Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative 2021-22 Call for Proposals
Posted: September 27, 2021
Categories: GoodFoodBites / Opportunities
The Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative is currently accepting applications until October 29, 2021, at 2 p.m. ET.
The Initiative offers funding to stimulate innovation to support the growth and competitiveness of Ontario’s agri-food sector, promote food safety and strengthen rural communities. It is jointly funded by the federal and provincial governments under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
This Call has three streams of funding that will maximize the impact of research results by supporting Knowledge Translation and Transfer (KTT) activities and provide support for advancing innovative technologies, services and products by funding market validation and product development activities. Information on each stream has been copied below.
The three streams are:
- Knowledge Mobilization
- Research Synthesis
- Commercialization (advancing innovative technologies, products and services)
Stream A: Knowledge Mobilization
Knowledge Mobilization projects will include outreach and/or engagement activities that support the dissemination, uptake and/or use of existing research to Ontario’s agri-food sector.
Stream B: Research Synthesis
Research Synthesis projects will:
- specifically address one of seven agri-food sector related research questions provided
- conduct synthesis of prior research in order to detail the status of science and research in Ontario and other relevant or similar jurisdictions
- identify research gaps and provide direction and recommendations that can be used for evidence-based policy, programs, and best management practices (BMP) where applicable
Stream C: Commercialization
The Commercialization stream is delivered by Bioenterprise, a national, non-profit business accelerator that offers commercialization expertise in supporting businesses in the agricultural technology sector.
Commercialization projects will be short-term, with a focus on:
- converting research and prototypes into viable products and production systems
- assisting Ontario-based researchers and companies who have promising discoveries to advance their research into the marketplace
With a focus on later-stage development of previous applied research projects, this stream will fund:
- market validation – to conduct market research to determine the size and quality of the market opportunity for a new and promising technology, product or service.
- product development – to create prototypes, perform field trials, remove any barriers to a market launch or private sector adoption and optimize a minimum viable product that best meets the needs of customers.
Who is Eligible
Public and private sector applicants from Ontario with the capacity to perform quality research in the program priority areas are invited to apply. For more information on eligibility, please visit the OAFRI website.
A virtual information session will be available on October 4, 2021, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Learn more, including how to apply, on the province’s website here.