Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP) Update
Many manufacturers and innovators across Canada have been impatiently waiting for the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP) to announce its next Call for Proposals. BCIP is the “new” name for the CICP or Canadian Innovation and Commercialization Program that finished its trial run in 2012. Recently, $90 million of funding was committed, which will roll out on an annual renewal cycle amount of $40 million. This program promises incredible potential for Canadian innovators across the board.
How Does My Business Qualify for the BCIP Acquisition Program?
BCIP is not a Canadian business grants or loan program. BCIP is an acquisition program designed to help Canadian innovators with a first real-world purchase and trial run of their product or service. The program has some mandatory qualifications:
- Product or service must be valued at $500,000 or less,
- Product or service cannot be commercially sold or available,
- Bidders must be Canadian companies,
- The content of the product or service must be 80% Canadian,
- Bidder must be able to provide ownership or rights to the IP,
- Product or service must fit within one of the priority areas of the program,
- Product or service must be of use to the federal government.
Military Component Added to BCIP
Additions have been made to BCIP as it becomes a permanent program, one of the most exciting and impactful being a military component. This means there will be an additional focus area for projects that are specifically suited for the military, with similar criteria to a typical BCIP priority area.
Upcoming BCIP Call for Proposals
There is a very strong likelihood that a BCIP Call for Proposals will open within the next few months, however nothing has been officially announced as of the date this blog was published. When this occurs, it will only be open for a very short time-frame. The proposal creation for BCIP will be an involved and detailed process. Mentor Works has been gearing up to find out the latest information about how to ensure your proposal is successful. We are making sure we know as much as possible about the proposal process, what is considered important for the evaluation of proposals and what parts of the proposal aren’t actually rated. Mentor Works believes that, with such a short timeframe available to create and submit a proposal, it is essential to be prepared ahead of time.
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