We are seeking pre-commercial innovative prototypes that can be tested in real life settings and address a variety of priorities within the Government of Canada.
Funding mechanism:
Contract
Opening date:
September 12, 2023
Closing date:
October 3, 2023, 14:00 Eastern Time
Overview
The Testing Stream aims to procure, test and evaluate innovative late stage pre-commercial prototypes.
The purpose of these calls for prototypes (CFPs) is to create pools of conditionally qualified innovations that Canada may select from to address a broad range of the Government of Canada organizations' requirements.
Each call includes a Standard Component and Military Component:
Standard component: $1,150,000 CAD
Military component: $2,300,000 CAD
If you meet the eligibility criteria and have a prototype that can respond to one of the problems below, apply now!
Problem statements
Food Safety and Security
The vision of The Government of Canada is one where all people in Canada are able to access safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse food. Food systems, including the way food is produced, processed, distributed, consumed, and disposed of, have direct impacts on the lives of Canadians. Food systems are interconnected and are integral to the wellbeing of communities, public health, environmental sustainability, and the strength of the economy.
Canada's food policy is supported by principles designed to promote the safe secure, and equitable access to food and nutrition premised on innovation, sustainability, collaboration, evidence and accountability, and reconciliation.
The Government is interested in testing innovations in the food safety, security, and sustainability space. The integrity of the food labelling process, including verifiable methods to ascertain the content, safety and quality of food, remains a core component of any food security paradigm. The ability to capture and analyze data on-site represents another such component. The Government is also interested in testing technologies that can support or sustain agricultural practices.
The relevance of proposed innovations will be assessed according to how they address and resolve the Problem Statement above. Innovative processes will be accepted and constitute an innovation for the purpose of the outcomes below.
Definitions:
- Arctic Conditions:
- The solution must be capable of deploying on permafrost, and withstand temperatures of down to -40C including inclement weather, with at times limited or sporadic access to sunlight, potable water, and energy.
- Infrastructure:
- Residential and Operational structures and installations of any variety.
- Self-sufficient:
- Proposed infrastructure must be able to function off grid.
Outcomes:
Innovations must meet at least ONE of the following outcomes to meet the requirements of criteria SC4 in the Call for Proposals Evaluation Grid. Identify in your proposal which Outcome(s) you have selected.
Food Security and Safety:
- Technologies that address challenges in food safety and the safety of the food supply chain, including:
- Increasing access to and the availability of nutritious food via innovation throughout the growth to delivery lifecycle;
- DNA barcoding to authenticate food products (e.g. identification of plant or seed species) and other technologies capable of validating claims (e.g., nutrition, composition, origin, etc.) on labels to prevent food fraud;
- Innovative techniques to analyze the composition of plants and food products that may include the application of spectroscopy, chromatography, mass spectrometry, Infrared light, or other methods;
- Innovative techniques in biotechnology and gene editing that can enhance food security by increasing crop yields, improving nutritional content, and developing disease-resistant crops;
- Innovations that promote animal health and welfare during transportation under extreme weather conditions, such as technologies that retrofit or modify existing trailers and conveyors as well as new and novel trailer and conveyor prototypes;
- Innovations to support the response to animal disease outbreaks, including technologies that support rapid livestock vaccination;
- Rapid diagnostics tests and field test kits that can be used to determine:
- The quality, type, and approximate concentration of contaminants and microorganisms;
- The presence of disease and pests on crops and other plants;
- Technologies capable of performing the remote detection and identification of harmful substances or invasive/regulated species, and;
- Technologies capable of performing remote data collection and analysis on areas and events related to food security, agricultural practices, crop health, anticipated environmental events and their impacts, including solutions that propose AI or Machine Learning solutions.
Food Sustainability:
- Growing facilities and other solutions which include innovations that retrofit shipping and other containers;
- Greenhouses capable of functioning in Arctic Conditions;
- Innovative air quality sensors for greenhouse applications;
- Water purification systems and solutions capable of measuring water quality with ion selective sensors;
- Stand-alone water filtration systems and reservoirs;
- Solutions that identify, integrate, and apply low waste, waste utilization, and circular waste system principles in northern agricultural practices;
- Food production solutions that can function in Artic Conditions, including:
- Controlled environment agriculture,
- Vertical farming container systems,
- Mushroom farms,
- Solutions that are not impacted by outdoor environmental conditions;
- Aquaponic solutions,
- Enclosed livestock production,
- HVAC solutions capable of withstanding Arctic Conditions and capable of venting high humidity air into -0C environments.
ISC will NOT Accept any of the following (Out of scope):
- Solutions that are not stand-alone or require retrofits to existing infrastructure
Health and Disease Prevention
In the area of infectious disease prevention and control, the Government of Canada continues to prioritize increasing knowledge and understanding of the health risks associated with climate-driven infectious diseases, working towards combatting antimicrobial resistance, and reducing the health impacts of re-emerging diseases.
The Government of Canada continues to expand efforts to monitor the trends and impacts of antimicrobial resistance in both institutions and the community, building on lessons learned from the pandemic with domestic partners to prioritize collective actions to further address the threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Likewise the Government of Canada intends to prepare for future public health events by using data from ongoing as well as new and novel surveillance efforts to detect and act on public health threats by working collaboratively across governments and directly with provinces, communities, and individuals.
The Government of Canada is seeking innovations to solve problems related to health and disease prevention, which includes a focus on both communicable and non-communicable diseases. The Government is interested in testing innovative medical technologies that directly advances wellness and disease prevention, such as new and novel therapeutics and Agetech that enables older Canadians to live safely and independently. In addition the Government is interested in leveraging data, including AI and Machine-Learning, to capture, analyze, and model information for use in public health decision making.
The relevance of proposed innovations will be assessed according to how they address and resolve the Problem Statement above. Innovative processes will be accepted and constitute an innovation for the purpose of the outcomes below.
Definitions:
- Genomic Medicine:
- Genomic medicine refers to the use of information from an individual's genetic makeup, specifically their genome, in clinical practice to guide medical decisions, disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. It involves analyzing an individual's genes, including variations or mutations, to gain insights into their susceptibility to certain diseases, as well as their potential response to particular treatments..
- Immunotherapy:
- Immunotherapy refers to a type of treatment that harnesses the body's immune system to combat diseases, particularly cancer and certain autoimmune disorders. It involves using substances or therapies to stimulate, enhance, or restore the natural immune response, enabling the immune system to more effectively recognize and attack abnormal cells or substances.
- Aging Related Technology (Agetech):
- Agetech refers to technology designed to service the medical needs of older adults. Age tech can be any type of technology that improves the lives of aging adults.
Outcomes:
Innovations must meet at least ONE of the following outcomes to meet the requirements of criteria SC4 in the Call for Proposals Evaluation Grid. Identify in your proposal which Outcome(s) you have selected
- Innovative antimicrobial therapeutics for humans, animals, and/or plants;
- Disease prevention and response technologies, including zoonotic diseases;
- Autonomous diagnostic devices and disease monitoring systems;
- Innovative air, soil, and/or water quality monitoring systems that can identify and mitigate environmental factors that contribute to disease risk;
- AI and Machine Learning technologies specific to disease prevention and diagnostics that can analyze datasets, identify patterns, leverage modeling to predict disease outcomes, and assist in clinical decision-making;
- AI and Machine Learning tools to assist in optimizing resource allocation and distribution (of resources) related to disease prevention, response, and mitigation;
- Innovative genomic medicines including genomic sequencing;
- Immunotherapy technologies that support individual immune systems to fight diseases, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, CAR-T cell therapy, and cancer as well as other vaccines, and;
- Technologies to identify and/or mitigate hazards in the mail stream as well as technologies that can identify and/or mitigate hazards to delivery agents in an operational environment.
Advanced and Emerging Medical Technologies
The Government of Canada has identified the life sciences sector as a top priority of the Canadian economy. To ensure Canada is well-positioned to respond to future health emergencies and to promote the long-term growth of Canada's life sciences sector, it is imperative for the Government to support the development of novel and disruptive health technologies from clinical development through to commercialization and manufacturing. With their enormous innovation potential, these types of emerging technologies can lead to new commercial products, new approaches to protect human health, and generalized improvements in health care.
The Government of Canada is seeking advanced medical technology solutions to address ongoing challenges. The Government is interested in testing innovative medical devices, infrastructure, and technologies that support hospital and research operations as well as those that promote direct point of care patient health and wellness.
The relevance of proposed innovations will be assessed according to how they address and resolve the Problem Statement above. Innovative processes will be accepted and constitute an innovation for the purpose of the outcomes below.
Definitions:
- Forensics:
- Tools to collect, analyze, and compare medical data.
- Tracing:
- The practice of identifying, notifying, and monitoring individuals who may have had close contact with a person having a confirmed or probable case of an infectious disease as a means of controlling the spread of infection.
- Rapidly Deployable:
- The solution must be capable of rapid deployment in under 3 months including transportation to northern Canadian locations.
- Point-of-Care / Point-of-Need Diagnostics:
- Point-of-care (POC) and point-of-need (PON) directly provide accurate and rapid diagnostics at field level, the patient bed-side, or at the site of outbreaks. These assays can help physicians and decision makers to take the right action without delay.
- Activities of daily living (ADLs):
- The World Health Organization (WHO) defines these as "the basic activities necessary for daily life, such as bathing or showering, dressing, eating, getting in or out of bed or chairs, using the toilet, and getting around inside the home."
Outcomes:
Innovations must meet at least ONE of the following outcomes to meet the requirements of criteria SC4 in Call for Proposals Evaluation Grid. Identify in your proposal which Outcome(s) you have selected.
- Innovative, lab-grade analytical equipment;
- Rapidly deployable clinics and clinical infrastructure;
- Innovative health research infrastructure for application within hospitals and labs;
- Forensics and tracing solutions;
- Mobile and Point-of-Care diagnostics for:
- urban and remote human and animal populations;
- Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, including syphilis;
- Wearable devices and other technologies capable of the remote tracking of patient health and that can integrate gathered data with clinical decision making tools;
- Drug discovery solutions, including those that leverage AI, Machine Learning, and Quantum technologies;
- Cognitive behavioral therapy technologies, including those that leverage AI and Machine Learning;
- Concussion detection technologies;
- Solutions for remote assessment of hearing and low cost/custom hearing technological solutions that can be deployed remotely;
- Technologies to increase at home mobility that can enable activities of daily living and mitigate fall risks;
- Technologies for the remote assessment, monitoring and enablement of cognitive abilities
- Interoperable Telemedicine and remote health monitoring solutions, and;
- AR/VR training modules for medical training and application;
Eligibility and evaluation
Mandatory Criteria (MC)
MC1: Canadian Bidder
The Bidder must meet the definition of a Canadian Bidder. A Canadian Bidder is defined as a Canadian person or entity submitting a proposal on its own behalf and having a place of business in Canada where the person or entity conducts activities on a permanent basis that is clearly identified by name and accessible during normal working hours.
MC2: Canadian Content
80% of the financial proposal costs, the total proposal price to Canada stated in "Section –G Financial Proposal", must be Canadian goods or Canadian services. For the complete Canadian content definition please refer to the Canadian Content Definition A3050T (2020-07-01) at Part 1, General Information, Article 1.5 of the solicitation documents:
- Solicitation for small or medium enterprises
- Solicitation for large business, not-for-profit or academic institution
MC3: Ownership
The Bidder must be the owner of the Intellectual Property (IP) for the proposed innovation, or have a licence to the IP rights from a Canadian licensor for the proposed innovation and not be infringing on any IP rights.
MC4: Pre-Commercial Status
The proposed innovation must not be openly available in the marketplace, and must not have been previously sold on a commercial basis as of the date of this bid submission. Refer to the definitions of Pre-Commercial Innovation and Commercial Sales at Appendix 2 of the solicitation documents:
- Solicitation for small or medium enterprises
- Solicitation for large business, not-for-profit or academic institution
MC5: Previously Pre-qualified Innovation
The proposed innovation or any other versions of the proposed innovation must not have been previously awarded a contract in the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP) or its predecessor, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP), nor under the Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) Testing Stream.
The proposed innovation or any other versions of the proposed innovation must not currently be active in a pool of pre-qualified innovations. A proposed innovation that is currently active in a pool will be accepted only once the bid validity period for that proposal has expired or the Bidder has withdrawn their innovation from the relevant pool, prior to solicitation closing date.
Bidders may submit multiple proposals, ensuring that each proposal is for a different Innovation.. The same or similar proposals may not be submitted twice for different problem statements. If the proposed innovation is similar or identical to an innovation previously submitted by the bidder that is currently active in a pool and has not been withdrawn prior to solicitation closing, the following assessment will be used to determine sufficient difference to proceed.
| Pass |
Sufficiently Different
|
|---|---|
| Fail |
Not Sufficiently Different
|
MC6: Maximum Funding
The Bidder's Financial Proposal must not exceed $1,150,000 CAD in the Standard Component, or $2,300,000 CAD in the Military Component, not including applicable taxes, shipping costs, and travel and living expenses, where applicable. Refer to Section G – Financial Proposal.
MC7: Program Eligibility
The Bidder's proposal must be aligned with the mandate of the ISC Testing Stream where Canada procures, through a Contract, the Bidder's Innovation with the purpose of testing it in an operational environment.
The following criteria only applies to Small Businesses
MC8: Small Business
The Bidder must be a for-profit person or entity, with 499 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. This calculation must take into account and include affiliated businesses, such as parent companies and subsidiaries that are either in or outside of Canada.
MC9: Bidder Presence in Canada
The Bidder must meet the following minimum requirements: 50% or more of the Bidder's FTE employees have Canada as their ordinary place of work; 50% or more of the Bidder's annual wages, salaries and fees must be paid to employees and contractors who spend the majority of their time working in Canada; and 50% or more of the Bidder's senior executives (Vice President and above) have Canada as their principal residence. These calculations must take into account and include affiliated businesses, such as parent companies and subsidiaries that are either in or outside of Canada.
Stage 1 Technical Evaluation – Screening Criteria (SC)
SC1: Innovation
The proposed innovation must meet one or more of the ISC definitions of innovation below:
- An inventionFootnote 1, new technology or new process that is not currently available in the marketplace.
- Significant modifications to the application of existing technologies/components/processes that are applied in a setting or condition for which current applications are not possible or feasible.
- An improvement in functionality, cost or performance over an existing technology/process that is considered state-of-the-art or the current industry best practice.
| Pass | The proposed innovation meets one or more of the ISC definitions of innovation. |
|---|---|
| Fail |
|
SC2: Operational Readiness Validation
The Bidder must demonstrate that at the time of proposal submission, the proposed innovation is ready for testing in an operational environment, i.e. at minimum TRL 7 per the ISC Technology Readiness Level Scale.
| Pass |
|
|---|---|
| Fail |
|
SC3: Safety Considerations
The Bidder must demonstrate that they have obtained or possess, at the time of proposal submission, the licences, and approvals required to safely deploy the proposed innovation, and that it poses no risks to individuals or Government of Canada organizations involved in an operational demonstration.
This is to ensure that a Government of Canada organization and personnel are not exposed to safety or privacy risks during the conduct of the operational demonstration.
| Pass |
At the time of proposal submission:
|
|---|---|
| Fail |
At the time of proposal submission:
|
SC4: Scope – Outcomes
The Bidder must demonstrate that the proposed innovation provides a solution to the selected Problem Statement by the Bidder. In addition, the Bidder must demonstrate that the proposed innovation meets one or more of the Outcomes identified in the selected Problem Statement by the Bidder. Proposed innovations that possess characteristics and functionalities cited in the out of scope Outcomes will not be accepted
| Pass |
|
|---|---|
| Fail |
|
Stage 2 Technical Evaluation – Point-Rated Screening Criteria (PS)
PS1: Advance on State of the Art
The Bidder must demonstrate that the proposed innovation improves upon current approaches and state of the art, or current practices relevant to its purpose or application, in a manner that yields competitive advantages.
| 2 points |
|
|---|---|
| 12 points |
|
| 24 points
Minimum |
|
| 40 points |
|
PS2: Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy
The Bidder must demonstrate a suitable Intellectual Property (IP) strategy, relevant to protect IP generated by the proposed innovation and to protect the Bidder. This criteria also assesses the degree to which the strategy is appropriate to support successful commercialization.
| 0 points |
The Intellectual Property (IP) strategy is insufficiently rationalized or substantiated, and is poorly suited for background IP or generated IP as they pertain to the proposed innovation. |
|---|---|
| 8 points
Minimum |
|
| 12 points |
|
Stage 3 Technical Evaluation – Point Rated Criteria (PR)
PR1: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Benefits
This criterion is intended to assess the degree to which the Bidder has sufficient measures to effectively achieve and maintain diversity, inclusivity and gender equity within; their business, supply chain, or business ecosystem.
Score levels reflect the number of the following elements the Bidder addressed in their answer:
- Anti-discrimination policies;
- Recruitment strategy and hiring process;
- Training available to educate the Bidder's workforce on diversity and inclusion;
- How diversity and inclusion are factored into Bidder's supplier selection methods.
| 0 points |
Policies regarding diversity, inclusivity and gender equity are not identified, are insufficient, or do not appear genuine. |
|---|---|
| 4 points |
Information provided clearly demonstrates that the Bidder is implementing some measures (two (2) elements) to achieve and maintain diversity, inclusivity and gender equity. |
| 8 points |
Information provided clearly demonstrates that the Bidder is implementing most measures (three (3) elements) to achieve and maintain diversity, inclusivity and gender equity.. |
| 12 points |
Information provided clearly demonstrates that the Bidder is implementing all measures (all four (4) elements) to achieve and maintain diversity, inclusivity and gender equity. |
Maximum available points from Stage 2 and Stage 3 : 64 points
Minimum Total ScoreFootnote 2 from Stage 2 and Stage 3 to pre-qualify: 38 points
Pathway to commercialization (PTC)
Enabling the Government of Canada to buy what it tries – a Pathway to Commercialization for eligible Canadian SMEs
Our new pilot project gives small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the opportunity to sell your innovation directly to the Government of Canada.
Through the PTC under ISC's Testing Stream, eligible SMEs can receive commercial contracts based on the successful testing and market-readiness of your pre-commercial prototype. It is important to note that this pathway will only be available to eligible Canadian SMEs, which represent over 97% of all businesses in Canada, a percentage that mirrors past participation in the program.
How will it work?
- Once your initial ISC testing contract is completed, you may be eligible for the Pathway to Commercialization if your innovation is market-ready above technology readiness level (TRL) 9
- You will have up to 12 months following the end of your initial ISC Testing Stream contract to apply to the Pathway to Commercialization, at which time you will be be assessed against the PTC entry criteria to determine if your innovation will be placed on a PTC source list where government departments can browse and purchase your successfully-tested innovations for up to three years
Important considerations
- You must be selling the same innovation from your initial Testing Stream contract
- If you participate in the PTC, you will no longer be eligible for additional testing through the Testing Stream. Unlike PTC contracts, additional testing contracts are still considered R&D contracts, similar to the initial Testing Stream contract. Additional testing opportunities are open to all program participants, SMEs and non-SMEs.
- The requirements for commercial contracts will reflect the operational needs of client departments, the nature of the innovation, as well as input from Public Services and Procurement Canada, the program's Contracting Authority.
How will SMEs be assessed?
A number of criteria will be used as part of the assessment process, including:
- Financial capacity
- Technology readiness
- Certifications
- IP strategy
- Company size
- Scalability
- Innovation test performance
Please read the call for proposals (CFP) for more information on the Pathway to Commercialization.
Frequently asked questions
All incoming questions regarding this specific call for proposals should be addressed to TPSGC.PASICVoletessai-APISCTestingStream.PWGSC@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.
You can also consult the Frequently asked questions about the Innovative Solutions Canada Program.
A glossary is also available.