Regional Innovation Ecosystems in British Columbia

Overview

The Regional Innovation Ecosystems (RIE) program supports business growth in British Columbia.

By investing in organizations to provide business supports and services, the RIE enables innovation, increases resilience, boosts productivity and contributes to the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Eligible activities

RIE supports projects that strengthen business growth and regional innovation ecosystems by advancing later stage innovation, helping firms scale and improving productivity. Eligible activities include those that help businesses:

• commercialize technologies
• connect suppliers and buyers
• expand markets
• adopt productivity -enhancing tools and practices
• capitalize on strategic opportunities in B.C.’s areas of strength

This includes, for example:

• technology commercialization: helping businesses develop, demonstrate, de-risk and/or commercialize later stage innovative products and technologies, including by connecting suppliers and buyers and establishing or improving facilities that provide specialized services for businesses (e.g., testbeds, platforms and other innovation tools or assets)
• productivity improvement: enabling technology transfer, training and adoption of new technologies, business models and industrial applications to scale firms and boost competitiveness
• market development and diversification: supporting businesses to expand and diversify markets through export readiness, promoting domestic trade and attracting investment, including through market analysis and trade missions
• ecosystem development and business support: seizing strategic opportunities in B.C.’s areas of strength, including building resilient domestic supply chains, developing workforces, providing access to shared-use infrastructure and increasing the economic participation of Indigenous peoples and other under-represented groups
• business acceleration^{Footnote 1}: supporting entrepreneurs and start-ups to grow their businesses

Projects are expected to generate strong economic results including:

• creating high-quality jobs in Canada
• increasing revenue and export sales
• growing business sales from commercialization (where applicable)

Applicants must clearly demonstrate how they will achieve these results, and funding recipients will be required to report on their progress.

Priorities

PacifiCan’s goal is to build enduring prosperity for British Columbians and Canadians. Strong projects will advance one or more of the following PacifiCan priorities:

• Invest in B.C.’s Strengths: Anchor long-term economic development by investing in innovative businesses with opportunities to scale
• Supply Canada: Connect businesses and communities to opportunities arising from generational investments in major projects, strategic sectors and domestic trade
• Grow Exports: Leverage B.C.’s position in the Pacific to help businesses diversify markets and increase exports

Priority may be given to projects that focus on one or more of the following areas of B.C. strength:

• Oceans and Agriculture Products and Technologies: drawing on innovative technologies to sustainably harness, harvest and/or process marine and agricultural resources
• Digital, AI, Quantum Technologies and Creative Industries: developing and applying advanced computing, data, software and other technologies to create solutions and support B.C.’s deep tech and creative sectors
• Advanced Materials and Manufacturing: using innovative technologies to enhance products and processes, e.g. mass timber construction, nanofabrication, and composites
• Clean Technologies: creating products or services that reduce environmental impacts
• Critical Minerals, Energy, Trade and Logistics: improving efficiency in energy and mining, and moving resources and goods that power economies and global supply chains
• Life Sciences and Biomanufacturing: advancing pharmaceuticals, biologics, medical devices and digital health solutions
• Shipbuilding and Aerospace: design, construction, and maintenance of marine vessels and aircraft

And those proposals that do one or more of the following:

• Leverage higher amounts of funding from sources other than PacifiCan and governments (i.e., more than 50% non-PacifiCan funding and more than 10% non-government funding)
• Demonstrate a high use of Canadian materials and/or content (for projects where PacifiCan’s contribution is $5 million or greater)
• Align with key federal and provincial industrial and/or economic development strategies