MINDS — Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security
Funds Canadian policy analysis and expert events on defence and security themes.
MINDS, short for Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security, sits under the Department of National Defence Canada and funds policy research rather than technology development. It was launched in 2018 to connect DND, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the Canadian academic and expert community around defence and security questions, and it remains active in the 2025-2026 cycle. The program runs through several streams. Targeted Engagement Grants provide up to CAD 50,000 for conferences, workshops, roundtables, research, and publications. Collaborative Networks support multi-year work tied to MINDS policy challenges. Young MINDS offers CAD 10,000 grants for undergraduate and master's students, while the Scholarship Initiative is delivered with SSHRC for postgraduate research training. Expert Briefings add a lighter engagement route. Eligible applicants include Canadian academic institutions, think tanks, individual researchers including students, and Canadian-based experts on defence and security topics; for-profit firms are not part of the eligible set. MINDS is a good fit for teams that can turn evidence, synthesis, and policy analysis into material DND and CAF can use. The current 2025-2026 round has already closed for the main engagement grant and network streams, with decisions expected by the end of July 2026. Applicants succeed when their work is clearly tied to a policy challenge, uses strong subject-matter expertise, and is built for knowledge mobilization rather than commercial development.
Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.