Atlantic Investment Partnership (AIP) - Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF)

The AIF is a federal program within the Atlantic Investment Partnership framework designed to strengthen the economy of Atlantic Canada by accelerating the development of knowledge-based industry.

Eligibility Criteria

The AIF will entertain proposals from commercial and non-commercial entities such as universities, colleges, other research institutions and private sector firms.

Federal departments, including federal research laboratories and institutes, and provincial government departments are not eligible recipients. Nevertheless, they may be active participants in, and may contribute funding to, AIF projects.

To be considered for AIF funding, projects must meet the following essential criteria:

• must be compatible with the AIF objectives;
• must be scientifically and/or technically sound;
• must demonstrate management capability to successfully undertake the project;
• must demonstrate significant economic benefits for Atlantic Canada;
• must demonstrate commercialization potential of project;
• must support new or improved technologies or new applications of technologies;
• must have adequate financing for the duration of the project;
• must be incremental i.e., new or additional activities over and above existing or ongoing activities that cannot proceed without funding from the AIF; and
• must support one or more strategic sectors/technologies.

Summary

Objectives

The objectives of the AIF are to:

• increase activity in and to build capacity for innovation and research and development (R&D) that leads to technologies, products, processes or services that contribute to economic growth in Atlantic Canada;
• increase the capacity for commercialization of R&D outputs;
• strengthen the region's innovation capacity by supporting research, development and commercialization partnerships and alliances among private sector firms, universities, research institutions and other organizations in Atlantic Canada; and
• maximize the regions' ability to access national R&D funding programs.

Types of Projects Eligible for Funding

The Atlantic Innovation Fund focuses on R&D projects in the area of natural and applied sciences, as well as in social sciences, humanities, arts and culture, where these are explicitly linked to the development of technology-based products, processes or services, or their commercialization.

More specifically, the Atlantic Innovation Fund is designed to focus on areas of strategic importance to the region that offer the most potential for future growth, including information technology, ocean technologies, aquaculture, bio-technology, health/medical technologies, and environmental technologies. AIF investments could also strengthen the region's ability to develop technologies that allow natural resource industries - such as oil and gas, agriculture and agri-food, fisheries, forestry and mining - to maintain and increase their competitiveness.

What Level of Financial Assistance Is Available?

The Atlantic Innovation Fund can provide assistance up to 80% of total eligible costs for non-commercial projects and up to 75% of total eligible costs for commercial, private sector projects.

Applicants are encouraged to lever funding from other private and public sources prior to applying for AIF funding.

Commercial applicants seeking funding of $1 000 000 or less are not eligible under the Atlantic Innovation Fund. However, such projects may be eligible for assistance under the Business Development Program of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).

Delivery

The AIF is guided by an Advisory Board that makes recommendations on specific project proposals, and provides advice on policy matters related to the AIF to the Minister of ACOA.

Nova Scotia Contact(s):
Glen MacDonald
Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation
70 Crescent Street
P.O. Box 1750
Sydney, Nova Scotia  B1P 6T7
Telephone: (902) 564-7328
Fax: (902) 564-3825
Toll-free (information): 1-800-705-3926
E-mail: Glen.MacDonald@ecbc.ca
Web site: http://www.ecbc.ca/e/default.asp