Decision Criteria and Process Requirements to Establish Exceptions to Industry Contributions

The Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP) is a DFO initiative to improve the competitiveness of a sustainable Canadian aquaculture industry by increasing the level of collaborative research and development activity between the aquaculture industry and the department, and other key partners.  The program has been operating since 2000. 

While the industry has grown considerably, some sectors have not fully matured or achieved stability in the production of many species.  The ratio for the industry contribution (7.5% in-cash and 22.5% in-kind of the ACRDP amount requested) has been difficult to attain in some situations. 

The industry contribution component of the program needs to be adjusted to reflect the current state of the aquaculture industry by allowing, under specified conditions, for exceptions to the level of industry contribution. 

To be granted exception status, an ACRDP proposal seeking a reduced cash contribution:

• must be submitted by an industry association or a group representing the majority of industry in a sector* to ensure that it is a high priority and is likely to have a broad impact on the industry as a whole;
• must provide justification for the request for exception;
• must be tabled through a regional ACRDP committee and obtain its approval and recommendation;
• must be reviewed and approved by a three-person subcommittee established by the ACRDP National Steering Committee (one federal, one provincial and one industry representative) to ensure harmonization and consistency in application of the exception criteria; and
• must commit the proponent to a minimum of 3% cash contribution, while the in-kind contributions remain the same at a minimum of 22.5%.

In applying these criteria, regional committees will ensure that:

• a maximum of 20% of the regional budgets can be allocated for projects with industry exceptions;
• a 30% overall industry contribution for the region is maintained; and
• proposals that fall under the exception category remain part of the national “roll-up” statistics.

Criteria for exceptions and process requirements will be reviewed and revised, as required, after one year.

* If an industry association does not exist for a particular sector (i.e., emerging species), the industry applicant can provide two letters of support from other growers or farmers, along with the application for funding to help demonstrate the potential for impact on the industry at a broad level. In the case where only the applicant has shown interest in the species, the ACRDP Regional Committee may choose to provide a justification for supporting the proposal based on expected demand and forward it to the ACRDP National Steering Committee subcommittee for consideration.