Developing a Stronger Design Culture, Together (4th edition)

In recent years, the Montréal design community has seen the emergence of a number of collectives and collaborative initiatives led by organizations, designers, studios and firms seeking to pool their resources, enhance their visibility and create new opportunities for collaboration. This trend reflects the increasing need to strengthen professional networks, develop new markets and audiences and promote the influence of design—both locally and internationally.

This aligns perfectly with the mission of the Bureau du design, which aims to promote design culture, collaboration, innovation and exposure for Montréal-based talent, while contributing to the city’s economic development and amplifying its status as a UNESCO City of Design.

Building on experience gained during prior Developing a Stronger Design Culture, Together calls for proposals, this renewed edition reflects changes in the design community.

This edition focuses on building networks, strengthening structures and expanding the community’s reach and influence through support for collective initiatives with the potential to generate tangible benefits for the Montréal design ecosystem. Through its focus on design collectives, the call for projects seeks to expand the impact of public investment, strengthen collaborations, broaden the scope of initiatives and create new development opportunities for designers with more limited resources. 

To be selected, projects must contribute to achieving one or more of the following goals: 

1. Strengthen the professional networks within Montréal’s design community by providing opportunities for designers, companies, institutions and other ecosystem stakeholders to meet, exchange ideas and collaborate.
2. Boost the visibility and recognition of Montréal-based design expertise among various audiences by highlighting achievements, know-how and practices that help address contemporary challenges, particularly in the areas of ecological transition, inclusion, resilience and enhancement of living environments.
3. Create new opportunities for professional and economic development by connecting design collectives with potential partners, collaborators, clients and markets.
4. Encourage pooling of resources and implementation of collective initiatives to build emerging organizations’ capacity to take action.
5. Promote the reach and influence of made-in-Montréal design at various levels, both locally and, where appropriate, internationally.

Projects are intended primarily to generate benefits within Montréal. They may also incorporate an international dimension when this contributes tangibly to the goals focused on collaboration, development or outreach, as well as to Montréal’s networking with other members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), more specifically the Cities of Design sub-network. These collaborations may assume various forms, including networking, sharing of expertise, co-creation, experimentation and development of partnerships. The Bureau du design may provide support and guidance to the selected organizations in their efforts to build relationships within the network.

Projects must take place between December 2026 and December 2027.

The total budget for the call for projects is $280,000, to be allocated as follows:

• $230,000 for support of projects conducted mainly in Montréal;
• $50,000 for support of activities with international components.

Activities such as trade shows and exhibitions are not eligible; nor are awards or grant programs. 

As applicable and to the extent possible, activities must prioritize green design and re-use, and must comply with:

• Montréal’s GBA+ Framework (in French);
• the Municipal Universal Accessibility Plan 2024–2030 (in French);
• the Montréal Responsible Procurement Plan 2030 (in French); and
• Montréal’s zero-waste events objective.

This call is aimed at legally constituted non-profit organizations and co-operatives seeking to assemble and lead a collective of designers, studios or firms in startup, consolidation or growth phases as part of a shared project enabling them to pool their resources, increase their reach and create networking and/or professional development opportunities. 

The aim of this approach is to ensure that public funds benefit as many entities as possible and serve as a genuine lever for those with more limited resources, so that they gain momentum, increase their visibility or access new professional opportunities. 

With a view to providing mentorship for its activities, the collective may enlist the support of a more established firm. 

The Bureau du design is open to proposals from all design disciplines and to diverse practices, approaches and formats. Priority will be given to projects that utilize design to drive innovation and the ecological transition, aiming to create—at various scales—more inclusive, resilient and sustainable living environments, and particularly to those focusing on issues specific to Montréal. 

Within Montréal: Projects must help strengthen the network of connections between designers, businesses, institutions and other design ecosystem stakeholders, so as to promote expertise sharing, collaboration and development of joint projects. These connections may also serve to amplify Montréal design practices, create new business opportunities and foster the development of local markets.

International (optional): Projects must leverage the UNESCO Creative Cities Network to promote multilateral sharing of expertise between Montréal and partner cities. This may consist of professional meetings, hosting visits or travel, and co-construction of experimental and innovative projects around shared interests, while opening up opportunities for networking and international market development, where appropriate.

The total budget for the 4th edition of the call for projects is $280,000, taxes included, to be allocated to multiple organizations in the form of financial contributions. 

The contract for the financial contribution will include visibility clauses concerning the Entente de développement culturel de Montréal, and concerning Montréal’s UNESCO City of Design status. 

Non-profit organizations (NPOs) that meet all of the following conditions are eligible: 

• Be legally constituted as a nonprofit organization or co-operative and be entered in the Québec Enterprise Register. 
• Not be considered a commercial or industrial establishment within the meaning of the Municipal Aid Prohibition Act (CQLR, c. I -15).
• Have a mission compatible with that of the Bureau du design, which is part of the Service du développement économique. 
• Have been in operation for more than one year, and have completed at least one project of a similar nature and scale to those specified in this call for projects.
• Operate within the territory of the Montréal Agglomeration or for the benefit of Montréal’s business clientele.
• Comply with the requirements of Title II, Chapter V of the Charter of the French Language (“Francization of Enterprises”).
• Not have a civil servant on its board of directors unless that person is sitting as an observer, except where required by its letters patent.
• Not be listed in the register of enterprises ineligible for public contracts (Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics—RENA).
• Not appear on Montréal’s list of companies with unsatisfactory performance (Liste des firmes à rendement insatisfaisant).

Proposals must be submitted using the standardized application form for this purpose. The form has five sections:

• Information about the organization’s representative.
• Information about the organization.
• Upload of the proposal presentation documents (as described below).
• Upload of the detailed project budget. 
• Upload of the mandatory documents listed on the application form.

Note: Please review the form before preparing your application documents. The use of the City of Montréal's standard templates is mandatory for the following two documents: detailed budget, list of members of the board of directors and resources assigned to the project.

Proposal submission form (in French)

The proposal presentation documents must be structured in four parts as described below. The first three parts must be submitted as a single PDF document, without the financial structure. Part 4, the financial structure, must be submitted using the standardized Excel template provided.

Part 1 (max. 4 pages)

Description of the project

The organization must demonstrate its understanding of the goals of the 4th edition of the call for projects and explain how and to what extent its proposal responds to them. 

Assessment criteria: 

• Networking potential – Does the project help build connections with relevant stakeholders and networks, and does it create opportunities for collaboration that are likely to be sustained over time?
• Business development potential – Does the project help create new professional or commercial opportunities, in particular via access to new partners, networks and markets?
• Outreach potential – Does the project help raise the profile of Montréal design practices and expertise among target audiences, whether locally, nationally or internationally?
• Scope and benefits – Does the project generate tangible benefits for the collective involved and, more broadly, for the Montréal design ecosystem? Does it have the potential to remain viable over time or to extend its reach and influence after completion?
• Originality and added value – Does the project offer a distinctive approach that responds to an identified need and adds value to existing initiatives supporting and promoting made-in-Montréal design?

Part 2 (max. 6 pages)

Description of the organization and its team members

The organization must demonstrate its ability to implement its proposed project by providing:

• Its mission, values and areas of activity;
• Examples of similar previous achievements; and
• An organizational strategy suitable for the project, including:
  • An organizational chart showing the roles of key resources (internal and external resources, as applicable); 
  • Biographies for each key resource, including the project manager (stating training received, years of experience in their current role and similar accomplishments in that role).

Assessment criteria: 

• Does the organization have the expertise needed to complete its proposed project? 
• Is the team assigned to the project appropriate for the methodology and timetable proposed for the project (refer to Part 3)?

Part 3 (max. 4 pages)

Description of the timetable and methodology

The organization must submit an effective timetable and methodology for implementing the project, including: 

• Methods for development, implementation, hosting of activities, communications and accountability reporting;
• A detailed preliminary timetable for the project, including the key steps in the communications process; and
• Performance targets (indicators) for the project for accountability reporting purposes (e.g., type and number of activities, number of participants).

Note: All communications as well as the communications plan must be in French, except for initiatives with an international dimension, as applicable. The communications strategy specific to the project must be designed and implemented by the organization. The Bureau du design is planning only one general announcement regarding the selected projects, plus communications updates specific to each project.

Assessment criteria: 

• Does the methodology appear to be optimal for implementing and promoting the proposed project? 
• Does the timetable seem realistic? 
• Are the performance indicators relevant and ambitious?

Part 4 — Description of the financial structure (separate document)

The organization must submit a detailed financial structure, including the contributions of other partners and collaborators, as applicable. The structure must include a breakdown by stage and by expenditure item—use the standardized budget template provided.

 

Notes: 

• The financial contribution from the City of Montréal must not exceed 75% of the total project value.
• Basic reception costs are eligible. Public funds cannot be used, however, for purchase of alcohol, hiring of a DJ or other party-related expenses. 
• Travel expenses must not exceed 15% of the total project value. 
• Management fees must not exceed 5% of the total project value. 
• Contingency costs (unforeseen costs) must not exceed 5% of the total project value. 
• Self-generated income (e.g., from admission fees or sponsorships) must be itemized in the standardized budget.

Assessment criteria: 

• Does the financial structure appear to meet the needs of the proposed project, given the proposed methodology and resources? 
• Does the financial breakdown by stages / expenditure items seem consistent with the effort described in the methodology and timetable? 

Selection committee

• The selection committee will be made up of commissioners from the City of Montréal’s Bureau du design plus a representative of the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications.

Steps of the selection process

• Eligibility: The Service du développement économique will verify the eligibility of the applicant organizations.
• Analysis: The committee will examine the proposals deemed eligible using the assessment criteria matrix above, and establish the list of proposals chosen for the next step—the interview. 
• Interview: The selected organizations will be invited to a 30-minute online interview. Their representatives will have the opportunity to present their proposals orally and interact with the committee members, answering more detailed questions or reframing certain aspects of their proposals so that they tie in better with the goals of the calls for projects, the stated criteria and the available funding amounts.
• Final selection: After the interviews, the committee will make its final selection of projects and issue recommendations for funding allocation. The organizations will be informed of these recommendations, after which they may decide to move on to the next step.
• Contractual agreements: For each selected project, a standard City of Montréal contract for financial contribution must be signed by the parties. The contracts will be submitted for approval by the relevant decision-making bodies, after which the work may begin.

Budget allocation

• The allocation process will seek to achieve diversity of initiatives and to support at least one project with an international dimension.
• If there are too few eligible proposals or if they do not meet the specified criteria, the city may forgo awarding the full amount of funding available under this call for projects. After the interview stage with selected applicants, the parties may also agree on budget variations.

• Launch of call for projects: September 9, 2026
• Submission deadline: October 12, 2026, 11:59 p.m.
• Proposal analysis: week of October 12, 2026
• Interviews: week of October 19, 2026
• Final selection: week of October 19, 2026
• Preparation and signature of agreements: week of October 26, 2026
• Approval by decision-making bodies: November 2026
• Follow-up of activities: continuous, from December 2026 to December 2027
• Summary of activities: winter 2027

An online information session via TEAMS (in French), open to all, is scheduled for September 21, from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. The session will be recorded and made available here within 48 hours. 

Register for the information session to receive an official invitation. 

Meeting link
Meeting ID: 278 465 049 404 821 
Passcode: 7U4Ji7Co
Phone number: 1 (438) 315-1023 (ID: 522 617 459#)

You may also write to us at [email protected] or refer to the FAQ file below.

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