News & Media

Harper Government Announces Second Call for Canadian Innovations

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - July 14, 2011) -

The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, is pleased to announce that the Government of Canada is once again accepting applications from local businesses to help kickstart their innovative ideas by moving their products and services from the lab to the marketplace.

"In Canada, we have enormous entrepreneurial talent and through this program, we're giving Canadian businesses an opportunity to move their ideas into action," said Minister Ambrose. "Our Government is committed to delivering results for hard-working Canadians by staying focused on what matters most to them—jobs and the economy."

Launched in 2010, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program/Kickstart initiative (CICP) is a $40-million pilot program created to help Canadian businesses by testing their innovative products and services within the Government of Canada before taking them to the marketplace. Federal departments will test innovations that fall within four key areas: environment; health; safety and security; and technology.

The second call for proposals is now available on MERX, the Government of Canada's electronic tendering service. Successful bidders will see their pre-commercial innovative products and services tested within government departments, and will be given valuable feedback from users participating in the pilot program.

In March, 19 innovations were announced as part of the first round of the CICP. Today, the Minister announced an additional eight pre-qualified Canadian innovations that government departments will be able to buy. These additional innovations were submitted under the first call for proposals.

The following eight additional businesses have pre-qualified for the first round of the CICP: Breviro Caviar Inc.(formerly Supreme Sturgeon and Caviar Ltd), Pennfield, N.B.; Amika Mobile Corporation, Ottawa, Ont.; Edgewater Computer Systems Inc., Ottawa, Ont.; Fluvial Systems Research Inc., White Rock, B.C.; blutip Power Technologies Inc. (formerly Hy-Drive Technologies Ltd.), Mississauga, Ont.; S5 Systems, Ottawa, Ont.; Synodon Inc., Edmonton, Alta; and Trusted Positioning Inc., Calgary, Alta.

There are now 27 pre-qualified innovations from Canadian companies that form a part of the CICP's first round. Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) is working with government departments to match innovations with the right test departments, and will be entering into negotiations with the selected companies to put contracts in place to test their innovations, should the right department be found. This will facilitate Canadian companies in moving their innovations into domestic and international markets.

The CICP is managed by PWGSC's Office of Small and Medium Enterprises, whose mandate is to improve accessibility to government procurement opportunities for small and medium enterprises. Launched as part of the Government of Canada's Budget 2010, the CICP is a new initiative to promote Canada's economic growth.

For more information, please visit buyandsell.gc.ca/innovation or look for this opportunity on www.merx.ca.

For further information on the program, please refer to the CICP backgrounder.

PWGSC news releases are also available on our Internet site at http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/medias-media/index-eng.html.

Background

Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program/Kickstart initiative

Launched in 2010, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program/Kickstart initiative (CICP) is a $40-million program that is a part of the Government of Canada's commitment to promote Canada's economic growth.

The CICP, created to bolster innovation in Canada's business sector, was designed to help companies to bridge the pre-commercialization gap for their innovative products and services by:

-Awarding contracts to entrepreneurs with pre-commercial innovations through an open, transparent, competitive and fair procurement process;

-Testing and providing feedback to these entrepreneurs on the performance of their products or services;

-Providing innovators with the opportunity to enter the marketplace with a successful application of their new products and services; and

-Providing information on how to do business with the Government of Canada.

-The CICP targets innovations in four priority areas:

Environment;

Safety and security;

Health; and

Technology.

On February 4, 2011, the Innovation Selection Committee (ISC), during the final stage of the CICP procurement process, met to validate the ranking of proposals based on the independent reviews of the National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program. Members of the ISC, including 70 per cent from the private sector, were chosen based on their experience in investment and entrepreneurship; knowledge of innovation and commercialization trends; and knowledge of international business practices.

There are now 27 pre-qualified innovations from Canadian companies that form a part of the CICP's first round. Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) is working with government departments to match innovations with the right test departments, and will be entering into negotiations with the selected companies to put contracts in place to test their innovations, should the right department be found. This will facilitate Canadian companies in moving their innovations into domestic and international markets.

The CICP has two complementary components. The first identifies Canadian innovations to test within federal operations in order to support businesses as they move their innovations to commercialization. The second builds on current efforts by the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) to improve small and medium enterprises' (SME) access to federal procurement activities, and enables companies to showcase innovative products and services to potential government users.

Proposals related to the opportunity to test innovative products and services are being accepted through competitive Calls for Proposals during the pilot phase of the program. The first round of Calls for Proposals was successfully announced in October 2010.

PWGSC continues to work with all stakeholders to ensure that SMEs receive the vital government support needed to thrive in today's evolving economy.

OSME, through its network of headquarters operations and six regional offices, assists SMEs as they navigate through the government procurement system. It is strengthening access to government business for SMEs by collaborating with industry associations and individual businesses on training, providing information, developing support tools, and recommending procurement policy changes. OSME is also working with SME organizations to identify and pursue opportunities that encourage the introduction of innovative new products.

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