Deadline: August 29, 2022 by 5:00 pm
Ontario Creates Interactive Digital Media (IDM) Fund 2022-23
Applications are now open for the Ontario Creates Interactive Digital Media (IDM) Fund 2022-23 Concept Definition and Production programs. The Fund provide IDM content creators with funding for high quality, original interactive digital media content projects that make a positive contribution to the Ontario economy.
- Concept Definition – support for early-stage activities that will assist the applicant company in moving towards the production of a market-ready content project.
- Production – support for the creation of a market-ready content project that will be released to end users.
The objectives of the IDM Fund are to:
- support the creation of high quality, original, interactive digital media content
projects* by Ontario companies for commercial exploitation; - assist in capitalizing Ontario content companies creating interactive digital content
projects*; and - contribute to the financing of projects that make a positive contribution to the Ontario
economy.
The IDM Fund Production and Concept Definition programs consist of two streams:
- Interactive Content (Non-Linear)
- Video Content (Linear)
The Ontario Creates IDM Fund – Interactive Content (Non-Linear) program provides IDM content creators with funding for activities related to the creation of interactive content. The Ontario Creates IDM Fund – Video Content (Linear) program provides IDM content creators with funding for activities related to the creation of digital first content which is intended to be accessed in a linear fashion.
AVAILABLE FUNDS – Ontario Creates Interactive Digital Media (IDM) Fund 2022-23
Successful applicants are eligible to receive a non-refundable contribution of up to 50% of eligible Ontario expenses as follows:
Concept Definition
- Maximum request = $50,000
- Minimum request = $10,000
Production
- Maximum request = $300,000
- Minimum request = $25,000
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
Applications will be accepted from established and new content creation companies.
Established Companies must meet one of the following tests:
- at least 25% of the company’s revenue or 50% of the company’s expenditures over the
previous two fiscal years comes from the creation of screen-based content projects;
or - at least 50% of the company’s revenue over the previous two fiscal years comes from
eligible publishing activities as described in the Ontario Creates Book Fund and
Ontario Creates Magazine Fund.
They must also have at least one owner or full-time employee with a minimum full-time
equivalent of three years of experience in the creation of professional, commercialized
content for interactive platforms, networks or devices.
A company is considered new if it has less than a year of operation or it has not yet released a product. New companies must:
- have an executive team including at least one owner or full-time employee with a
minimum full-time equivalent of three years of experience (1) in the creation of
professional, commercialized content for interactive platforms, networks or devices or
(2) in the publishing industries; - be majority-owned by individuals that have a recent track record of working in
Ontario; - be prepared to incorporate immediately if their application is successful; and
- meet the relevant eligibility criteria for established companies on incorporation.
ELIGIBLE PROJECTS
The IDM Fund – Interactive Content (Non-Linear) stream consists of two programs to support content creation activities:
- Concept Definition will support early-stage activities that take place prior to and assist the applicant company in preparing for full production of an interactive content project. The types of activities that may be supported include but are not limited to prototype creation, preparation of pre-production documents and pitch material, business planning and research.
- Production will support the creation of market-ready interactive content projects that will be made publicly available to an audience on a digital media platform, network or device that is capable of interactivity. The types of projects that may be supported include but are not limited to video games, mobile content apps, e-learning content, XR experiences with substantial interactive content, digital publishing projects and other web properties.
To be eligible for the Ontario Creates IDM Fund the content project that is the subject of the application must be proprietary content, Content is considered proprietary if the applicant company is the originator of the project, the majority holder of copyright and/or has obtained copyright permission to adapt any material for the project. The applicant company must own at least 51% of the copyright of the project that is being submitted and must be able to demonstrate that their revenue share is in appropriate proportion to the ownership of the project and reflects industry standard practices. Projects that are equally owned by two companies (50/50 share) that meet the eligibility criteria will also be considered eligible.
APPLICATION PROCESS
- All applications must be submitted via the Ontario Creates Online Application Portal (OAP).
- Applications submitted by any other method will not be accepted.
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to start the application process well in advance of the deadline in case technical support is required.
- Prior to starting an application, your company’s corporate information must be registered with the OAP. If you do not have a user account on OAP, please go to https://apply.ontariocreates.ca and click on “Register”.
- If your company is registered, the Ontario Creates IDM Fund program deadline will appear in your dashboard. To start the application, click on “Start new application” and follow the onscreen directions to access the application form.
- If you encounter problems setting up your company’s corporate information, you can email [email protected] for assistance. This email address can also be used for any technical questions you have about the OAP.
