07 December 2013

FEDDEV launches new programs to support innovation, productivity

The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario on Friday announced a suite of new funding programs that will support innovation and productivity in the region. The Southern Ontario Prosperity Initiatives (SOPIs) are four programs designed to create and grow businesses, and foster public-private R&D partnerships & resilient regional economies.

These new funding instruments - totalling $530M - will go a long way to support private sector innovation, as enabled by innovation intermediaries in southern Ontario. Applications are available on the FedDev website, within funding to start in April of 2014.

FedDev Ontario has funded many important and innovative initiatives in the region.  George Brown College has participated in two FedDev funded initiatives: The Connected Health and Wellness Program and the Green Building Centre. Minister Goodyear was at George Brown College's Waterfront campus at our recent Applied Research Day to celebrate the Connected Health Wellness Project, where we sampled some of the recipes our Chef School students have developed in support of this innovative project.

The Green Building Centre, which features a new building and expanded applied research capacity, is already helping many entrepreneurs to access the talent, facilities, market and networks at GBC. One such success story is Garden Connections, who access our new Building Information Modelling Studio to create new market opportunities. Read "The business of beautiful: Gardens in the sky," a story about how the Green Building Centre helped landscape architect Fred Hann usher in the future of building.

This is just one of many success stories enabled by FedDev Ontario.

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