Federal funding is important. I hesitate to say that first out of the gate. Actua has long been having this conversation. How do we scale up? We've been talking to government for a long time, and we have not made a funding request. We have been funded primarily by the corporate sector, with foundation support. We get one-off federal government project funds, and those are helpful, but they are one-off projects.
We are at a time now when what we are delivering is in complete alignment with federal priorities and strategies in terms of inclusiveness, indigenous education, gender issues and gender parity, poverty alleviation, national skills agenda, and building an innovation culture. All of those things have been identified as critical, and yet, to date—although I'm very optimistic—there has not been a significant amount of federal support for youth engagement in skills building, specifically in science and technology. It's been very minimal.
My two asks are for an increase of that funding pool, obviously, and, as important, a formal recognition of youth engagement before university age and how that contributes to future skills and competencies, workforce readiness, employability, and the innovation agenda.