Organization: Innovative Solutions Canada

The Short Report, March 11, 2020: Anonymizing research applications mitigates gender bias; Superclusters spend a fraction of their budget; Athena Pathways aims to train 500 women in AI

Three maritime research projects led by researchers at the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR) have received more than $3 million in funding through a joint international funding initiative between the Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR) in France and the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ). The projects address issues related to sustainable ocean transport, the effects of…

The Short Report, March 4, 2019: Kirsty Duncan moves for a standing committee on science and research; Alberta cuts post-secondary education funding; Canadian miners make an action plan

The Short Report: New Parliamentary standing committee proposed for science and research; new Protein Industries Supercluster projects; Alberta cuts post-secondary education funding while Ontario increases it; boosting competitiveness of Canada’s mining sector; creating research internships for students; Canadian science for the Moon; developing small nuclear reactor technology; and more.

The Short Report, January 28, 2020: Late-stage growth investing; AI for the steel supply chain; quantum computing with lasers

At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Innovation minister Navdeep Bains and Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga announced a joint investment to establish the new global Intelligence and Cyber Centre in Vancouver, B.C. MasterCard is investing $510 million, of which  $420 million is eligible under the Strategic Innovation Fund, while Ottawa is investing $49 million…

The Short Report, August 28, 2019: International education, social enterprise, industrial R&D

Innovative Solutions Canada launched three new challenges from Health Canada: develop a tool to help medical professionals rapidly diagnose an infection and identify whether it stems from a virus or bacteria; create a tool that would use artificial intelligence and deep learning to help specialists quickly and effectively match organ donors and compatible recipients; and in a…

The Short Report, July 3, 2019: Geothermal energy, digital task force, biofoam

Razor Energy Corp has received $5 million from Natural Resources Canada and $2 million from Alberta Innovates to co-produce a geothermal electricity project at an active oil and gas operation. The University of Alberta will conduct geothermal research in association with the project. – Newswire Nova Scotia-based company CarbonCure Technologies has partnered with Hawaii’s HC&D…

Using research findings to design a better SBIR for Canada

Among the innovation-related initiatives announced in Budget 2017 is Innovative Solutions Canada, a $50 million program inspired by the US Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Recent research has shed new light on the effectiveness of the US SBIR program, and suggests that Canada may be able to design a superior program by offering modest levels of support to young companies in emerging sectors, and letting the private sector fund provide follow-on financing.