CALL FOR PROJECTS
Are you leading an innovative project in the food systems sector?
Join our next Collision cohort!
Date limite pour candidater : 15 janvier 2023
⚠ This call for projects has been closed. To stay in touch, subscribe to our newsletters!
In partnership with
Early stage
4 workshops
30 hours of coaching
+3 months
Structure your project, validate your impact!
By joining Esplanade Québec’s Collision program, you get:
Up to 30 hours of coaching by experts in your sector: 15 hours of semi-personalized facilitation and 15 hours of customized coaching
Tools and resources to help you structure your project
Increased visibility on the Esplanade’s web platforms
An access to our privileged partners* in the food systems sector to prepare pilot projects or technological showcases in real environments
Support for the Esplanade Innovation and Impact Entrepreneurship Community
Leave the program with…
A validated proof of concept
An innovative business model
An impact strategy
An experimentation plan for your prototype
Connect with key partners in the food systems sector
You will be able to…
Have the opportunity to conduct a field test or pilot project with a partner institution or organization
Be introduced to a potential partner, depending on the nature of your project, for discussions about it
Benefit from the expertise of experts in the sector, in particular during expertise clinics or midday conferences in the courses
Meet key players in the Quebec food systems community
Eligibility and general information
Who is this program for?
Collision is a 3-month program combining group workshops and personalized coaching, developed by Esplanade Quebec, the first accelerator for social and environmental impact entrepreneurs in Quebec.
For this 11th Collision cohort, we are looking for 8 to 10 entrepreneurial teams developing food systems solutions.
This program is for you if:
You have an entrepreneurial project, whether you are an NPO, a cooperative, a corporation (inc.) or other, or whether you are a professional or a researcher in an intra/entrepreneurial process
Your project is in the early stage (you have completed your ideation phase and are ready to validate your proof of concept)
Your team is located in Quebec
Your project responds in an innovative, efficient and realistic manner to an identified problem or need in the food systems sector, either by:
a technological innovation (hardware or software)
an organizational innovation and changes in practices
or a social innovation.
We encourage anyone from a marginalized or under-represented community to submit a project, including women, Aboriginal people, visible minorities, or people living with a disability.
Please feel free to let us know if you belong to any of the above groups, and/or if you have a disability that requires special accommodations, should you be selected for the course. Please be assured that we will treat this information as confidential.
What sectors of activity are targeted by the call for projects?
For this cohort, we are specifically looking for impact projects that address the following issues:
Environment
Preservation of resources and biodiversity in the face of agriculture
Food waste reduction, management and reuse
Decarbonization of the plate (from farm to fork)
Reuse, reduction and substitution of packaging and containers
Health and Nutrition
Education on healthy and sustainable eating habits
Access to healthy eating habits
Fight against under-nutrition and obesity
Alternative to the use of dangerous pesticides
Socio-economic
Food sovereignty and relocation
Better traceability and transparency in the bio-food sector
Fight against precariousness in the bio-food industry
Fair sourcing
Preservation of cultural diversity and food heritages
*These are the main issues targeted by this call for projects, but we invite all project leaders aiming to have a significant impact on the theme of food systems to submit an application.
What is the Collision program?
A personalized accompaniment over several months
Intensive Final Selection Bootcamp: 2 days where teams are put into action on the Impact Gaps Canvas
Up to 30 hours of coaching: 15 hours of semi-personalized facilitation and 15 hours of customized coaching by experts in your sector
4 workshops on tools developed by our impact entrepreneurship experts, directly applied to your project
The coaching will lead you to work on these skills:
Understanding your ecosystem
Map your ecosystem to better understand your place in it and identify partners
Validate your solution with your users
Confront your ideas to develop a solution that meets the real needs of your users
Build your roadmap to impact
Articulate your business model to achieve the impact you want to generate
Structure your action plan
Identify your minimum viable product and develop a clear action plan for your impact project
Following the workshops, your team will be connected with a senior business coach and an expert team. These coaches and experts will provide you with hours of personalized coaching, tailored to your goals and your sector. These hours can be spread out between April and July 2023, depending on your availability.
What are the dates to remember?
Call for projects
November 28 to January 15
Information Session
December 14Pre-selection
January 17
Final selection bootcamp
February 2-3
Beginning of the program
February 17
The bootcamp will be held in person in Montreal. The workshops (online) will be held on Friday mornings from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm on the following dates:
Workshop 1
Understand your ecosystem
February 17
Workshop 2
Validate your solution with your users
March 10
Workshop 3
Build your roadmap to impact
March 31
Workshop 4
Structuring your action plan
April 14
Following the workshops, your team will be connected with a senior business coach and an expert team. These coaches and experts will provide you with hours of personalized coaching, tailored to your goals and your sector. These hours can be spread out between April and July 2023, depending on your availability.
How are projects selected?
Selection process
The selection process takes place in 2 phases:
Pre-selection on file: a first selection will be made upon receipt of applications. The applications will be analyzed according to the evaluation criteria mentioned below by the Esplanade team and our sectoral partners.
Final Selection Bootcamp: Up to 15 projects will then be invited to participate in the bootcamp. Teams will be put into action on the Impact Gaps Canvas present their pitch to a panel of judges. Following the bootcamp, up to 10 projects will be selected to participate in the full Collision program.
The final decision of the jury will be communicated to you during the week of February 6 at the latest.
Evaluation criteria
We select projects based on the quality and potential of their impact, as well as on the team’s ability to carry the project and make it grow. We pay attention to:
Expertise (business experience and domain knowledge) of the team
Degree of innovation of the project and differentiating and complementary value proposition in the ecosystem
The relevance and realism of the proposed project for the food systems sector
Potential social and environmental impact on identified communities
Level of commitment and motivation of the entrepreneurial team, ability to question themselves
Stage of development of the solution, degree of validation of the proof of concept
Articulated integration of impact into the value proposition
How much is it?
Thanks to its financial partners, the Esplanade covers nearly 95% of the costs of the program. Once selected, participating organizations will have to pay a residual cost of $350 + taxes per project.
Grants offered by LOJIQ
If you are between the ages of 18 and 35, you may be eligible for financial support from the Offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec (LOJIQ) to cover part of the registration fees and obtain a lump sum for the participation of your team members (several conditions apply).
For more information, visit their website.
The program manager
The Collision program is managed by Solenne Savoia.
You can write to her at [email protected].
Our sponsors and partners for the Food Systems Unit
About us
Esplanade Quebec is the first impact entrepreneur accelerator in Quebec, with a mission to catalyze a community of entrepreneurs, innovators and organizations to collectively address social and environmental challenges, and to support them in sustaining their solutions and maximizing their impact.
The Esplanade is developing several support programs for impact companies, from start-up to scale-up, and Acceleration is its flagship program with 9 cohorts completed since 2016 and 69 companies accelerated.
