February 8, 2007
Moncton, New Brunswick
The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs
and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
(ACOA), today launched the next round of the Atlantic
Innovation Fund (AIF) by inviting eligible proponents to
submit letters of intent and project proposals for AIF
funding. "Canada's New Government is committed to investing in
research and development that, once commercialized, will
help build a more competitive economy in Atlantic Canada,"
said Minister MacKay. "I am pleased to launch the next
round of funding under the AIF, a program that is playing a
key part in helping create jobs, increase trade and
investment, retain highly skilled people and attract new
talent to Atlantic Canada." ACOA's Atlantic Innovation Fund is a Government of Canada
initiative designed to strengthen the economy of Atlantic
Canada by increasing the region's capacity to carry out
leading-edge, commercially driven R&D that contributes to
the development of new technology-based economic activity. "Just last month, I had the pleasure of announcing $67.1
million in funding for 29 innovative AIF projects
throughout Atlantic Canada," added Minister MacKay. "Under
this new round announced today, I encourage Atlantic
Canada's businesses and research institutions to take full
advantage of this important initiative and submit leading-
edge proposals that will generate new opportunities for
trade, investment and job creation in our region."Eligible proponents which include private sector
businesses, universities, colleges and other research
organizations are required to submit a mandatory letter
of intent, followed by a complete project proposal. The
deadline for submitting mandatory letters of intent is
March 27, 2007, and the deadline for submitting complete
project proposals is June 12, 2007. Detailed information is
available on ACOA's website: www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca.
Proposals will be evaluated against the AIF's objectives
and criteria and forwarded to the AIF Advisory Board, which
is composed of people from across Atlantic Canada with
expertise in research and development, business and
economic policy.FOR BROADCAST USE:
Foreign Affairs and ACOA Minister Peter MacKay today
invited businesses, universities and research institutions
in Atlantic Canada to submit proposals for funding under
the next round of the Atlantic Innovation Fund. The
Atlantic Innovation Fund is designed to increase Atlantic
Canada's ability to carry out leading-edge R&D, which, once
brought to market, has the potential to grow the Atlantic
economy. Mandatory letters of intent must be submitted by
March 27, 2007, and complete project proposals are due June
12, 2007. Detailed information is available on ACOA's
website: www.acoa.gc.ca.Diana Zandberg
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Moncton, NB
506-851-2132
