01 / FUNDING & INNOVATION
Innovation needs more than an idea.
Bringing a new product to market requires technical work, a credible plan, and a way to account for how funding advances the project. Our experience includes familiarity with the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) and TECTERRA, alongside our work developing systems for publicly funded programs.
NRC IRAP supports Canadian small and medium-sized businesses with advice and connections and, in some cases, financial support for technology innovation. TECTERRA has supported geospatial innovation and commercialization, and now also focuses on community, learning and growth in the geospatial workforce. We understand the importance of translating innovation into clear objectives, evidence and outcomes.
02 / PROGRAM DELIVERY
First-hand experience securing funding.
Alex has secured millions of dollars in venture funding for innovative businesses, bringing first-hand experience connecting technology, commercial strategy and investment.
Alex has secured two TECTERRA BUILD funding awards at the highest funding level, and approximately six NRC IRAP grants, primarily through its main project funding programs. His experience also includes Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credits and familiarity with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Together, these experiences provide a first-hand perspective on innovation funding and research incentives.
TECTERRA’s BUILD program historically offered up to $500,000 per project for eligible commercialization work. The later LEAP program was announced with a different funding level of up to $1 million per project. These published program limits are context, not claims about the amount of either BUILD award.
As a grant and business planning consultant with Vencom, Alex also worked on funding strategies involving grants and venture capital. A number of technologies supported through Vencom were commercialized and ultimately sold or exited.
This is Alex’s individual experience across his career; it should be understood separately from Denting the Universe’s software work and the organizations that administer each program.
Experience with the platforms behind the funding.
Our work also extends to the other side of funding: software that supports the organizations delivering programs and the participants working through them. These are distinct engagements for different clients, each with its own requirements and stakeholders.
- Methane Reduction Deployment Program: an application platform created for Modern West Advisory, which delivers the program on behalf of Emissions Reduction Alberta.
- Baseline and Reduction Opportunity Assessment Program: software for Carbon Connect International's Alberta-funded methane assessment program.
- Methane Technology Implementation Program: software for Carbon Connect International's Alberta-funded methane reduction technology program.
03 / THE WORK
Clear processes. Accountable decisions.
Funding programs bring together applicants, delivery organizations, reviewers and oversight bodies. Applications, eligibility, supporting documents, decisions and project milestones must make sense to people with very different responsibilities.
Our program-platform work reflects an understanding of that complexity. We help translate program requirements into workflows that organize information, support human review and connect the steps of a project over time. We are familiar with innovation funding as participants and with program operations through our software work; that experience does not imply that we administer NRC IRAP or TECTERRA.
FURTHER READING
Program sources
National Research Council Canada: financial support for technology innovation ↗
Canada Revenue Agency: SR&ED tax incentives ↗
Invest Alberta: historical BUILD program details ↗
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada ↗
TECTERRA: community, learning and growth ↗
Government of Alberta: methane programs ↗
Emissions Reduction Alberta: Methane Reduction Deployment Program ↗