Municipal Innovation Internship Program

Municipalities to apply from January 14 - May 8, 2026

A local municipality – either individually or jointly with other local municipalities – is (are) invited to submit a maximum of two (2) municipal project applications to the MIIP.

Note: the MIIP intends to provide a variety of different projects across as many municipalities as possible. Therefore, only one (1) project per municipality will move forward to the final selection.

Each Municipal Project Application must include information about:

• The proposed innovation and/or research project that the municipality is proposing to undertake with a post-secondary student
  • Note: The application forms request that the municipality rank the project applications in order of preference. In cases where the maximum number of applications is exceeded, the first two (2) will be evaluated in the order that they were received. 
• Clear and reasonable project goals and timelines (i.e. a business plan)
• The experiential learning opportunity component that is being provided to the student, and how it will be delivered (e.g. in-person or hybrid)
• The local municipality(ies) involved in the project, and the senior staff person who will lead the project and be accountable for the student during the internship
• Anything else that municipality deems relevant for the Review Committee to know in the context of evaluation 

No late submissions will be permitted.

Submit Your Municipal Project Application(s)

Students to apply from May 13 - July 24, 2026

Post-secondary students are invited to review municipal projects posted on the AMCTO website and apply to up to three (3) MIIP projects that are of interest to them.
 
Note: the MIIP intends to provide a variety of different projects to as many students as possible. Therefore, only one (1) project per student will move forward to the final selection.

Each student application must include information about:

• The academic program and post-secondary institution that the student is enrolled in, and their expected graduation date
• Their level of understanding of the municipal sector and clarity around what role they would like to undertake in the municipal project, why it is relevant to their studies, and their interest in pursuing a career in local government
• Anything else that the student deems relevant for the Review Committee to know in the context of evaluation

No late submissions will be permitted.

Successful municipalities & students to apply from August 7 - August 21, 2026

Successful project teams will be invited to submit a Mitacs funding application. Detailed instructions and an application package will be included with your invitation.

At this time, applicants will be connected with the Mitacs advisor for the participating academic institution. This advisor will help to direct the applicants to relevant contacts and processes for their institution.

All project partners will have actions to take in compiling the funding application. All partners will also be required to sign the project memorandum prior to submission.

Any municipal government in Ontario can submit up to two (2) applications to the MIIP. To be eligible for the program, projects must:

• Propose to advance the modernization of the local government’s programs and services and have outcomes that would benefit the municipality
• Be innovation-based: introduces something new to the local government, but not necessarily the world; or
• Be research-based: advances the process of creating ideas, processes, technologies, services, or techniques that are new to the world
• Be feasible to be completed through a hybrid work arrangement within eight (8) months (January 1, 2027 - August 31, 2027)
• Be appropriate for a student to complete with support from the municipal team 
• Identify a municipal lead contact who will be responsible for managing and interacting with the student
• Include an experiential (i.e. hands-on) learning component to ensure that the student is exposed to various aspects of municipal governance and operations 
• Include a maximum of four (4) in-person visits by the student to the municipality during the eight (8)-month project. 
  • Note: All costs related to travel are the responsibility of the student. Additional travel to the municipality can be arranged if agreed to by the municipality and the student.
• Involve the design, integration, improvement (i.e. modernization), and/or implementation of any of these activities:
  • Comprehensive reviews and audits
  • Corporate strategic plans, roadmaps and master plans
  • Efficiency and optimization reviews
  • Feasibility and system reviews
  • Modernization reviews and streamlining
  • Service delivery and operational reviews
  • System implementation, integration and improvement

For a list of more specific examples of potentially eligible municipal projects, see Appendix A in the Program Guide.

Municipalities that have ideas that fall outside of these activities are encouraged to contact us by email with details as soon as possible to confirm whether the project proposal would be in scope/eligible to apply.

Post-secondary students in Ontario are eligible to participate in the MIIP, provided they are eligible to participate in the Mitacs Accelerate program.

Students from all academic programs will be considered; however, preference will be given if their studies are related to:

• Local government administration and/or 
• Programs of relevance to individual municipal projects

In applying to the MIIP, students must:

• Clearly describe their interest in local government as a career
• Be legally permitted to reside and work in Canada by the award start date and live in Ontario for the duration of the internship 
• Be registered/enrolled as a full-time student in an undergraduate, college, masters, or PhD program at a publicly-funded academic institution in Ontario for the duration of the internship (January 1, 2027 – August 31, 2027)
• Be able and willing to work with the municipality through a hybrid work arrangement on a part-time basis (i.e. less than 30 hours a week) 
  • Note: the exact number of hours worked with part-time employment varies based on the role, employer, and job responsibilities. Work hours are to be determined by the municipality in collaboration with the student.
• Recognize that this part-time opportunity is intended to run simultaneously with existing school terms (and course workload)
• Be able and willing to make a maximum of four (4) in-person visits to the municipality during the eight (8)-month project, as determined by the municipal project lead
  • Note: All costs related to travel are the responsibility of the student. Additional travel to the municipality can be arranged if agreed to by the municipality and the student.
• Identify an academic supervisor at their institution that:
  • Agrees to be actively engaged in the project 
  • Is eligible to hold and administer research awards at your academic institution (e.g. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) or Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grants)
  • Agrees to be responsible for administering the project funding at the academic institution (i.e. be the conduit between the academic institution and the student for the purpose of remitting payment)

Wednesday, February 11  |  12:00pm - 1:00pm ET

This webinar is intended for municipalities looking to submit their municipal project applications. A recording will be available following the webinar for those that are unable to attend or for those who wish to review the information.

Register for the Webinar

Thursday, June 18  |  12:00pm - 1:00pm ET

This webinar is intended for students and academic institutions looking to apply for the MIIP. Join us to learn more and ask questions about the process. A recording will be available following the webinar for those that are unable to attend or for those who wish to review the information.

Register for the Webinar