Social Innovation Project Grants

 This call is for City of Vancouver funding only.

This year, there are two areas of focus for the Social Innovation Project Grants:

• Vancouver's efforts to become an age-friendly city
• Dignity and Healthy Food in Vancouver's Food System

Proposed projects may focus on one or both focus areas, if applying for both, you may submit two distinct projects for each focus, or one project that impacts both areas.

For more detailed information on eligibility and the type of projects we are looking for, download the information sheet PDF file (247 KB).

What is a socially-innovative approach?

There is no single, universally-agreed upon definition of social innovation. In general, a socially innovative approach:

• Addresses social issues by applying new learning and strategies to positively affect change
• Has a measurable impact on the broader social, political, and economic contexts that created or support continuation of the issue being addressed
• Is designed to explore what might work to trigger longer term systems, rather than implementing “program models” with known actions and clear end points
• Recognizes that, while the long-term goals of a social innovation might be well defined, the path to achieving those goals may be much less clear

In the context of Indigenous communities, "social innovation" may often take the form of looking back to old traditions and rediscovering how those teachings show Indigenous communities the way forward.

What is the amount of a SIP grant?

The total budget for the 2019 SIP grant stream is $200,000, of which $168,000 is allocated to age-friendly social innovation, and $32,000 is dedicated to food systems innovation.

The number of projects we will fund - and, therefore, the size of any one grant - is not predetermined, but will be considered in context of the number and quality of applications received.

Example: In 2018 the Social Innovation Project funded four projects at $30,000, $32,000, $38,000 and $100,000. Find details of the funded projects in the report presented to City Council in December 2018:

• Funded projects online at 2018 Social Innovation Project and Other Social Grants PDF file (100 KB)​