OTTAWA, Ontario, April 24, 2013 – Royal Galipeau, Member of Parliament for Ottawa–Orléans, on behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, is pleased to announce the opening of an exhibit called From Prototype to Market in partnership with the Canada Science and Technology Museum (CSTM). The exhibit highlights the Harper Government’s continued support to innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit in Canada 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. “By supporting innovation designed right here, we are helping bring these businesses one step closer in moving their innovations into domestic and international markets.”
From Prototype to Market is a bilingual exhibit in the museum’s Techno Zone (the CSTM’s new technology marketplace) that showcases leading-edge products being developed by Canadian innovators supported through the CICP. The exhibit aims to inspire Canadians of all generations to become more engaged with science and technology.
“We are here today to showcase the successes of our Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program,” said Mr. Galipeau. “We know that by helping Canadian innovation, we are helping Canadian businesses expand and succeed, and create jobs, growth and prosperity.”
Created by the Harper Government in 2010, the CICP helps businesses move their innovative products and services from the lab to the marketplace. Successful bidders see their pre commercialized innovative products and services tested within government departments and are given valuable feedback from users. The CICP is managed by Public Works and Government Services Canada’s Office of Small and Medium Enterprises, whose mandate is to improve access to government procurement opportunities for small and medium enterprises.
For more information on the CICP, please visit the program’s website.
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The Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) has partnered with the Canada Science and Technology Museum to host an exhibit of innovations that have been or are being tested through the CICP.
For information on the exhibit, please visit the Canada Science and Technology Museum website.
As a part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the 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.
The CICP targets innovations in four priority areas:
- environment;
- safety and security;
- health; and
- enabling technologies.
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.
Public Works and Government Services Canada 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.
Economic Action Plan 2012 committed to making the CICP permanent, and announced that a military component would be added to the program.
Economic Action Plan 2013 announced that the Government will officially launch the military component of the program in the near future.
For further information on the program, visit the CICP’s web page.
