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ONCAT Capacity Grants

ONCAT Capacity 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 throughout 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 Capacity Grants support the development and implementation of learner-centric policies, practices and pathways at a single postsecondary institution.
 

Here are examples of activities that align with the focus of ONCAT Capacity Grants:

  • 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  
  • developing programs that help transfer students achieve greater levels of academic success and personal satisfaction with their postsecondary experiences
  • reducing unnecessary, bureaucratic or inequitable barriers that impede a learner’s ability to pursue their educational and professional goals
  • bolstering administrative capacity to submit and update information to ONTransfer.ca
  • building administrative capacity to collect, analyze and report data related to learner mobility (e.g., pathway traffic, student characteristics, academic success, graduation rates)
  • enhancing strategies for recruiting prospective transfer students, especially for opportunities that facilitate entry into the labour market
  • supporting your institution’s implementation of MyCreds (a pan-Canadian platform for digital credentials) or expanding your institution’s integration of MyCreds to enhance the secure issuing, exchange and verification of official digital documents, badges, micro-credentials and diplomas  

 

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

  • Any publicly assisted college, university and Indigenous Institute in Ontario is eligible to apply for an ONCAT Capacity Grant. 

Funding and budgets

  • You can request a minimum of $40,000 and a maximum of $80,000 in funding for the project.  
  • Review the Budget Guidelines for information about eligible expenses. 

Application process and deadlines

  • You must submit your Letter of Interest and application via ONCAT’s online funding portal.
  • The online funding portal will open on September 3, 2025.
  • Letters of Interest are due by 4:00 p.m. on October 9, 2025.  
  • Results from the evaluation of Letters of Interest will be distributed in late October, 2025.
  • Applications are due by 4:00 p.m. on November 20, 2025.  
  • Results from the evaluation of applications will be distributed in late December, 2025.
  • 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.

Contact ONCAT

  • If you have questions about the application process or online funding 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.