A detailed table outlining the various private and international programs available are listed below. If you would like to discuss your eligibility for any of these programs, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team.

Microsoft AI for Health COVID-19 Grant

Description Eligibility Application details
  • This is a focused effort for COVID-19 grant requests only. This grant program provides Azure cloud and High-Performance Computing capabilities. Our team of AI for Health data science experts, whose mission is to improve the health of people and communities worldwide, is also open to collaborations with COVID-19 researchers as they tackle this critical challenge
  • Proposals can be submitted by non-profits, academic institutions, and governments
 
  • The application deadline is June 15 2020
 

Facebook Small Business Grants Program

Description Eligibility Application details
  • Facebook has pledged $100M in cash grants and ad credits to support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in more than 30 countries will be able to receive a grant
  • To be eligible to apply, your business must:
    • Have between 2 and 50 employees
    • Have been in business for over a year
    • Have experienced challenges from COVID-19
    • Be in or near a location where Facebook operates
  • Submit an application here
 

Michael Smith Foundation for Health Resaerch: COVID-19 Research Response Fund 

Description Eligibility Application details
  • The focus of this first call under the MSFHR COVID-19 Research Response Fund will be on high quality research that evaluates BC’s response to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and informs ongoing response, especially strategies for avoiding or mitigating subsequent waves of transmission.
  • Projects should have results available in time to help inform public health responses through the fall and winter of 2020/2021
  • Funding Call #1 will provide award amounts of up to $150,000, for a maximum duration of 12 months
  • Extraordinary requests above $150,000 will be considered but will require additional justification to exceed the limit
  • Researchers or research teams interested in applying to this first call should have projects that address one or more of the following:
    • Rapid evaluation and/or modelling of public health measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to support decisions around when to withdraw these measures or redeploy them at a future date
    • BC population-specific epidemiologic support for decision-makers including the identification of strategies to prevent high burdens of illness among key/vulnerable groups (e.g., residents of long-term care facilities, inner city populations, Indigenous people, health care workers, etc.)
    • Human geographic considerations in BC including rurality, community, culture and population movement with a view to preventing transmission and mitigating effects
    • The identification and mitigation of the impacts of the pandemic and pandemic response including the secondary effects on the health of the population of BC
  • The impacts of rapid health service redesign and redeployment on health outcomes in BC
  • Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
  • The application deadline is May 19 2020
  • To apply, click here
 

UK Research and Innovation

Description Eligibility Application details
  • UKRI will support excellent proposals up to 18 months duration meeting at least one of the following:
    • New research or innovation with a clear impact pathway that has the potential (within the period of the grant) to deliver a significant contribution to the understanding of, and response to, the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts
    • Supports the manufacture and/or wide scale adoption of an intervention with significant potential
    • Gathers critical data and resources quickly for future research use
  • Funding will amount to 80% of the full economic cost of the proposal
  • You can apply for Innovate UK funding if you are a UK based business. All kinds of businesses can apply, from pre-startup and new companies to large multi-nationals. International co-investigators can participate
  • Submit your application here

Worldwide Universities Network

Description Eligibility Application details
  • Proposals are invited for projects that address time-sensitive research problems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. WUN will consider proposals falling with the scope of the four Global Challenges, for work on research problems whose value depends on being able to collect or analyse data obtained during the pandemic, and on which the collaboration of WUN partners confers real advantage
  • Requests for support, for up to a maximum of £10,000, will be evaluated in consultation with the relevant Global Challenge steering group, to ensure that whatever support we provide is well directed.  Proposals must include at least three WUN member universities across two or more countries, and funds should be expended within one year of the award
  • Projects must involve at least three WUN member universities in two or more countries
 
  • The Application deadline is May 15 2020
  • Submt your application here
 


Contacts

Vanessa Grant
Vanessa Grant
Senior Partner
Email
vanessa.grant@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 416 216 4056
Mathieu Deschamps
Mathieu Deschamps
Partner, Canadian Co-Head of Mergers and Acquisitions
Email
mathieu.deschamps@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 514 847 4344
Peter Riddell
Peter Riddell
Partner
Email
peter.riddell@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 514 847 4536
Maya Medeiros
Maya Medeiros
Partner
Email
maya.medeiros@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 604 641 4846
Paul Amirault
Paul Amirault
Partner
Email
paul.amirault@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 613 780 8601
Brigitte LeBlanc-Lapointe
Brigitte LeBlanc-Lapointe
Partner
Email
brigitte.leblanc-lapointe@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 613 780 8638
Elizabeth Williams
Elizabeth Williams
Managing Partner, Calgary Office
Email
elizabeth.williams@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 403 267 8383
Pierre Nicol
Pierre Nicol
Senior Partner
Email
pierre.nicol@nortonrosefulbright.com
T: +1 418 640 5013

Industries:

Practice areas:

Recent publications

Computer screen with digital lock on it

Publication

Two US decisions find that reproducing works to train large language models is fair use – Part 2: Kadrey v Meta

In Part 1 of this series on fair use in training large language models (LLMs), we discussed Judge Alsup’s decision of Bartz v Anthropic, which found that copying books to train an LLM was fair use, but using pirated books to create a central library was not.

Canada | July 15, 2025

Intellectual property
Circuit board in orange light

Publication

L’AMF propose un encadrement pour l’usage de l’IA dans les services financiers : quelles obligations pour les institutions financières?

Selon un rapport conjoint du Bureau du surintendant des institutions financières (BSIF) et de l’Agence de la consommation en matière financière du Canada (ACFC), environ 70 % des institutions financières fédérales prévoient utiliser l’IA d’ici 2026 .

Canada | Le 10 juillet 2025

Financial services and regulation
lightbulb

Publication

Two US decisions find that reproducing works to train large language models is fair use – Part 1: Bartz v Anthropic

Two recent judgments – decided just days apart – from different judges of the Northern District of California District Court determined that using copyrighted books to train large language models (LLMs) was fair use.

Canada | July 8, 2025

Intellectual property
Site search

Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news, information and events . . .

Subscribe now