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Innovation Pitch Event and $50,000 Innovation Grant

    ABCMI Innovation Pitch Event and $50,000 Innovation Grant

     

    Are you an innovative company in B.C.'s industrial marine sector?

    Do you have a research, demonstration or commercialization project that can provide economic opportunities to more than 1 company?

    Is your project at a technology readiness level (TRLs) of 4 through 8?

    Could your project benefit from a $50,000 grant?

     

    Get ready to put your innovative ideas on paper and make the Pitch! We are calling on entrepreneurs and innovators in B.C.’s industrial marine sector. The Association of British Columbia Marine Industries (ABCMI) will hold a pitch event in September 2021 that allows companies in the BC industrial marine sector, to pitch their research, demonstration or commercialization projects that can provide economic opportunities for more than one company. This activity will lead to the identification of one consortium of companies that will receive a one-time $50K financial grant to support their projects.

     

    Scope

    Projects must be relevant to the industrial marine sector as represented by ABCMI. This includes shipbuilding and ship repair, small craft marine construction and repair, marine products, marine infrastructure and industrial marine services, marine professional services, and ocean science and technology. This initiative is targeted at research, demonstration or commercialization projects at technology readiness levels (TRLs) 4 through 8 as defined by Innovation Canada.

     

    General Eligibility

    Applicants must have an incorporated for-profit company in Canada that has been incorporated for a period of at least 6 months. Applicants have to constitute a consortium of at least two or more incorporated Canadian companies that have the potential to create economic opportunities and generate revenue through the commercialization of their product or service. All applicants need to be members in good standing with ABCMI at the time of the submission of their applications. Applicants must be a small or medium sized enterprise (SME) and must have a project that falls within the Innovation Canada Technical Readiness Levels (TRLs) 4 to 8.

     

    Evaluation

    Applicants for the grant will need to complete an application form located on the ABCMI website. From these applications, ABCMI will select consortiums that will participate in the Pitch Event.

    The Pitch Event will be either carried out in virtual format on the ABCMI Zoom platform or as a physical event in Victoria, BC, in September 2021. Six members of the ABCMI Board will act as the judging panel and will choose the winning consortium for the $50K grant. The winning consortium will need to have completed the activity, to which the $50K grant is being applied, by no later than May 31, 2022.

    At the Pitch Event, each consortium will be given 10 minutes to present its project using a PowerPoint presentation and if applicable, supporting video or other form of multi-media. Each presentation will be followed by a 10-minute question & answer period with questions being posed by the judging panel.

    Pitches will be evaluated on the following criteria:

    • Problem & solution – describes and quantifies the issue and proposes a feasible solution that is economically viable
    • Quality of idea/technology – represents innovation in the ocean and marine space that has real potential in achieving acceptance in private and/or public sectors
    • Economic impact – showing how two or more companies will have economic opportunities created for them with the conduct and completion of this project
    • Impact of funds – demonstrates how the funds will be spent in order to have a significant impact on reaching goals
    • People – demonstrates the team is committed to the project and has the relevant experience and skills to execute
    • Competition – clearly identifies market opportunity and how this product or service differentiates itself against those of competitors

    Applications must satisfy scope and eligibility requirements as set out by ABCMI.

    Funding is provided to the winner as a reimbursement on expense claims.

    Claims must include receipts or invoices to support each item.

    All expenses incurred must relate to achieving the milestones submitted in the approved application and proposed budget.

    ABCMI reserves the right not to award the grant.

     

    Timeline

    Information Package & Application online – July 21

    Applications accepted until – September 15 at 4:00 PM PDT

    Innovation Pitch Event – September 29

    Winning Consortium Announced – September 30

    Application Consortiums vying for the grant will first need to complete an application form describing their companies and the consortium that encompasses two or more companies, a description detailing their project, the innovation or new technology that their project entails, the commercial opportunities for their product or service, the duration of the activity, and the intended economic outcome for two or more companies. A budget for spending the $50,000 must also be included.

    Companies will need to be an ABCMI member in good standing in order to take advantage of this opportunity.

     

    Confidentiality

    All submissions are treated confidentially and will not be made available to the public. Only those involved in managing or judging the pitch event will view submitted documents. Any Intellectual Property (IP) associated or derived through the conduct of this project will remain solely with the applicants for the ABCMI grant. All communications on this event and grant are to be done by ABCMI.

     

    Questions you will be asked in the Application Form

    Solution

    • What is your idea or solution to the problem described above?
    • Describe your product or service.
    • Describe how your product or service works.
    • Describe the science/technology behind your product.
    • Is there any intellectual property (IP) being developed? If so, please describe the IP and explain who has ownership.
    • How does your idea or solution solve the problem outlined above?
    • What is the current status of your technology/venture? (TRL 4, TRL 5, TRL 6, TRL 7, TRL 8)

    Market

    • Who are your customers? (e.g. category, specific organizations or companies)
    • Describe the value proposition for this customer in one sentence (how does this save time or money or increase your customers’ revenue).
    • How big is the market size? Include sources if applicable.

    Competition

    • Who are your potential competitors?
    • What is your product’s core sustainable competitive advantage over your competitors? (i.e. how will you remain competitive over time)

    Execution

    • What milestones have you achieved to date? This could include market research, customer discovery, product concept development, competitor analysis, etc.
    • How would funding help you achieve future milestones? Please provide a plan on how you will achieve future milestones.
    • Describe how you will use the grant to test, validate and commercialize your prototype.
    • What is the long-term vision of your company? Describe what you would like your company to be in 10 years.
    • How much time have you spent developing your idea or solution?

    Other

    • Is there anything else you would like to share?
    • Are you working with any post-secondary institutions in the advancement of your innovative effort? If so, who are they and what support is being provided?
    • Are you working with any post-secondary students in the advancement of your innovative effort? If so, who are they (no names – just level of education, faculty and area of focus) and what support is being provided?
    • Do you have a pitch deck or supporting documents you would like to share now? (Maximum 10 MB)

     

    To download the above ABCMI Innovation Pitch and $50K Innovation Grant guidelines, click here.