$100K innovation challenge a first for New Brunswick

Fredericton, NB – The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) is looking for New Brunswick-based companies with innovative and commercially viable ideas. Under the province’s newly launched R3 Innovation Challenge, two such companies could be recipients of $50,000 worth of research and development services at a post-secondary institution or research organization in the province.

“Innovation is crucial for the province’s economic growth,” says Robert Hatheway, NBIF chair. “Companies that encourage collaboration with the research community can open themselves up to opportunities that even the biggest corporations are striving for.”

Each of the two successful companies will be matched with a New Brunswick researcher who will collaborate with them on the project. The funding will flow directly to the collaborating research institution as a fully funded Emerging Project under NBIF’s Research Innovation Fund. At the end of their R3 Innovation Challenge project, the companies will own any intellectual property developed.

“If you had the chance to listen to the conversations at any company, eventually you’ll hear someone share a great idea for a new product, or a better way of doing something,” says Calvin Milbury, NBIF president & CEO. “But for most small- to medium-sized companies, they simply don’t have the time, expertise, and facilities to put that idea into development. We created the R3 Innovation Challenge to show companies how they can collaborate with the province’s research community to turn their ideas into innovations.”

The deadline for submissions to the R3 Innovation Challenge is February 28. The two recipients will be announced at the third bi-annual R3 Gala on March 21, when NBIF will honour three of New Brunswick’s top applied research with the R3 Innovation Award for Excellence in Applied Research.