sector research, knowledge-sharing, publications, networking, or magazines advancing artistic or literary practice.
- Sector-building for and by equity- and sovereignty-seeking arts communities. This could include activities that develop and support equity and First Nations, Inuit, or Métis arts organizations and communities.
- Testing solutions. This could include explorations or implementations of innovative solutions to sectoral challenges.
- Organizational improvement, development, and/or capacity building (including digital capacity). This could cover initiatives that boost organizational stability, sustainability, relevance, or digital capabilities to better serve communities.
What types of projects are not best suited for this fund?
This funding opportunity is dedicated to nurturing growth across the arts sector and is not meant to fund artistic creation or presentation. If you are looking to apply for those kinds of activities, the Canada Council offers a variety of tailored programs and grants. You can explore our full list of funding opportunities.
Sector Support, Innovation and Development provides support to projects that strengthen our shared arts community and spark meaningful development and innovation. For instance, you might propose a residency where artists build new professional skills, like gaining expertise in cutting-edge technologies, to deepen their practice and share insights with their network. On the other hand, if the project revolves around using those technologies to develop and stage creative work, such as a multimedia performance, it would be better suited towards one of our other funding opportunities.
We invite you to explore the Canada Council portal or connect with a Program Officer to discover the right funding opportunities for your project.
What advice or tips do you have for organizations preparing projects? What makes a good application?
A good tip is to use straightforward language to answer each question in the application directly and concisely. Use the assessment criteria as a guide for the kind of information that the committee will be looking for in your application. It is also good to make sure your project is aligned with the objectives of the funding opportunity.
Assemble the necessary supporting elements, such as letters of collaboration from your partners, biographies of key people leading the project, and a clear timeline outlining major milestones, to affirm the project’s feasibility and your commitment.
Make sure your budget is clear, detailed, and easy to understand. Use the notes section to provide context on amounts and how they were calculated. Identify if a revenue source is confirmed or pending and include other relevant information to help the assessors understand your proposal. Your budget should tell the same story as your application.
Be sure to consult what are called “Knowledge articles” in the portal. These are helpful prompts and guidance that appear alongside the application questions to support you in preparing a strong and competitive application.
Before you submit, it can be helpful to ask someone else to read your application and provide feedback against the assessment criteria.
Where can we find out more about the component?
You can find all the details right on the Canada Council portal—head to the Sector Support, Innovation and Development page for information about who can apply, eligibility, and the application process. If something’s unclear after reading through, please reach out to us through the help function on the portal.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on upcoming webinars: there’s one coming up on Friday, October 24, 2025, at 2:00 PM EST, as an intro to the updated Sector Support, Innovation and Development funding opportunity—click here to register.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Reading the application and assessment criteria can be an obvious tip, but they exist to ensure applicants understand the objectives of the funding opportunity and how they will be assessed. After reading through the application and information in the portal, if applicants are unsure of something, they should reach out to the program well ahead of submitting an application through the Help function in the new portal. For a faster response time, provide a summary of your project and of your questions when reaching out to any program at Council.
