Strategic Investments in Northern Economic Development (SINED) is INAC's overall suite of northern economic development initiatives. Its goal is to promote the economic development of the North, in order to strengthen territorial economies and increase participation by Northerners.

What is Strategic Investments in Northern Economic Development (SINED)?

In March, 2004, the federal government announced $90 million over five years for Northern economic development in the three territories, enabling Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) to fulfil a very important dimension of its mandate - regional economic development for Canada's North.

In the past, funding for broader northern economic development programming in areas such as minerals, forestry, tourism and economic diversification, was made available through multi-party economic development agreements coordinated by INAC - investments that had very positive results. Building on this success, INAC is now offering a strategic economic development program set known broadly as Strategic Investments in Northern Economic Development (SINED), that is tailored to the needs of each territory. Two complementary programs have been established under SINED - the Targeted Investment Program and the renewed Innovation and Knowledge Fund.

SINED Programming will focus on the following objectives:

• strengthening the driver sectors of territorial economies;
• broadening the economic base of each territory;
• strengthening Northerners' abilities to take advantage of economic opportunities;
• increasing coordination amongst partners and programs.

The foundational investments made under SINED will help to generate important economic opportunities for Northerners, their businesses and their communities.

The two primary programs offered under SINED are the Targeted Investment Program (TIP) and the Innovation and Knowledge (I&K) Fund. The Partnership Advisory Forums (PAF) is a fund for stakeholder groups and is currently available in the NWT.