For immediate release
WATERLOO, Ontario, August 13, 2012 – Peter Braid, Member of Parliament for Kitchener–Waterloo, on behalf of 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 has awarded a $326,005 contract to Aeryon Labs Inc. for their pre-qualified innovation through the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP).
“Our government’s top priority is the economy and we understand that helping Canadian businesses expand and succeed directly benefits Canadian workers and families by creating jobs and prosperity,” said Minister Ambrose. “We are proud to encourage Canada’s entrepreneurial spirit by kick-starting Canadian businesses to get their innovative products and services from the lab to the marketplace.”
“Strengthening Canada’s economy is our number one priority, and this contract award is great news for the workers of Aeryon Labs Inc. and our region,” said MP Peter Braid. “We’re putting our support behind Aeryon’s innovation, designed right here in Waterloo, and helping to kick-start their product into domestic and international markets. I am proud that our Government promotes local innovation and reinforces our region’s tremendous entrepreneurial spirit through this successful program.”
“This initiative is great news for us. The program will help our business and stimulate our local economy. We are very thankful to the Government of Canada for supporting the small enterprise/business sector,” said Chuck Lownie, Vice President, Aeryon Labs Inc.
Aeryon Labs Inc.’s innovation, the Aeryon Scout Unmanned Aerial System, is an instantly deployable and operable micro-remotely operated vehicle for surveillance, reconnaissance and inspection with an easy-to-use touch screen, and map-based controls.
Launched in 2010, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program has already shown encouraging results, connecting Canadian companies with federal departments and agencies that have a need for innovative products and services. By selling to the federal government, businesses can demonstrate the value of their products and services, and potentially generate future sales to non-federal customers.
To build on the early success of this program, Economic Action Plan 2012 allocated an additional $95 million over three years, starting in 2013–14, and $40 million per year thereafter to make the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program permanent. The program will include an added military procurement component.
For the complete list of the successful innovations, please refer to the backgrounder.
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As a part of the Economic Action Plan, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) was created to bolster innovation in Canada’s business sector, and was designed to help companies 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 products or services and providing feedback to entrepreneurs on their performance;
- 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.
CICP targets innovations in four priority areas:
- environment;
- safety and security;
- health; and
- enabling technologies.
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.
Public Works and Governments Services Canada (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 SMEs to identify and pursue opportunities that encourage the introduction of innovative products and services to the marketplace.
Here is a list of the pre-qualified innovations the Government of Canada may buy and test through the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program:
For descriptions of the innovations please visit https://buyandsell.gc.ca/initiatives-and-programs/canadian-innovation-commercialization-program-cicp/pre-qualified-innovations.
Proposals related to the opportunity to test innovative products and services are accepted through a competitive Calls for Proposals.
