Skip To Content

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. 

Activities funded by ONCAT Collaboration Grants should create transformative and measurable change for Ontario learners by focusing on any of the following elements of learner mobility: 

  • Expanding opportunities for learners to move between postsecondary programs and institutions  
  • Facilitating recognition of prior learning 
  • Maximizing credit that learners receive for their previous education and experience 
  • Reducing unnecessary, bureaucratic, or inequitable barriers that impede a learner’s ability to pursue their educational and professional goals 
  • Helping learners achieve greater levels of academic success and personal satisfaction with their postsecondary experiences 
  • Supporting learners with transitions into the labour market 

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

  • Establishing, expanding, or revising program pathways between two or more postsecondary institutions
    • For the November 2024 and February 2025 rounds, applications related to program pathways and/or articulation agreements are encouraged to support the acquisition of skills and credentials for in-demand jobs in the following sectors: healthcare, marine transportation, advanced manufacturing, electric vehicles, critical minerals, mental health services/accessibility and housing   
  • Establishing, expanding, or revising course-to-course equivalencies between two or more postsecondary institutions  
  • Establishing, expanding, or revising discipline-based curriculum, materials, or standards between two or more postsecondary institutions  
  • Implementing learner-friendly practices for transfer credit assessment (e.g., reducing application costs, expediting notifications) 
  • Innovating new methods for the assessment of course equivalencies, the recognition of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR), or the stackability of micro-credentials  
  • Developing or expanding programs that help transfer students achieve greater levels of academic success and personal satisfaction with their postsecondary experiences 
  • Enhancing the equity, transparency, and accessibility of transfer-related policies and practices

Eligibility

  • Two 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 $25,000 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 $25,000 and a maximum of $150,000 in funding for the project.  
  • For projects involving eight or more postsecondary institutions, contact Nick Hanson, Director of Research, Data, and Funding. 
  • Review the Budget Guidelines for information about eligible expenses. 

Applications

  • You must submit your application via ONCAT’s online funding portal. 
  • Applications are due by 4:00 pm on February 6, 2025. 
  • We encourage you to allow sufficient time before the deadline to familiarize yourself with the online grant portal and to secure authorizations from senior administrators at your institution. 
Click here to apply for ONCAT grants

Assessment 

Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria: 

  • Clarity: The compelling rationale for the project and the detailed description of the project’s activities. 
  • Impact: The potential for the project to create transformative and measurable change for Ontario learners.  
  • Feasibility: The appropriateness of the timeline and budget to support the proposed activities. 
  • Sustainability/Scalability: The viability of maintaining or continuing the outcomes of the project’s activities at your institutions and/or replicating the project’s activities across additional postsecondary institutions or the entire postsecondary sector. 

Contact Us

  • 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.