About Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security
Department of National Defence innovation program that mobilizes Canadian researchers and companies through defence and security challenges, phased development support, networks, contests, sandboxes, and Canadian Armed Forces technology testing.
Operating context
IDEaS is National Defence's national innovation pipeline for engaging external Canadian innovators and moving defence and security concepts through phased development, networks, contests, sandboxes and Canadian Armed Forces-facing technology testing, with Defence Research and Development Canada expertise supporting assessment. POINT provides a challenge-specific sequence of competitive research and development, testing and possible acquisition; minimum technology readiness and advancement criteria depend on the call, and Canada retains discretion over acquisition options. A separate medical-capability contest has a Round 1 deadline of October 8, 2026 at 2 p.m. EDT, with up to ten $180,000 semifinalist awards within a $2.8 million contest through March 2028. Its forward-oxygen and surgical-capability themes illustrate a current contest route, not the POINT acquisition track.