About Actua > 
Program Delivery Model

Actua delivers on its mandate through two main delivery mechanisms: its network of members and its Outreach Team. As the national coordinating body, Actua provides critical support to its members and Outreach Team – through leadership, funding, equipment, training, research and administrative help – making it possible for them to focus their attention on program delivery and the needs of their local communities. We also facilitate the exchange of ideas between member organizations so they, too, can evolve and grow within this delivery model.

Members

The largest delivery mechanism is our growing network of member organizations hosted by universities and colleges across Canada. They are the engine that drives our organization. These members draw from the innovation and expertise that their host institutions have to offer and harness the energy of undergraduate students to bring the wonders of science to youth in their corner of the country. Last year, our members hired 600 undergraduate students as instructors nationwide and engaged over 500 high school student volunteers.

Members welcome youth participants to their campus, giving them real-life experiences by sharing facilities once reserved for post-secondary students, professors and researchers. Participants gain access to tools and instruments they would not normally get to handle, all in an environment that sets the stage for positive education and career choices. In addition to on-campus programming, our members make it a priority to bring their programming to hundreds of rural and remote communities, where no such programming opportunities exist. They bring the university or college experience with them, inspiring hundreds of thousands of youth who otherwise would not imagine access to a post-secondary education experience.
Click here for more information on our members.

I've worked with Actua and one of [its] members for years, and it's just such a great thing to experience when, at the end of a camp, kids tell you about how much they've learned - or how they're capable of things they didn’t previously think they could do. Actua’s program is special in that they reach a lot of kids, but they also make lasting impressions. One camper this year even told me that they wanted to keep taking sciences so they could be an Actua instructor too!
Past Actua instructor

Outreach Team 

In addition to our network of member organizations, Actua also coordinates its own Outreach Team of instructors that we mobilize to deliver STEM programming in communities not yet served by our members. This highly-trained group of instructors journeys to rural and remote communities, many of which are fly-in locations throughout the Arctic, to deliver high-quality, engaging programs and activities. In this way, we have the capability and flexibility to deliver STEM programming absolutely anywhere in the country. Click to learn more.