You’ve been approved for Market Development Cost-Shared Funding. Now what?

Congratulations on your successful application, and welcome to the Market Development Cost-Share Funding Resource Hub.

Implement your Market Development project like a pro, with our guides, templates and more!

Here, you will find a step by step outline of your responsibilities as a Funding Recipient and all of the information needed to successfully manage your funded project. If you still have questions after reviewing the content of this resource, please don’t hesitate to contact our Program Delivery team.

Don’t have a Market Devleopment Funded Project?

If your project number looks like MD###, you’re in the right place. If it is INV###, BBC### or something similar, you’re on the wrong page. Go to our Project Resource Hub home page to navigate to the correct resource.

Important Information

We strongly recommend you take a few minutes to review the information below – even if you have received funding in the past.  A few minutes now could save you time and money in the future. Please pay special attention to Step 3: Funding Acknowledgement and Step 4: Reporting, as failure to comply with these steps could result in some of your project expenses NOT being reimbursed.

Step 1

Contribution Agreement & EFT

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Step 2

Watch Orientation Video

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Step 3

Learn to Acknowledge Funding

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Step 4

Report on your Project

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Changes

Learn about Project Changes

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Step 1: Contribution Agreement & EFT

Sign the Contribution Agreement

The first step for all funding recipients is to carefully review and return your signed Contribution Agreement (CA) to IAF. This document is your contract, and outlines the terms of the cost-shared funding that you will receive. All CAs will be emailed to you directly from DocuSign.

Set up EFT

If you haven’t already, please set up your Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Having EFT information on file for your project will ensure greater efficiency and at times, faster receipt of payments. The required form and submission instructions can be found in the resources section below.

Step 2: Project Orientation Video

We encourage you to watch the Market Development program orientation presentation. It is approx. six minutes long and walks you through your project’s funding cycle, reporting requirements, as well as the administration of your contribution agreement.

Contact marketdevelopment(at)iafbc.ca after watching if you have any questions.

Step 3: Acknowledge Funding

***All materials must be approved before they’re public!***

As you proceed with your project activities, you are required to appropriately acknowledge the funding partners on all communication materials. IAF is here to support you with information on how to appropriately acknowledge the funders and get your communications materials approved prior to their distribution.

Many projects involve several individuals, organizations, third party contractors and other partners. Please share this information with all those involved in the delivery of your project.

All project communications, materials, and products are required to acknowledge funding; this means that proofs/copies of these materials (including social media posts) must be submitted to IAF Communications (communications(at)iafbc.ca) prior to release for review and approval. The approval is granted by the funders, with the process being facilitated by IAF. Therefore, we require you to submit the material 4 weeks to 10 days prior to it being needed, depending on the material.

Please know that it is your responsibility – as the funding recipient – to ensure that all project related communication and marketing materials contain correct funding acknowledgments and are pre-approved prior to release. Failure to seek prior approval will result in the costs not being reimbursed. Retro-active approvals will not be considered.

IAF has drafted a template to assist you with the management of your communications approvals, please refer to the Communications Approval sheet in your Project Reporting Document for further information.

Design Material

Design project materials, include appropriate logos and / or credit line.

Submit Materials

Submit your materials to IAF by email at least 10 days in advance. IAF submits to funder for review.

Address Feedback

IAF will provide you with the feedback received from the funding partners. If required, you may need to edit your material and re-submit for approval.

Approval

Once the material has been approved by the funder IAF will email you with confirmation that the material is approved for use.

Use Materials

Once the approval has been given you are free to use the materials as described in your project activities.

How to acknowledge funding:

Depending on the item, funding acknowledgement can appear in a few ways. Generally, you will be asked to include a combination of logo, credit line, and disclaimer; or nothing at all. You must submit proofs of all communications or marketing materials to be cost-shared (before they are produced) to IAF’s Communications Team. They will tell you which materials require both a logo and credit line. Communications Approval must be received before your expense can be produced, used, or reimbursed. Please note, some materials also require a disclaimer statement.

Typically, we recommend the acknowledgement appears near the front of a report or publication, at the bottom of the table of contents, an acknowledgement page or similar.

The logos (aka. Graphic Identifiers) must be used on the majority marketing, promotional and communication materials.  This includes newsletters, event invitations, press releases, announcements, public reports, advertisements, flyers, posters, brochures, and related marketing, promotional and communication materials – unless they fall under one of the major exceptions below.

Logos should be omitted from items like stickers, sell sheets, in-store displays and shelf talkers (although you MUST SUBMIT DRAFT PROOFS for approval, regardless of the logo being omitted)

In addition to the logos, a credit should also be included in reports and other publications. See the credit line tab for further details.

Reminder: All materials require approval by IAF prior to printing/production/distribution.

Need the logos? Please refer to the resources section below. There you will find a link to download a .zip file with a variety of logos you may require. If you are unable to download a .zip file (due to firewall or similar), please contact the Comms Team and we’ll forward you the logos.

CAP logos

PLEASE NOTE: When you use the above logo the Province of BC requires a completed 3rd Party Use form be submitted with the material. You can find a fillable PDF version of the form in the resources section.

In addition to the logos, the credit line should also be included in reports and other publications.

For brochures, advertising, posters or displays, a written statements may not be required. The Comms Team can clarify prior to development, or upon submission of materials for approval.

There are a couple of credit line samples provide for inclusion in publications and communication materials. Please advise the Comms Team if you would like to modify the credit lines.

Credit Line Samples

Funding for this project has been provided by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The program is delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

OR

This project is supported by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The program is delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

NOTE: Exemptions to using the credit line may be made when the amount of space is limited and/or it may not be suitable. Please contact the IAF Communications Team for more details.

Disclaimers statements are required in reports and other publications, especially when they contain recommendations and opinions. Disclaimer statement:

Opinions expressed in this document are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Governments of Canada and British Columbia or the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. The Governments of Canada and British Columbia, and the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC, and their directors, agents, employees, or contractors will not be liable for any claims, damages, or losses of any kind whatsoever arising out of the use of, or reliance upon, this information.

Typically, we recommend this statement appears near the front of a report or publication, at the bottom of an acknowledgement page or similar.

The Federal and Provincial funding partners will likely announce their investment in your project (i.e. through a media release). Until this media release is published no public announcement about your project / the funding amount is allowed. Unfortunately, the IAF Comms Team doesn’t know when the funders will send make their announcement. In past funding cycles they have made announcements coinciding with the start of the projects or in others made announcements months after the project was completed.

If you would like to announce your project prior to the media release, the funders may allow client-led funding announcements. If this is something you would like to pursue please contact the Comms Team with your proposed announcement and we will facilitate the approval process.

Reports created through the BC Agrifood & Seafood Market Development program must contain proper funding acknowledgement. This may include things such as: marketing plans, social media strategies, market development reports, and more.

Reports must include a credit line, disclaimer, and funding logos. These three items are displayed together on a single page near the beginning of the report.

Please note: General advertising and social media activity does not always require funding acknowledgement but posts that are project specific do. These include posts that share information about your project or project activities.

General Social Media:

Although not all social activity requires funding acknowledgement, if a social media campaign is part of your funded project a sample of social media posts from across various platforms must be submitted. Video is not included in your social media sample. Videos and video posts must be submitted separately.

Social Samples:

  • Are submitted once per reporting period, or once per quarter/three months.
  • These may be submitted as screenshots or as compiled documents.
  • 3-5 examples per period is sufficient.
  • The sample must be representative of the platforms you use.
  • This sample must be representative of the sample period. For example, four winter holiday posts would not be an acceptable sample for a period of October – December, because they do not reflect that timeframe accurately.
Project Specific Posts:
Simple Post

This includes non-video posts, ads and gifs. A simple post is defined as a post with just text or text and an image with NO TEXT OVERLAY. What to include:

  1. Must use: #CdnAgPartnership and @AAFC_Canada (twitter) or @CanadianAgriculture (facebook) in the text
  2. NOT REQUIRED to use the Logos on the image
Embedded Text Post

For this program an embedded text post is defined as a post with text overlay or embedded text (i.e. it’s not just a simple picture, that picture has text too). What to include:

  1. Must use: #CdnAgPartnership and @AAFC_Canada (twitter) or @CanadianAgriculture (facebook) in the text
  2. REQUIRED to use the Logos on the image

Please send ALL of your social media content to the Comms Team prior to posting for approval.

Announcements

We understand you may be interested in sharing your project funding or details on your social media accounts. This action constitutes a ‘public announcement’ and requires advanced approval. Generally speaking, the government funding partners prefer to announce the projects themselves, but it’s not uncommon for approval to be given to allow a client-led announcement or social media post. Contact the Communications Team for additional details or to request a client-led announcement. Note: the social media campaign/activities approved as a part of your application are NOT announcements, please proceed as outlined.

Exceptions to Funding Acknowledgement:

There are exceptions to funding acknowledgement for the BC Agrifood & Seafood Market Development Program depending on the type of item and content. Please reach out early if you would like guidance on what should be used. There are two exceptions to funding acknowledgement that many things fall into:

Promotional/Marketing Activity that is shared directly with a consumer/buyer
  • These items should have no funding acknowledgement. These usually include things such as mailed flyers, newsletters, targeted social and google ads, point-of-purchase displays, product labels/packaging, video/radio/tv ads, and others. These should still be submitted for approval. Items that have not received communications approval cannot be cost shared.
The items are to be shared with a foreign market (outside Canada)
  • These items should have no funding acknowledgement. They should still be submitted for communications approval.

Submitting Materials:

Please submit all project-related marketing / communication materials and products to IAF’s Communications Team prior to printing and distribution. IAF will coordinate the necessary approvals with the Program Funders.

It is important to provide materials to staff well in advance of your distribution deadline, as it can take some time to review. The approval process can take ten business days or longer, depending on the type of material being reviewed. We recommend you submit materials four weeks to ten business days in advance.

  1. You design the comms materials – ads, reports, packages, etc. Anything that is a part of your project.
  2. You forward the materials to communications@iafbc.ca
    1. Please use this format for your subject line: MD###_ITEMDESCTIPTION_CompanyName
  3. IAF’s communications team reviews the items and do one of three things: approve it, ask for edits, or forward it on for funder approval.
  4. From there, you will either be approved or asked to complete edits and resubmit for approval.
  5. Once approved, mark down your approval date in the report tracker, and use the item!

Have Funding Acknowledgement Questions?

Not sure what to do with a certain marketing material? Where to put the logo and credit line on your report? What’s a 3rd Party Use Form?

We understand, it’s a lot of details. The Comms Team is here to help. Drop us a line at communications(at)iafbc.ca with your project number (MD###) in the subject line.

Step 4: Project Reporting

Send all expense claim documents to marketdevelopment(at)iafbc.ca.

Please include your project number MD### in the subject line.

Deadlines for submitting claim reports are unique to your project and are noted in your Contribution Agreement Schedule “A”. Your project’s Financial Reporting Template (Excel Document), will be used to summarize expenditures and invoices that you wish to claim under your project.

Email completed expense claims to marketdevelopment@iafbc.ca. Please include:

  • Signed copy of Excel reporting template with payment information;
  • Copies of all paid invoices to be claimed, labelled with Line Item #

Failure to meet reporting deadlines as outlined in your funding contract may result in early termination of your project.

CHECKLIST
  1. Is the expense you wish to claim in your approved project budget? If not, do not include it.
  2. Do you have Communications Approval from IAF for all marketing collateral, promotional materials or marketing content (including ads) to be claimed?
  3. Are invoice numbers, dates and payment information provided for each claimed expense listed in your Financial Reporting template?
  4. Have you included copies of all invoices/receipts to be claimed? Is each invoice/receipt labelled with corresponding line number?
  5. Have a signature and date been added to your Financial Reporting Template?
  6. If applicable, have you also included copies of deliverables for any market research or market planning activities completed?

On average, it takes 4 weeks after submitting your expense claim for your report to be processed. Report payments will be issued thereafter. Payments made through EFT be issued within 1-2 weeks of your report being processed. Payments issued by cheque could take up to 4-6 weeks to be received by mail.

All invoices must be:

  • Dated within the Start and End dates of your Contribution Agreement; exceptions will be made for advanced deposits on tradeshow booths.
  • Total amount to be claimed must exclude GST.
  • Submitted in English
  • Converted to Canadian Dollars (Please use Bank of Canada rate for invoiced date, and label invoice with conversion rate)

All invoices must have payment information to be eligible for cost-sharing. Your claim report must provide cheque number /EFT reference number/ authorization number on the Financial Reporting tab when emailed to marketdevelopment@iafbc.ca.

If proof of payment or backup is requested from IAF, you will need to provide one of the following:

  • Electronic image (picture), scanned copy or screenshot of cheque/authorization;
  • Statement from banking institution indicating to whom the processed cheque was written, or electronic payment made, and for what amount; or,
  • Credit or debit card receipt or statement clearly identifying amount and payment recipient. Credit or debit card numbers and other information, including costs unrelated to the project, should be blacked out

A completed Activity Report must be included with your project’s final expense claim. The final activity reporting requirements for your project are outlined in your project’s Reporting Template (Tab #3); we recommend that you track your activities throughout the year! Please note, IAF cannot release a final payment until this report has been completed.

You may forfeit your cost-shared funding if you do not complete the project according to the timelines given in the Contribution Agreement. If your project is behind schedule or an issue has come up that will impact your project deliverables, contact your Project Manager as soon as possible.

Project changes will only be considered under extenuating circumstances; please review information below.

Resources

Funding Acknowledgement Requirements PDF

Download the funding acknowledgment requirements specific to the Market Development Program here.

3rd Party Use Form

Complete this form and include with materials that include the logos being submitted for comms approval.

CAP Funding Recognition Logos

NOTE: This is a .zip folder containing various versions of the logo for your use. Please contact communications(at)iafbc.ca if you are unable to download/open a .zip folder.

EFT Application

Download the Electronic Funds Transfer Application (PDF)

Reporting Template

Can’t find your unique reporting template? Contact your project manager to have it re-sent.

2022-23 Program Guide

Can’t remember all the program details or (in)eligible activities? Here’s the guidelines.

Project Changes

Have a change to your project?

The IAF team realizes that not all projects can go according to plan. Therefore, under extenuating circumstances we will allow you one opportunity (!) during the lifetime of your project, to revise your budget and/or activities from the contract agreement. Project changes need to be approved by IAF in advance. However, minor budget reallocation can happen without pre-approval.

  • A key team member on the project became very ill and you cannot complete the project
  • Your property suffered a major fire
  • An event was cancelled*
  • Natural disaster

*Note: If a company has decided to include events in their project this year, they did so knowing there was a risk of cancellation involved due to COVID-19 or on-going restrictions. Only one change request will be allowed for your project.

IAF defines a project change to be a substantial change to your project’s activities and / or budget resulting from an extenuating circumstance. For example:

  • A change to your budget that requires adding a new Activity Category;
  • Movement of funds between different Activity Categories in your budget. For example: A tradeshow is cancelled, so you propose moving this budget amount to increase the approved total for social media advertising;
  • An activity was cancelled that forced you to reduce project spending and decommit the funds (confirmation must be given in writing).

A change request must be submitted to IAF by email, which details the extenuating circumstance and change to your project as noted above. Activities undertaken that have not been pre-approved are not eligible for funding.

A minor budget change or reallocation occurs within an approved Activity Category. For example: activity delay pushes timeline into the next quarter; your service provider has changed; changing to Facebook advertising vs. Instagram (but total Advertising costs do not exceed maximum approved for project) etc.

These budget reallocations are not defined as a project change and you are only required to notify IAF at the time you submit your next financial (claim) report.

You are able to claim project expenditures to the maximum budget approved for that Activity Category, provided:

  1. the expense is eligible (see Program Guide)
  2. the expense will take place within your project start/end date
  3. the appropriate communications approvals (as applicable) are received in advance of the expenditure
  4. funding caps for the program are not exceeded (see Program Guide)

Your project’s Financial Reporting Template will provide a summary of the maximum budget approved for each Activity Category. Note: IAF reserves the right not to reimburse funds that have been reallocated outside of these terms.

What to send to the IAF Team

When contacting the IAF team to discuss a project change, please detail the changes you would like to request within your approved budget document, this will allow us to better facilitate your request. More specifically, make a copy of the approved budget doc, edit the excel to reflect the changes you’d like to request, and send that to the Team with a short explanation.

Frequently Asked Questions

To be eligible under the B.C. Agri-food and Seafood Market Development Program, an application must include one or more activity from the following four cost categories. For Export Development Activities, all products must be market ready.

Market Information and Research
  • Hiring a pre-qualified consultant to conduct market research studies, including primary and secondary data collection
  • Purchase existing market research studies or data from qualified research firms
Market Development Planning
  • Hiring a pre-qualified consultant to develop a marketing plan, an export plan and/or a branding strategy
Market Skills Training
  • Supporting permanent marketing staff to complete marketing skills training courses at educational institutions
  • Supporting the ability of industry associations to deliver Marketing Skills Development workshops and seminars to their members
Export Development Activities
Paid Advertising
  • Delivery of promotional marketing in print, radio, television, paper direct mail and digital advertising to promote specific products in export markets
  • Hiring a third-party social media contractor for community management, social outreach, content curation, and analytics to promote specific products in export markets
Print/Online Collateral
  • Hiring a third-party contractor to design, develop, translate, print and/or produce brochures, rack cards, flat sheets, shelf-talkers, wobblers etc. to promote specific products in export markets
  • Incremental c0sts for adding specific export-focused elements to website content; can include addition of a landing page, designing, developing, translating content for international markets, up to a maximum of $5,000
Trade Shows, Food Fairs, Sales Exhibitions
  • Basic travel and accommodation expenses to attend the event for a maximum of two staff representatives
  • Virtual tradeshow registration fees
  • Booth registration fees; basic booth accessories (power, table, chair, carpet); pop-up booth rental cost
  • Cost to ship samples to the show
  • Hiring an interpreter or third-party contractor for the duration of the show
  • NEW! Funding cap: Maximum$20,000 total funding for tradeshow attendance ; $5,000 for all travel-related costs for the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
Buyers’ Meetings
  • Hiring an interpreter for the meetings, cost of shipping samples, basic travel and accommodation expenses for up to two staff representatives
  • NEW! For 2021-2022, all buyers’ meetings must be directly tied to attendance at a tradeshow. Buyers’ meetings cannot be a stand alone activity in a project. A detailed trip itinerary is required if your travel extends beyond two days of tradeshow.
Government-led Trade Missions, Trade Advocacy and Networking Events

Cost of shipping product samples, travel and accommodation expenses for up to two company representatives

Market Access Activities

  • Travel and accommodation for representatives of foreign governments in association with federal Market Access Secretariat activities
  • In-Store Retail, Restaurant, Food Service Promotions/ Demonstrations
  • Hiring a contractor to provide promotion or demonstration services which includes cost of renting space (if applicable)
  • Rental of pop-up booth
  • Equipment rentals
  • Purchase of plastic or compostable serving utensils and cups

The following activities and costs are not eligible for reimbursement:
  • Tradeshow fees exceeding $20,000 (funding contribution) for one application
  • Tradeshow attendance for more than two shows per application
  • Meals and per diems
  • Buyers’ meetings as a standalone activity (i.e. not directly related to tradeshow attendance)
  • Accommodation and travel expenses exceeding basic room rates and taxes. Room service, mini-bar, movies, spa treatments, business & first-class flights, hotels exceeding 3-star rates are not eligible expenses.
  • Activities started before approved project start date, some exceptions may apply with respect to deposits
  • Costs associated with obtaining product certifications or related fees that are required to enter a new market
  • Market research and planning not carried out by a pre-qualified consultant
  • Cost of product samples
  • General administrative and operational costs such as: Salaries (including project management, coordination, or project delivery, including social media, by salaried staff); Packaging/product materials or labels, equipment, office expenses, business cards, rent and other on-going costs related to day-to-day business incurred by the applicant, or firms represented by the applicant(hiring staff, holding a conference or annual meeting, etc.);
  • Costs associated with giveaways or promotional products planned for re-sale such as branded glasses, coasters, buttons, bags, clothing, aprons, etc.
  • Expenses for attending consumer-focused tradeshows or events
  • General industry events that are not specifically focused on market development, such as annual general meetings
  • Costs associated with developing and submitting applications
  • Any activities that may be considered to denigrate other products, commodities or regions (e.g. farmed vs. wild salmon; organic vs. conventional agriculture)
  • Costs where the payee is a government (i.e. government of B.C., Canada, etc.)
  • Product and (new) brand development
  • Capital costs including: Land, buildings, fences, equipment, tools, packaging plate costs, seed, livestock, computers and software
  • Costs associated with marketing tactics (such as billboard or signage installation, vehicle leasing, brochure display racks)
  • Rental or lease of equipment or facilities, except as it relates to the hosting of pre-approved project related items/events
  • Entertainment and hospitality costs (purchasing meals, beverages, liquor or tips for clients, buyers staff, hiring entertainment or purchasing gifts for clients)
  • Stakeholder engagement or membership drives
  • Professional or membership dues or fees
  • Requesting funds to support or sponsor a third-party activity
  • Costs related to material purchases that can be repurposed (tradeshow booth, cameras, phones, LCD TV displays, furniture etc.)
  • Website and IT system upgrades and building, hosting fees, buying or implementing an e-commerce tool/site
  • Cannabis-related activities
  • Direct income support
  • Lobbying or influencing any level of government

A funding acknowledgement is a way of recognizing that your project activities are being supported by funds provided by the federal and / or provincial government.

The three common items you will be asked to include are funder logos, credit lines and disclaimer statements. Exactly how you recognize this funding depends upon what you are communicating (the content), where you are communicating (geographical location of your audience) and how you are communicating (by what means).

Communication and marketing materials include, but are not limited to: product labels, packaging, menus, shelf danglers, sell sheets, brochures, flyers, product catalogs, print advertising (including billboards and vehicle wraps), posters, pop-up banners, recipe cards, shopping bags, aprons, placemats, static digital adverts, social media posts, press releases, newsletters (including digital and print), web pages, videos, scripts, TV advertising, Radio Advertising, media articles, advertorials, event invitations.

All of these materials, if part of your project, require an approval. Therefore you will need to follow the step-by-step guide for submitting your communications materials for approval.

All communication and marketing materials related to your project need to be approved to ensure that the Government Funders are acknowledged appropriately. They also need to be approved to ensure that funding recognition is applied in a uniform manner across project materials and across projects for the duration of the program.

Still have questions?

We are here to support you through the process. We welcome any questions you may have.

Commonly Used Terms and Definitions

is an online platform that allows you to sign your contribution agreement electronically. No printing or scanning required!

your approved set of activities and corresponding budget, as outlined in your Contribution Agreement.

the approved events, deliverables and/or items to be completed within your approved project

the process for seeking approval of marketing / communications materials produced within the project.

a report detailing project expenditures, claims and outcomes of your funded project.

this program is funded under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal, provincial, territorial initiative. Specifically, the funders of this program are the Government of Canada and the Province of BC.

the organization that is receiving funding from the program

your final report includes a cumulative report on your project activities (tab#3 of your project’s reporting template) and a final expense claim for your completed project.

the Excel document where you will provide information on your project expenses, activities and communications materials for approval.

Funding provided by:

CAP Logo, Province of BC Logo, Government of Canada Logo

Please note: the Government of BC may, from time to time, give instructions to IAF in relation to the delivery and administration of this program. IAF must and will comply with those instructions.