Accept the challenge. Make a difference for our youth.

We invite for-profit and not-for-profit businesses, organizations, government agencies, Indigenous organizations, and academic institutions to consult our current innovation challenges and submit letters of intent. Select organizations will be invited to complete an application for seed money to develop and implement your solutions.

Current challenges available for response

Innovation challenge #1: Addressing childhood obesity

Childhood obesity can lead to a wide range of critical health conditions. By addressing the complex causes of childhood obesity, we can help prevent the chronic conditions that reduce our youth’s quality of life, and contribute to high healthcare costs in Nova Scotia.

Download Challenge

How to submit a response to a challenge

Does your organization have expertise that can lead to innovative, impactful, and scalable solutions to one of our innovation challenges? Review the guidelines in the call for proposals and submit your letter of intent. Proposals will be scored independently, and will be ranked based on their overall score. Final decisions will be made by the Lead Consortium to ensure that selected projects maximize the funds available.

Download Opportunity Statements

Selection process and criteria

The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Project invites interested applicants to participate in a two-step application process as part of the Innovation Challenge. This challenge seeks innovative, community-driven solutions to prevent obesity among children and youth in Nova Scotia while supporting economic development within the province.

Step 1: Letter of Intent (LOI) Phase: In the first step, applicants are required to submit an LOI. This initial submission should provide an overview of the proposed project, including its objectives, alignment with the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Project, and anticipated impact. The LOI submission deadline is October 18, 2024. (Successful applicants will be notified by October 25, 2024.)

Step 2: Full Proposal/Application Phase: Applicants with successful LOIs will be invited to submit a full proposal. This full application will require a detailed project plan, budget, timeline, and additional supporting information. Successful LOI applicants will have until December 13, 2024 to complete their full proposals.

Nova Scotia Lighthouse Project Principles

The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Project is guided by the following core principles that provide direction in the development and delivery of the Innovation Challenge and ensure we continue to work toward meaningful and sustainable health outcomes and economic opportunities for Nova Scotia.

Innovation

  • Demonstrate new ideas and creativity to identify wellness-focused solutions.
  • Encourage disruptive innovation that can create new markets and economic opportunities. 

Economic Development

  • Emphasize the potential for creating jobs, stimulating local economies, and attracting further investment to Nova Scotia.
  • Acknowledge that economic development can manifest in various forms within complex systems and solutions.

Focus on Root Causes

  • Address the socio-economic and environmental conditions that promote health and reduce risk factors for obesity, such as inactivity, unhealthy eating, poor sleep, and stress.

Mental Health Support

  • Address the negative impacts of weight stigma and weight bias on the mental health and well-being of children and youth. 
  • Recognize that health is shaped by socio-economic and environmental conditions and that physical, mental, emotional, financial, social, and occupational health are all interconnected.

Equity

  • Consider health equity, social determinants of health, and EDIRA (equity, diversity, inclusion, reconciliation, and accessibility) principles.
  • Include people of diverse backgrounds in the design of solutions that affect them.
  • Benefit all segments of the population, including the most vulnerable.

Evidence-informed

  • Be guided by evidence or promising practices in ameliorating chronic disease.
  • Leverage data and research to support the economic viability and market potential of proposed solutions.

Scalability

  • Illustrate how a given solution could be scaled within Nova Scotia as well as Canada and internationally.

Empowerment

  • Empower individuals, families, communities, and populations to improve their health by restoring health, promoting resilience, and preventing diseases across the lifespan.

Sustainability

  • Design with long-term sustainability in mind to achieve lasting results.

Collaboration

  • Demonstrate collaboration among diverse partners to address the complex issue of wellness.
  • Demonstrate a willingness to stay agile and adaptable.