Small Company Program

Precarn’s Small Company Program has been developed to specially to meet the needs of small business.  The Program is designed to support projects that are smaller in size, scope and funding, while being more accessible to small businesses.  A small business is defined as an organization having between five and fifty employees, with revenues between $500K and $10M. Projects must be in the field of intelligent systems.   

Project teams must represent a collaboration of a minimum of three organizations: a technology developer, a technology end-user, and a university or community college. The end-user’s exact role in the project must be specified.  In addition, if the end-user could not be considered a customer of the technology, then potential customers also need to be identified.  The university or community college involvement must be significant to the project.  Laboratories operated by the Federal Government can participate on a self-funded basis, as they are not eligible to receive Precarn funding. Projects must be Canadian-led and Canadian-based.  Precarn funds can only support the eligible expenditures of the Canadian participants.  International participants can, however, be part of the project team on a self-funded basis.

Precarn’s contribution to a project will not exceed 50% of total eligible project costs. Project duration will not exceed 24 months.

Project deliverables are:

1. a working prototype, to be demonstrated in a user trial setting,
2. a business case document, which sets the stage for the commercialization of the technologies, and
3. a Final Report presenting the results of the project.

Precarn projects are expected to produce new IP that can be commercialized.  The program recognizes the value to the participants of any background IP they bring into the project.  Background IP will remain vested with the owner. 

Project proposals require clearly identified commercialization goals and strategies. Some early-stage commercialization activities are eligible for reimbursement. For example: work undertaken to define or refine the specifications of the technology, product or process under development; or work necessary in assessing the prospects of commercial exploitation.  Such costs may not exceed 5% of the total eligible project costs and must be specified in the total project budget.

Proposals must describe projects that will advance the state of the art.  A literature search should be conducted, and an analysis presented in the proposal. The research must be scientifically sound and technically feasible, and should include an innovative application of the results to a real industrial problem or market opportunity.  The research must address a specific technical problem, the resolution of which will result in significant benefits to the competitive position of the participating firms.  By definition an R&D project will have an associated element of risk; projects can not represent the implementation, or reworking, of existing technology.   

For further information contact:

Derek Best, Director, Research Programs
(613) 727-9507 ext. 232