Update on the Build in Canada Innovation Program – From pilot to permanent program

November 2013

More than ever, the Government of Canada is focused on making it easier for great ideas in the lab or on the shop floor here in Canada to become great products for the world to buy.

Key to this is continuing to provide opportunities through the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP) for Canadian innovations to germinate and grow—connecting small- and medium-sized enterprises and their pre-commercialized products with government organizations that can use the innovations to meet their needs.

The first question often asked of Canadian companies in search of new international contracts is whether they have sold in Canada or to their own government. A contract with the government can give a company the legitimacy it needs to break into a new market. Helping innovative Canadian businesses succeed and expand creates the economic growth Canadian families need. Successful innovations translate into jobs, and jobs lead to prosperity for hard-working people.

How it works

If you’re not familiar with the program launched in 2010 as a pilot, the Government of Canada acts as a first user of pre-commercial innovations. Federal departments test prototypes developed by Canadian businesses and provide feedback to help improve the innovative products and services, before they are marketed to other customers.

This BCIP is particularly useful for small- and medium-sized enterprises, which often face difficulties finding the resources to bring innovative products and services to market. The program is managed by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) and implemented by the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME). Participating companies have been strongly supportive of this program since it was launched in 2010.

The program has two components. The first identifies highly innovative products and services to buy, use and evaluate in order to support businesses as they move to commercialization.

The second builds on current OSME practices aimed at improving small- and medium- enterprises’ access to federal procurement activities, and enabling them to showcase innovative products and services to potential government users.

The government participates in regional events and trade shows so that Canadian businesses can showcase their innovative concepts to federal representatives.

When a Call for Proposals closes, submissions are evaluated through a review process to establish a pool of pre-qualified proposals. PWGSC then works with pre-qualified businesses to seek a testing department for each pre-qualified innovation.

If a good fit is found between an innovation and a testing department, PWGSC negotiates a contract with the selected company to test the innovation, though no contract award is guaranteed.

More success stories

Essentially, this program can assist Canadian businesses in entering larger domestic and international markets.

Ocean Sonics and Instrument Concepts

A great example of this is Ocean Sonics and Instrument Concepts, based in Nova Scotia. The company was awarded a $297,000 contract through the BCIP for its icListen device, used to detect and notify border security staff of boating activity and transmit data to off-site locations.

“The contract is the company’s first business dealing with the federal government and facilitates the ability to develop a new product,” said Desirée Stockermans, Operations Manager.

The company also developed a special buoy that keeps the device upright at the bottom of the ocean and a radio system at the surface that transmits the collected data. Such information is useful for plotting shipping lanes or recording the sounds of animals rarely heard or seen by humans. The boat traffic monitoring aspect is new for the company.

“This program got us into a whole new market,” added Stockermans, who expects more business diversity to come both through government and the private sector.

Edgewater Computer Systems, Inc.

Following the successful testing of its E1553® network interface card (NIC) on the CH-146 Griffon helicopter announced under the BCIP in July 2012, Edgewater Computer Systems, Inc., of Ottawa, was awarded a multi-million dollar contract by National Defence to complete airworthiness certification of its flagship network interface technology.

“This is possibly the most important development in the history of Edgewater’s Extended 1553,” said Greg Fielding, Vice-President of Edgewater. “Completing the certification of Edgewater’s E1553® NIC to meet National Defence’s stringent airworthiness requirements opens the door to the broad deployment of the product across multiple airborne platforms, worldwide.”

BCIP by the numbers

The first Call for Proposals, launched in 2010, generated 375 proposals; the second call, in 2011, generated 335 proposals; and the third call, in 2012, generated 257 proposals.

As of early November 2013, over 60 contracts had been signed with Canadian companies to test their products and services with government departments.

What’s new

This year, the program was made permanent, and Economic Action Plan 2012 allocated additional funding for three years. As of 2016, $40 million will be permanently dedicated to the BCIP annually.

Minister Finley announced the new Call for Proposals on November 21, 2013, which integrated the new military component, further demonstrating the Government's commitment to foster innovation and bolster economic growth in Canada.

For more details on the program, please visit the Build in Canada Innovation Program website.

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