Unlocking Financial Opportunities
A Comprehensive Guide to Funding for Canadian SMEs
This comprehensive guide presents an array of funding opportunities available across the country, including grants, loans, venture capital, and other types of financial support. With expert insights, practical tips, and a deep exploration of the funding landscape, this guide is designed to demystify the complexities of securing financing and help Canadian SMEs unlock their full potential.
Ontario Centre of Innovation
Overview
Services Offered
Overview
The Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI), formerly the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), maximizes the commercial impact of research developed in Ontario’s colleges, universities, and research hospitals, and accelerates the commercialization of Made-in-Ontario technologies. A pan-provincial collaboration platform, with a broad and deep network across industry, academia and government, OCI initiates unparalleled partnership opportunities, develops and manages successful industry-academic collaborations, supports high-potential SMEs in commercializing ground-breaking research, and provides hands-on training and skills development opportunities for the next generation of highly-skilled talent.
As an ecosystem connector, OCI initiates unparalleled partnership opportunities, develops and manages successful industry-academic collaborations, supports high-potential SMEs in commercializing ground-breaking research, and provides hands-on training and skills development opportunities for the next generation of highly skilled talent.
We drive economic growth and job creation through investments in the development, commercialization, and adoption of advanced technologies.
Our Focus
Commercializing Academic IP
OCI supports the commercialization of academic intellectual property (IP), industry-academic collaborations and the development and adoption of emerging technologies. This includes overseeing the execution of advanced technology platforms that will equip Ontario companies to compete in a competitive global digital economy.
Supporting Start-Ups
We also support and invest in early-stage projects where the probability of commercial success and return on innovation are substantial. OCI’s strong expertise in de-risking innovation helps attract private investors and other funders to new ventures, bolstering their success.
Retaining Talent
OCI contributes to the development and retention of talent to ensure that industry has access to personnel with the most advanced skills and knowledge and that highly trained personnel find opportunities to apply their expertise in Ontario.
Services Offered
Our Expertise
We focus on sectors of the economy that are seen by Ontario’s elected leadership as having the greatest potential to drive Ontario’s future prosperity and global competitiveness.
OCI deploys an experienced team of Business Development Managers across the province to help build industry-academic collaborations and support the launch and growth of businesses. They identify what is needed by industry, exploring the halls and labs of academe to discover the latest breakthroughs from researchers.
OCI also helps SMEs, academic researchers and entrepreneurs access emerging technologies to develop new applications while sharpening their competitive edge and building export capacity. These include 5G and next-generation network testbeds for the validation of new technologies, applications, and services; and the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) aimed at reinforcing Ontario’s position as a North American leader in transformative automotive technologies
The majority of OCI programs require industry partners to co-invest in projects. OCI-funded projects attract additional funding from other external investors, including angel and venture capital investors, which facilitates economic growth resulting in more labour and economic spin-off.
Our Impact
An important catalyst in Ontario’s economy, OCI:
- generates more than double the amount of its original investment in partner co-investments ($165 million in 2020-2021)
- helps attract follow-on investments in client companies, primarily from angel investors and venture capitalists ($503 million in 2020-2021)
- helps create or retain thousands of jobs (5,644 in 2020-2021)
- Through follow-on investment into firms engaged in OCI projects, contributes substantively to Ontario taxes
OCI’s Whole of Government Approach
A trusted partner of the government in program delivery, OCI has adopted a whole-of-government approach to streamline funding application processes for companies and entrepreneurs.
Participating in this whole-of-government approach are The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), Connect Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
 Innovation Procurement Toolkit (IPT)
Innovation procurement is the purchase of new solutions that do not currently exist in the market, or need to be adapted, in order to meet specified needs and create value for the procuring organization.
To assist healthcare service provides in developing competitive procurement processes for innovative solutions, the Innovation Procurement Toolkit (IPT) was developed to include tools, templates and guidance documents to assist in the development and management of innovation procurement initiatives.
Toolkit Resources:
The IPT has been structured to facilitate the flow of an innovation procurement process from needs assessment, including development of the problem statement, through early market engagement, procurement of the solution and contract award. Guidance documents include:
IPT Navigation Guide
A helpful overview of the tools, templates and guides relevant for each stage of the procurement process.
IPT Decision-Tree
A sample decision making process that can be helpful to guide the development of a procurement plan.
Early Market Engagement Strategies Guide (*Market Sounding and Call for Innovative Solutions: Systems Coordinated Access)
This guide provides commentary and insight on how to execute the seven early market engagements strategies identified in the Primer. It details strategies to engage the market and gather intelligence in order to inform the procurement process. Guidance is also provided on development of effective problem statements, an essential early step in the process.
Innovation Procurement Models Guide
A guide that provides insight into the six innovation procurement models detailed in the Primer, providing guidance on when and how to use each of these models. It also discusses considerations, risks and risk mitigation measures in selecting and executing an innovation procurement.
The Innovation Procurement Models Guide includes references to three other guides that address critical elements of the competitive process. These are:
– Outcome-Based Specifications Guide
– Value-Based Evaluation Criteria Guide
– Total Cost of Ownership Guide
Toolkit Templates:
The IPT includes templates that can be used to execute the various stages of an innovation procurement process. These templates are provided in Word format so they can be adapted to suit specific organizational requirements.
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Sector
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Website https://www.oc-innovation.ca/
