Optimizing Research Grant Success: Insights and Strategies for Prairie Grants

Prairie Grants is a forward-thinking organization that simplifies the complex grant discovery and application process for Canadian start-ups. Despite the abundance of funding opportunities in Canada, many businesses struggle to access them due to limited awareness, difficulty identifying relevant programs, and inefficient, manual application procedures. Currently, Prairie Grants provides client support through manual grant matching and documentation preparation, but this approach is time-consuming, prone to human error, and lacks scalability.

To overcome these challenges, Prairie Grants aims to enhance and automate key processes by leveraging AI and machine learning. Before developing a full-scale solution, the organization needs a clear understanding of user pain points and internal operational workflows, as well as a strategic comparison of existing tools in the grant management space.

This Mitacs Business Strategy Internship will support Prairie Grants in a three-phase project. First, the intern will conduct market research and analyze stakeholder feedback to identify user challenges and barriers related to accessing government grants. In the second phase, the intern will analyze internal workflows using business analysis methods and evaluate how current practices compare to external platforms like Boast and GetGranted. In the final phase, the intern will combine insights to create strategic recommendations focused on improving service efficiency, reducing manual effort, and guiding product development.

The ideal candidate will have experience in business analysis, market research, and data visualization using tools like Excel, Power BI, or Tableau. Familiarity with process mapping and competitive platform benchmarking will also be important. The outcome of this project will directly inform Prairie Grants’ roadmap for building a scalable, user-centered digital grant platform.

Faculty Supervisor:

Kaitlyn Mesics

Student:

Partner:

Prairie Grants Corp.

Discipline:

Business

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Cape Breton University

Program: