The Idea to Innovation I2I Program

1
Research Partnership ProgramsPartnering for
Innovation
The Idea to Innovation (I2I) Program University
of Alberta/TEC Edmonton Edmonton, Alberta May
15th, 2008
Stéphanie Michaud, PhD Portfolio Manager
Research Partnerships Programs [phone]
stephanie.michaud_at_nserc.ca
2
NSERC Budget 2007-08(millions of dollars)
Total 957
3
Innovation Programs Budget 2007-08(millions of
dollars)
Total 193
1. Includes College and Community Innovation
Program (0.3M).
4
(No Transcript)
5
NSERC Partnerships a flexible continuum
Innovation Projects Strategic Projects
Strategic Networks Collaborative RD
Grants Research Partnership Agreements Building
Critical Mass Chairs Technology Transfer Idea to
Innovation College Community Innovation
Pilot Intellectual Property Management
Networked Training
CCIP
IPM
ChairsIRCs
Research ? Development
Industry Participation ?
6
I2I is about products

• Our goal is to generate economic activity
• Measure of Success?
• Technologies funded in Phase I are taken up by a
  Company either licensed out or through the
  creation of a viable spin-off
• Phase II projects lead to new market products

7
Entry points to the program

• Phase I Researcher without a partner
• Phase II Researcher with a partner
• a) Early stage investor
• b) Company

8
Phase I

• Objective advance concept to attract early
  stage
• investment
• NSERC 100 direct costs of research
• 12 months (non-renewable)
• Maximum of 125,000 (10 for tech. transfer)

9
Phase I Basics

• Part 2
• Competition faced
• Advantages of the new technology
• How to bring this to the market
• Technology must be protected

• Part 1
• Technology must be mature must have a working
  model
• Potential for a specific product
• Field of application well identified
• Clear description of work needed to get to the
  desired level

10
Application characteristics

• What is the invention
• Progress to date
• Goal to achieve
• How to get there

• First Section
• The project

11
Application characteristics

• Clear go to market strategy
• Focused on the application
• Adapted to the proposed technology
• What is the initial market
• Strong awareness of competition
• Advantages of the proposed product
• Protection strategy

• Second Section
• The technology
• transfer plan
• Completed with
• your ILO office

12
Letters of Support

• Potential user
• Potential commercializing
• entity

• Letters of support

13
Phase II

• Canadian commercializing entity on board and
  contributing ( and know-how)
• Detailed, rigorous scientific plan
• Business plan from the partner

14
Phase IIa

• Partnership with early stage investment entity
• Cost/risk sharing NSERC 2/3 of direct costs
• Maximum 125,000 per project
• 6 to 18 months

15
Phase IIb

• Partnership with a Canadian company
• Cost/risk sharing NSERC 1/2 of direct costs
• Company cash at least 40 of contribution
• Maximum 2 years and 350,000 per project

16
Idea to Innovation (I2I) McMaster
University Phase 1

• John MacGregor Team
• Dr. Hongla Yu (Research Engineer)
• 2 Graduate Students

Potential Early Adopters Frito Lay, DuPont, 3M,
Tembec, COREM

• Digital Imaging for process control
• Extraction of relevant solid processing
  information from multi-spectral imaging cameras
  (product quality)
• Food processing, forest products, polymer films,
  coated products

University SpinOff ProSensus
NSERC 113,200 for one year
17
Evaluation process

• External referees are looking for.
• Technical Merit
• Team Expertise
• Potential for tech transfer and commercialisation
• Probable commercial benefits
• Selection committee
• Successful entrepreneurs and technology transfer
  specialists (IRAP and BDC representatives, ILOs,
  VC)

18
Reasons for NIL funding decision

• Too early stage more than 35 of rejected
• proposals were considered far too early for
  the
• I2I program
• The proposed concept lacks evidence
• Insufficient description of proposed methodology
• No clear definition of a go to market strategy

19
Success rate vs chances of success

• Even if the success rate is around 50, it should
  be emphasized that this does not mean that an
  application has a chance out of two of being
  funded
• If a proposal meets the program requirements and
  objectives it likely has a significant chance of
  success if not, chances are nil

20
Any questions? ? Contact us

• Is the project a good fit with the program?
• Examples of poor fit with the program
• Phase I applications where the technology is
  already committed to a
• company
• The technology needs to be integrated in someone
  elses product but you
• are not collaborating with them
• The market is too small
• Phase II partner is an end-user not a
  commercializing entity

21
Any questions? ? Contact us

• Review of draft or section of an application
• Can a project be re-submitted?
• I2I staff
• [phone]
• I2I_at_nserc.ca

22
Comments or Questions?

• Stéphanie Michaud, PhD
• Portfolio Manager
• [phone]
• Stephanie.michaud_at_nserc.ca
• Website www.nserc.ca