Ontario Creates is seeking applications from qualified industry professionals to be jurors for the Ontario Creates Interactive Digital Media (IDM) Fund program.

Jurors will review the entire submission (with the exception of specific confidential information) for all eligible and complete applications received at a particular deadline. Based on this information and using the IDM Fund decision criteria, the jury will make final recommendations to Ontario Creates regarding which projects to fund.

The ideal candidate will have senior industry knowledge and experience and will be unlikely to have any projects that may present a conflict of interest with respect to the role of the juror.

The Ontario Creates IDM Fund was developed to support Ontario-based interactive digital media companies by providing access to the final piece of funding required to move content projects into production. The fund also supports early stage development of concepts through the Concept Definition stream. The IDM Fund is intended to support the creation of high quality, original, interactive digital media content products that make a positive contribution to the Ontario economy.

Juror Responsibilities

• Thorough knowledge of the program streams
• Participate in a pre-jury briefing to discuss roles and responsibilities of the juror
• Enter into an Agreement with Ontario Creates
• Individually review all eligible applications received for the program as provided by Ontario Creates
• Assess each application based on specific program criteria and assign a numerical score accordingly based on the forms provided by Ontario Creates
• Attend Jury Meeting(s) with other jurors to jointly review the applications and determine final recommendations

Time commitment

It is estimated that the reviewing process may take from 25 to 30 working days depending on the number of applications to review, spread over an 8 week period.

Jurors will receive an appropriate honorarium based on the volume of applications received. The honorarium provided takes into consideration the review time required and is paid out at the end of the commitment.

Requirements

• Wide-range of experience in a senior position(s) in the interactive digital media content industry
• General understanding of IDM content creation, industry and current trends and developments across a range of subsectors within this industry such as; video games, e-learning, XR content, web-series, etc.
• Maintain in strict confidence your role as Juror until after the adjudication process
• Maintain in strict confidence in respect to all Confidential Information and take reasonable precautions against accidental disclosure of such information
• Not directly or indirectly use the Confidential Information for any purpose, except in the performance of your duties for Ontario Creates
• Indicate if you are associated in any way with any applicant company or principals of a company that is eligible to submit to the Ontario Creates IDM Fund program and, at the application review stage, declare any conflicts of interest that may arise

“Confidential Information” means all information (whether oral, written, in computer readable format or otherwise), data and material acquired by the juror from Ontario Creates or in connection with the performance of their duties for Ontario Creates.

Additional Information

• The jury members will not have access to an applicant’s corporate financial statements
• Jury comments may be relayed to the applicant
• Evaluation forms and jury comments may be available through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)
• Juror names may be released once all decisions have been made
• Information on the Ontario Creates Interactive Digital Media Fund
• Projects that have received Ontario Creates IDM Fund support Funding Recipients

Ontario Creates strives to compose juries that reflect diversity in Ontario as described in the Government of Ontario’s definition of diversity and/or gender parity. The provincial definition states: the dimensions of diversity include, but are not limited to: ancestry, culture, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, language, physical and intellectual ability, race, religion (creed), sex, sexual orientation and socio-economic status.

Ontario Creates is grateful for your interest in participating in this important process. It is anticipated that a substantial number of industry experts will respond to the Call for Application. In light of this, only those selected to be a juror for the Ontario Creates Interactive Digital Media Fund will be contacted. Ontario Creates maintains an active list of potential jurors.

Enquiries

Program Coordinator, Industry Development
Phone: 416-642-6697
Email: idmfund@ontariocreates.ca