November 3, 2005
Moncton, New Brunswick
The Honourable Joseph McGuire, Minister of the Atlantic
Canada Opportunities Agency, announced today that the third
request for project proposals under the Government of
Canada's renewed $300-million Atlantic Innovation Fund
(AIF) has generated more than $500 million in project
proposals. "Atlantic Canada's businesses and research organizations
have, once again, shown their keen interest in investing in
research and development," said Minister McGuire. He
added, "The higher percentage of business-led proposals we
are seeing under this round is tremendously encouraging.
It demonstrates that the AIF is helping the region to
overcome a long-standing deficiency of private sector
investment in R&D."The Minister confirmed that ACOA has received 118 proposals
from the region's research organizations and business
community seeking a total of $290 million toward total
project costs of $572 million. Of the submitted proposals,
57 are from commercial enterprises requesting a total of
$135 million in funding towards total project costs of
$228 million, and 61 are from non-commercial research
organizations seeking a total of $155 million in funding
towards total project costs of $344 million. The deadline
for submitting proposals under the AIF's third request for
project proposals was October 12. Proposals will now be evaluated against the program's
objectives and criteria and forwarded to the AIF Advisory
Board, which is composed of people from across the region
with expertise in research and development, business and
economic policy. The Board will make recommendations to
the Minister on specific project proposals based on a
thorough analysis and the merits of these proposals.The Minister acknowledged funding available this round will
not come close to meeting the demand, and emphasized that
projects must demonstrate commercialization
potential. "Commercialization is key to ensuring research
has a positive economic impact in Atlantic Canada," he said.Since its inception in 2001, the Atlantic Innovation Fund
has led to increased research and development capacity and
activity in the region and more skilled people being
attracted to the region. It is anticipated the renewed
$300-million Atlantic Innovation Fund, launched in July
2005 as part of the Atlantic Investment Partnership - The
Second Wave, will lead to the commercialization of more of
Atlantic Canada's leading-edge research. Minister McGuire says leading-edge, world-class research is
being done in Atlantic Canada. "To fully realize its
benefits, we are encouraging our researchers to explore
commercialization opportunities through partnerships with
industry."
FOR BROADCAST USE:The Honourable Joseph McGuire, Minister of the Atlantic
Canada Opportunities Agency, announced today that the third
request for project proposals under the Government of
Canada's renewed $300 million Atlantic Innovation Fund
(AIF) has generated more than $500 million in project
proposals. "Atlantic Canada's businesses and research organizations
have, once again this round, shown their keen interest in
investing in research and development," said Minister
McGuire. Since its inception in 2001, the Atlantic Innovation Fund
has led to increased research and development capacity and
activity in the region and more skilled people being
attracted to the region. -30-
For more information, contact:
Valérie Poulin
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Joseph McGuire
Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
(613) 941-7241
Anne McInerney
Senior Communications Officer
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
(506) 851-3288
