Farms.com Home   News

Government helping small businesses innovate

$150,000 to help Groupe Graham International Inc. and Formi 3DP Inc. develop innovative solutions to a government challenge
 
Ottawa, Ontario - As the single largest purchaser of Canadian goods and services, the Government of Canada is helping small businesses innovate and bring their innovations to market. That is why it has created Innovative Solutions Canada, a program that invites Canadian small businesses to develop innovative solutions to address government challenges.
 
The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, announced that Groupe Graham International Inc., based in Lachine, Quebec, and Formi 3DP Inc., based in London, Ontario, will each receive a $150,000 investment through this program.  
 
The companies have proposed a way to incorporate frequency-selective engineered surfaces in the research and development of new building materials, construction products and design tools. The companies are proposing solutions to address issues of interference with Wi-Fi and radio frequencies.
 
With this challenge, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada is looking to create a strong Canadian industry with expertise in the design of frequency-selective engineered surfaces and their application in connected vehicles. 
 
The funding will support the companies’ research and development activities. If their concepts are selected to continue to the next stage, the companies could receive up to $1 million over two years to refine their prototype.
 
Twenty federal departments and agencies are looking for solutions to a range of challenges related to, for example, the environment, the military or remote communities.
 
Innovative Solutions Canada is a key component of the government’s Innovation and Skills Plan, a multi-year strategy to create well-paying middle-class jobs. 
Source : Ontario.Ca

Trending Video

Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.