ONCAT Collaboration Grants
ONCAT Collaboration Grants
ONCAT has always focused on supporting students who wish to transfer within the postsecondary system in Ontario.
ONCAT’s 2023–26 Strategic Plan broadens and extends this focus to supporting learner mobility through the education-to-career journey, empowering learners to build on their previous education and work experience to achieve their personal, educational and professional goals.
Focus and activities
ONCAT Collaboration Grants support the development and implementation of learner-centric policies, practices and pathways across multiple postsecondary institutions or the entire postsecondary sector.
Here are examples of activities that align with the focus of ONCAT Collaboration Grants:
- establishing or expanding program pathways between two or more postsecondary institutions
- contributing to initiatives that harmonize course equivalencies, program requirements or educational resources between two or more postsecondary institutions
- implementing learner-friendly practices for transfer credit assessment (e.g., reducing application costs, expediting notifications)
- expanding opportunities for Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) and improving the efficiency of PLAR processes
- enhancing strategies for recruiting prospective transfer students, especially for opportunities that facilitate entry into the labour market
- reducing unnecessary, bureaucratic or inequitable barriers that impede a learner’s ability to pursue their educational and professional goals
In alignment with the Government of Ontario’s policy directions, ONCAT will prioritize applications that address one or more of the following considerations:
- projects that facilitate pathway agreements and policy recommendations at the system level
- projects that can be implemented at other institutions or scaled across the entire postsecondary sector
- projects that support government priority areas (healthcare, marine transportation, advanced manufacturing, electric vehicles, critical minerals, mental health services/accessibility and housing)
- projects that support programs that respond to labour market needs
- projects that support programs and pathways with demonstrated student interest
- projects that support collaborative programs that expand opportunities for students (especially in rural areas and/or for recently suspended programs) by facilitating the sharing of institutional resources to deliver programs more efficiently
Eligibility
- /assets/oncat/documents/funding/ONCAT_BudgetForm_Collaboration_2025-26.xlsxTwo or more publicly assisted colleges, universities and Indigenous Institutes in Ontario are eligible to apply for an ONCAT Collaboration Grant.
Funding and budgets
- For projects involving two, three or four postsecondary institutions, you can request a minimum of $40,000 and a maximum of $100,000 in funding for the project.
- For projects involving five, six or seven postsecondary institutions, you can request a minimum of $40,000 and a maximum of $150,000 in funding for the project.
- For projects involving eight or more postsecondary institutions, contact Nick Hanson, Vice-President, Programs, Research and External Relations.
- Review the Budget Guidelines for information about eligible expenses.
Application process and deadlines
- Letters of Interest were due by October 30, 2025.
- Results from the evaluation of Letters of Interest will be distributed in early November, 2025.
- Applications are due by 4:00 p.m. on December 4, 2025.
- Results from the evaluation of applications will be distributed in early January, 2026.
- We encourage you to allow sufficient time before the deadlines to familiarize yourself with ONCAT’s online funding portal and to secure authorizations from senior administrators at your institution.
Resources
- Click here to download a PDF version of the application.
- Click here to download a PDF document with tips for developing your application.
- Click here to download the Budget Form.
- Click here to download the Authorization Form.
Contact ONCAT
- If you have questions about the application process or online grant portal, contact Inna Yeranosyan, Grants and Projects Specialist.
- If you have questions about project eligibility or details, contact Nick Hanson, Vice-President, Programs, Research and External Relations.
ONCAT is funded by the Government of Ontario. All programs and details are subject to change without notice.