In order to move the needle here, we need to think strategically around tailoring the funding to projects and companies that have the highest export potential, regardless of the size, so a little funding can go a long way, depending on the company.
In terms of the correct model for delivery of this, my group at CME has gone through GOA, the global opportunities for associations program, which is a federal fund for national industry associations. That funding goes towards the SMEs in our membership to help them travel abroad on trade missions. Companies typically get around $1,500 to $2,000 to travel on these trade missions. It's nice because it helps to defray some of the costs, but it really doesn't move the needle.
A lot of the companies that travel with us, sometimes it's a first step into a market. They've established some connections and that has led to sustained market penetration. For other companies, it was one mission. They went there one time and it really didn't lead to anything.
In terms of the delivery of this, the concern would be that if the government were to administer this, the administration costs could be significant and the concern is that we want as much of the money going to companies as directly as possible, providing obviously that they're meeting certain criteria, that they have high export potential projects, and that they can sustain the projects over a period of time.
That would be the concern around the government administering it. That was the reason behind the suggestion of a delivery partner, whoever that is, whether it's another government agency or what have you. It's going to take quite a bit of resources to administer this thing.
I can tell you, our experience with SMART, and doing it over eight years, it has taken quite a bit of time to get it up and running. It has to be easy and efficient for companies to access. As was said earlier, companies shouldn't have to engage a consultant to develop their proposal to apply for this funding. They should be able to do it themselves. If they need to access someone for assistance, then that's fine, but if we set it up such that companies are going to have to go and pay someone to apply, no one's going to apply.