Seventeen of TRAM's 54 applicant groups were invited to participate in the TRAM Strengthening Workshop held in Montreal, QC from June 26 to June 28, 2013. The purpose of the workshop was both collaborative and competitive: the groups, along with the TRAM Selection Panel and Partners, spent three days in intense discussion and debate, considering new ideas and rethinking old ones. Re-grouping and network expansion resulted from the workshop as teams assembled their letters of intent (LOIs) for the October 2nd deadline.