Digital Services Program Guide

The Digital Manitoba Initiative (DMI) offers specialized supports to small and medium-sized Manitoba-owned and operated businesses to assist with their digital adaptation through a variety of programming. Currently open for applications is the Digital Services Program. The Digital Services Program is provided for one of three streams: Business Technology Assessment, Digital Legal Services, or Cybersecurity Audit. Program Participants will work with a vetted Digital Service Provider who will develop a final report including actionable recommendations or legal documentation.

For this program, DMI works with vetted Digital Service Providers and covers 100 per cent of the cost of a pre-established scope of work (as outlined in the Program Agreement for each stream). Please note that the Digital Services Program does not cover costs relating to the implementation of recommendations or additional services that are out of scope of the program.

• Applicant (s) include businesses applying for the Digital Services Program who have not yet been approved.

• Program Participant includes Applicants who have been accepted into the Digital Services Program.

• Digital Services Program refers to 3 specific service streams: Business Technology Assessment, Digital Legal Service, and Cybersecurity Audit that are being offered to Manitoba owned and operated companies through the Digital Manitoba Initiative. Program Participants will work with a Digital Service Provider who will provide them with a final report including actionable recommendations.

• Digital Service Provider (s) refers to vetted experts who work with Program Participants to deliver the Business Technology Assessment, Digital Legal Services, or the Cybersecurity Audit.

• Program Agreement refers to an agreement signed at the end of the application form outlining the terms and conditions the Applicant is bound by if their application is accepted for the Digital Services Program.

• Eligibility Criteria refers to the list of standards all Applicants must meet to apply for the Digital Services Program. Participants must remain eligible from acceptance in the program until completion.

• Statement of Work (SOW) refers to a document outlining the details and timelines of the project created by the Digital Service Provider and signed by the Program Participant.

Applicants are required to certify that they meet all the following Eligibility Criteria. Please note that the application must be submitted by a business owner, director, or employee who is authorized to enter into legal agreements on behalf of the organization.

1.3.1 The Applicant:

• Is a sole proprietor whose owner is a Manitoba resident Or is a businessincorporated under the laws of Manitoba, with controlling shares held by a Manitoba residen

• Is registered and in good standing with the Manitoba Companies Office;

• Can demonstrate a minimum of $3,500 investment in digital technology since December 1, 2021;

• Has a minimum of 5 full-time equivalent employees* if applying for the Business Technology Assessment or the Cybersecurity Audit OR a minimum of 2 full-time equivalent employees* if applying for Digital Legal Services;

• Has been operating in Manitoba since March1, 2019, or earlier;

• Is a business that respects human rights codes, labour, environment, and anti-corruption standards, as well as engages exclusively in legal activities;

• ‍Is not a business that has a class of shares publicly traded on a stock exchange (in Canada or outside);
  

• ‍Is not a majority or wholly-owned subsidiary or branch or sales office of a national or multinational corporation;
  

• ‍Is not a government organization or body (other than an Indigenous entity or body) or an entity in which a government organization or body (other than an Indigenous entity or band) owns equity interests;

• ‍Is not a business in which equity interests are held by any current member of the Government of Manitoba, Parliament of Canada or any current member of the Senate of Canada other than a business whose equity interests are publicly traded;

• Is not a business that promotes violence, incites hatred or discriminates on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability, nor does it trade with countries proscribed by the Government of Canada;
  

• Is not a business that directly or indirectly promotes sexual exploitation or disseminates media content that is sexually explicit;

• and Is not a business that has been determined to have pled guilty to or been convicted of tax evasion or a criminal offence.

* A full-time equivalent (FTE) employee is defined as receiving a T4 Statement of Remuneration Paid slip from the Applicant. One FTE is defined as at least 30hours/week of paid labour. Part-time employees must be included as fractions of 1 FTE based on average labour hours compared to typical hours for 1 FTE employee.

1.3.2. Program Participants must meet the Eligibility Criteria at all times while working with DMI and/or the Digital Service Provider; this includes from application submission to delivery of final product by the Digital Service Provider.

1.3.3. Applicants and Program Participants must inform DMI of any change in their eligibility while working with DMI and/or the Digital Service Provider; this includes from application submission to delivery of a final work product by the Digital Service Provider.

1.3.4. DMI reserves the right to validate the Eligibility Criteria by seeking supporting information and documentation from the Applicant or Program Participant at any point; this includes from application submission to delivery of final work product by the Digital Service Provider.

1.3.5. If DMI determines that the Applicant or Program Participant no longer meets the Eligibility Criteria, DMI reserves the right to terminate their participation in the program. Applicants and Program Participants whose agreements are terminated will be responsible for paying any and all costs incurred up to that point in time and any costs in the future associated with retaining a Digital Service Provider.

As part of the eligibility determination process, DMI reserves the right to ask for additional supporting documentation such as:

• Assurance that the Applicant is in good standing with regard to all federal, provincial, territorial and municipal laws and regulations;

• Corporate documents as the DMI deems necessary (e.g., articles of incorporation, corporate by-laws and related instruments);

• Documents confirming numbers of full-time equivalent employees, such as T4 Summaries, deductions for the Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance premiums, and income tax from remuneration or other amounts the Applicant pays to employees;

• Confirmation that any person including any consultant or in-house lobbyist who lobbies on its behalf to obtain funding under DMI grants and programming is required to be registered pursuant to the Lobbying Act is registered pursuant to that Act;

• Confirmation that the Applicant has not, nor has any person on its behalf, engaged any person (other than an employee) for the purposes of obtaining DMI funding and paid, or agreed to pay, that person a commission, contingency or success fee or any other consideration (whether monetary or otherwise) that is dependent upon the Applicant receiving a Digital Service Grant from DMI;

• Assurance that no Member of the Legislative Assembly will benefit from the non-repayable Digital Service Grant.

Applicants must submit their Digital Services Program applications through the DMI website: digitalmanitobainitiative.com Applications submitted in an alternate format will not be accepted. Applicants may only submit one Digital Service Grant application form per company. Should there be technical difficulties accessing or using the web-based system, Applicants should contact DMI through the contact form on www.digitalmanitobainitiative.com or by emailing dmi@mbchamber.mb.ca

Applicants will be asked to submit the following information through the DMI application portal:
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• General business information

• Manitoba Companies Office file summary. To access your Companies Office file summary, log in or create an account, and select Certificate of Status from the Main Menu. Search your business name, click on it, and click the View File Summary Button. Note: there is a $5 fee to access your file summary. Download the file summary and upload it while completing the application form.

• Proof of staffing [T4 Summaries, deductions for the Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance premiums, and income tax from remuneration or other amounts]

• Brief written summary outlining how the Applicant intends to capitalize on digital capacity enhancements.

2.2.1 Applicants will be notified via email within 5-10 business days of if their application has passed the initial screening round or if it has been rejected.

2.2.2 Following confirmation that the Applicant has passed the initial screening round, they will be asked to participate in a 15 minute interview on Microsoft Teams with a DMI representative to assess the Applicant’s needs, confirm alignment with the program’s intent and confirm they meet all Eligibility Criteria. Please note this is not confirmation of final approval of the application and does not constitute a commitment on part of DMI to approve the application and accept the Applicant into the program.

2.2.3 DMI will notify the Applicant via email of their acceptance into the program or rejection. If accepted, DMI will schedule a 30 minute onboarding meeting via Microsoft Teams introducing the Program Participant to the Digital Service Provider who will lead the development process and provide a Statement of Work (SOW) to be signed by the Program Participant outlining the commitments of both parties during the program. The SOW must be signed within 5 business days of the onboarding meeting and returned to the DMI representative.

2.2.4 Following completion of services provided by the Digital Service Provider, the Program Participant must participate in an exit interview with a DMI representative to complete the program. This interview must be conducted within 4 weeks of completion of services by the Digital Service Provider.

Program Participants are assigned a vetted Digital Service Provider upon acceptance into the program. During the 15-minute, pre-screening interview with DMI, Applicants will be asked if they have a conflict of interest with the Digital Service Provider selected by DMI. If there is a conflict of interest, DMI will endeavor to assign an alternate Digital Service Provider.

Although pre-selected by DMI, Digital Service Providers are not agents, partners, or employees of DMI. DMI does not warrant the quality of the services provided by Digital Service Providers and is not responsible for any losses or damages, which may result from using their services.

2.3.2 Any information (including any personal information) obtained in confidence from any Third Party by the Applicant and provided to DMI under the terms of this Agreement, will be marked as "confidential" by the Applicant and the Applicant shall ensure it was disclosed to DMI with the consent of the Third Party. DMI shall ensure that any disclosure of Third-Party information is done in compliance with all legal requirements relating to personal information and Third-Party confidential information.

To support DMI in its efforts to measure the economic impact of the Digital Services Program, Program Participants are required to participate in exit and follow up interviews where they will be asked about the impacts of the Digital Services Program on their business. These exit interviews will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams and/or survey. This data will be collected for reporting purposes and used in aggregate unless otherwise agreed upon by the Program Participant and DMI.

The work product determined in the SOW and created by the Digital Service Providers for the Program Participant will remain the property of the Program Participant. DMI may seek access to use work product developed by recipients or through a third party. The negotiated rights to use this material may include further use of data for research purposes.

Applicants and Program Participants agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth and must act in compliance with the guidelines governing the Digital Services Program as set out in this Program Guide.

Applicants agree:  

• To participate fully in the Digital Services Program, be reasonably available to the Digital Service Provider, and support their efforts to enable completion of the work product by a pre-determined, agreed upon date OR within 3 months of program commencement.

• That the Digital Services Program will only cover expenses charged by the Digital Service Provider directly to DMI in creating the pre-approved work product.

• To act in compliance with guidelines governing the Digital Services Program as set out in the Program Guide. Should DMI determine that the Applicant or Program Participant is not in compliance with all of the terms and conditions as set out in the Program Guide and any additional instructions or conditions as stipulated by DMI during the period of eligibility, the agreement may be terminated by DMI at its sole discretion.

• To maintain eligibility as outlined in the Eligibility Criteria from the time of application until Digital Services Program completion is confirmed by DMI and the Digital Service Provider.

• To inform DMI of any change in eligibility as outlined in the Eligibility Criteria. Should the Applicant or Program Participant no longer meet the eligibility requirements, the participation in the Digital Services Program will be terminated.

• That DMI may disclose any information submitted in the application to its funding bodies or to outside entities, subject to applicable restrictions associated with privacy, confidentiality, and security for the following purposes:

  1. To reach a decision on the application;

  2. To support transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement; and

  3. To respond to requests made under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

• That any information (including personal information)obtained in confidence from any Third Party by the Applicant and provided to DMI under the terms of this Agreement, will be marked as "confidential" by the Applicant and the Applicant shall ensure it was disclosed to DMI with the consent of the Third Party. DMI shall ensure that any disclosure of the Third-Party information is done in compliance with all legal requirements relating to personal information and Third-Party confidential information.

• To participate in electronic surveys which will assess the Program Participant's experience with DMI to support service evaluation and improvement.

• Shall indemnify the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and DMI from any claim or cause of action arising from injury, damage, or death sustained in carrying out this Agreement.

• To note that this Agreement does not create a partnership, agency or joint venture and the Program Participant shall not represent itself as an agent, partner or employee of DMI or the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce in carrying it out.

• To not in any way authorized to make a promise, agreement or contract or to incur any liability on behalf of DMI or the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.

• To note that the submission of the application does not constitute a commitment on the part of DMI to accept the Applicant to the Digital Services Program. In accordance with the Program Guide, acceptance to the program will be confirmed via email notification upon approval of the application followed by the applicant interview.

Should DMI determine that the Program Participant is not in compliance with all of the terms and conditions as set out in the Program Guide and agreed to in the application form, the agreement may be terminated by DMI, at its sole discretion.

DMI may disclose any information submitted in this Application within the Government of Canada or to outside entities (e.g., Canada Revenue Agency, Digital Advisors), subject to applicable restrictions associated with privacy, confidentiality and security for the following purposes:
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a.     To reach a decision on the Application;
b.     To support transparency, accountability and citizen engagement; and
c.     To respond to requests made under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Any information (including any personal information) obtained in confidence from any Third Party by the Applicant and provided to DMI in the application process will be marked as "confidential" by the Applicant and the Applicant shall ensure they are responsible for and represents and warrants to DMI that they have obtained the consent of the Third Party. DMI shall ensure that any disclosure of Third-Party information is done in compliance with all legal requirements relating to personal information and Third-Party confidential information. The Digital Services Program falls under the laws of the Government of Canada and therefor any information may be disclosed to the Government of Canada and subject to any ATIA requests. 

All enquiries regarding applications for the Digital Services Program must be sent in writing to dmi@mbchamber.mb.ca

DMI retains the right to make public announcements and to publish the names of funding recipients. DMI may request permission from Program Participants to feature success stories derived from program support for DMI communications purposes.