Testing Stream — Open calls for innovative prototypes

The Testing Stream aims to procure, test and evaluate innovative late stage pre-commercial prototypes.

The purpose of these calls for proposals (CFPs) is to create pools of pre-qualified innovations that Canada may select from to address a broad range of the Government of Canada organizations' requirements. The estimated, total combined budget under the Calls is $20M.

We are introducing a new program feature for SMEs! SMEs who complete an initial testing contract may be eligible to qualify for our innovation source list.

SMEs who qualify for our innovation source list will:

• be eligible to sell to the Government of Canada without further competition for 3 years
• be eligible for additional contracts (to a maximum of $8M per contract)

The maximum funding available for each contract resulting from the CFPs is:

• Standard component $550,000
• Military component $1,150,000

Standard component

• Clean technology
• Digital
• Safety and security
• Health

Military component

• Digital defence
• Cyber operations and resilience
• Fully networked command, communications, and control
• Countering small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-sUAS)
• Enhanced soldier systems – Close combat
• Training and In-service support (ISS)
• Other defence capability enablers

Bidders are required to certify program eligibility as part of their proposal. Selected Bidders will be required to re-certify eligibility at any phase under the ISC program. To remain eligible for the Testing Stream, eligibility criteria must be met at all times.

Canadian Bidder:

The Bidder must meet the definition of a Canadian Bidder.

Canadian content:

80% of the financial proposal costs, must be Canadian goods or Canadian services, as defined in the Canadian Content certification.

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.

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. (Please note: Once your company submits a proposal for an innovation to the program, the innovation is able to be sold commercially)

Previously pre-qualified innovation:

The proposed innovation or any other versions of the proposed innovation must not have been previously awarded a contract in any of the Innovative Solutions Canada Streams, the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP) or its predecessor, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP), and it is not currently active in a pool of pre-qualified Innovations.

Active pool:

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 in collaboration with the Contracting Authority. The Bidder agrees that having pre-qualified into a pool does not guarantee pre-qualifying under the current solicitation.

Maximum funding:

The Bidder's financial proposal must not exceed the relevant component's maximum funding amounts which are $550,000.00 CAD for the standard component; and $1,150,000.00 CAD for the military component (applicable taxes, shipping, and travel and living expenses are extra, as applicable).

Eligibility specific to the small and medium enterprise call for proposals

The Bidder must be a for-profit with 499 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. This calculation^{Footnote *} must take into account and include affiliated businesses, such as parent companies and subsidiaries that are either in or outside of Canada.

• research and development activities that take place in Canada
• 50% or more of its annual wages, salaries and fees are currently paid to employees and contractors who spend the majority of their time working in Canada^{Footnote *}
• 50% or more of its FTE employees have Canada as their ordinary place of work^{Footnote *}
• 50% or more of its senior executives (Vice President and above) have Canada as their principal residence^{Footnote *}

Under the Innovative Solutions Canada program, an "affiliate" relationship exists in the following situations:

• An affiliate is a corporation that is a subsidiary of another corporation
• If a corporation has two subsidiary corporations, the two subsidiaries are affiliates of each other; or
• If two corporations are controlled by the same individual or business, the two corporations are also affiliates of each other.

A subsidiary is understood to be a business which has more than 50% of its ordinary shares or voting power owned by another business or individual.

Find the eligibility questionnaire to help companies determine which call for proposals and related eligibility criteria apply to them.

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 Four – Financial Proposal", must be Canadian goods or Canadian services, as defined in the Canadian Content certification. Appendix 4 of the solicitation documents.

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: Priority area

The proposed innovation must fall within one of the four (4) Standard Component Priority Areas: Digital, Clean Technology, Safety and Security, and Health; OR within one of the six (6) Military Component Priority Areas: Arctic and Maritime Security, Command & Support, Cyber-Security, In-Service Support, Protecting the Soldier, and Training Systems.

MC5: 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.

MC6: 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 any Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) Streams.

The proposed innovation or any other versions of the proposed innovation must not currently be active in a pool of pre-qualified innovations in any of the above. 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 in collaboration with the Contracting Authority.

A Bidder can participate more than once, as long as the proposed innovations are sufficiently different. If the proposed innovation resembles an innovation that is currently active in a pool and has not been withdrawn, the following assessment will be used to determine sufficient difference to proceed.

Pass – Sufficiently different

• A distinct product and/or service that has undergone a completely separate path of R&D or that diverged early in technology development.
• Significant modifications to the application of the previous technology or components of the technology, applied in a setting or condition which was not possible or feasible for the pre-qualified or contracted innovation; or
• A significant improvement in functionality, cost or performance over the pre-qualified or contracted innovation.

Fail – Not sufficiently different

• Incremental improvements;
• Technologies that follow a normal course of product development (i.e. the next version or release); or
• Stated differences are not quantified or are inadequately described.

MC7: Maximum funding

The Bidder's Financial Proposal must not exceed $550,000 CAD in the standard component, or $1,150,000 CAD in the military component, not including applicable taxes, shipping costs, and travel and living expenses, where applicable. Refer to Section H – Financial Proposal.

MC8: 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.

MC9: Research and development

Research and development activities related to the development of the proposed innovation must take place in Canada.

MC10: 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.

MC11: 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 (SC) and Point rated screening (PS)

SC1: Innovation

The proposed innovation must meet one or more of the ISC definitions of innovation below:

• An invention^{Footnote *}, 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 meet one or more of the ISC definitions of innovation.

Fail

• The proposed innovation does not meet any of the ISC definitions of innovation; or
• The proposed innovation is an incremental improvement, "good engineering, or a technology that would go ahead in the normal course of product development (i.e. the next version or release).

SC2: Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 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. TRL 7.

TRL 7:

Prototype system ready (form, fit and function) for demonstration in an appropriate operational environment.

Pass

• The Bidder has provided evidence demonstrating that the proposed innovation is at TRL 7 or higher at the time of proposal submission.

Fail

• The proposed innovation is not at TRL7 or higher at the time of proposal submission; or
• The Bidder has not provided evidence demonstrating that the proposed innovation is at TRL 7 or higher at the time of proposal submission.

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.

Stage 2 Technical evaluation

SC3: Deployment readiness and safety considerations

The Bidder must demonstrate that they have obtained, at the time of proposal submission, the certifications, licences, and approvals required to safely deploy the proposed innovation in an operational setting.

This is to ensure that the potential Government of Canada organization is not exposed to safety issues or risks during the conduct of the demonstration.

Pass

• The Bidder has demonstrated that they have obtained the certifications, licences, and approvals required to safely deploy their proposed innovation in an operational setting at the time of proposal submission; and
• Remaining certifications yet to be obtained for the commercialization of the proposed innovation do not pose safety concerns for the Government of Canada organizations when used in an operational setting.

Fail

• The Bidder has not demonstrated they have obtained the certifications, licences, and approvals required to safely deploy their proposed innovation in an operational setting at the time of proposal submission; and/or
• Remaining certifications yet to be obtained for the commercialization of the proposed innovation may pose safety concerns for the Government of Canada organizations when used in an operational setting.

PS2: Intellectual Property (IP) strategy

The Bidder must demonstrate that they have a suitable Intellectual Property strategy, relevant to the proposed innovation.

This can vary by industry and rate of technology turnover. For example:

• Software: Copyright and Source Code protection
• Hardware: Patent and/or Trade Secret protection
• System: Both hardware and software protection
• Service, Methodology, or Process: Copyright

PS3: Management team

The Bidder must demonstrate that they have filled the key roles in the management team with individuals possessing relevant background or skill set^{Footnote *}, who can support the successful commercialization of the proposed innovation.

Role A: Company leadership (e.g. CEO or equivalent)

Role B: Technology development (e.g. CTO or equivalent)

Role C: Commercialization strategy (e.g. Business manager or equivalent)

Role D: Financial management (e.g. CFO or equivalent)

PS4: Financial capacity

The Bidder must demonstrate that they have sufficient financial resources and a credible financial strategy in order to execute their commercial launch plan.

In determining the credibility of a financial strategy, evaluators consider: funding sources, the amount of secured and unsecured funds, the degree of risk, and whether these risks are reasonable based on the context of the sector.

Financial resources must demonstrate ability to commercialize the proposed innovation.

Stage 3 Technical evaluation – Point rated criteria (PR)

PR1: Innovation and inclusivity benefits

This criterion is intended to assess the degree to which the proposed innovation could contribute to the positive socio-economic development of the innovation ecosystem in Canada.

PR2: Commercialization strategy and market risks

This criterion is intended for the Bidder to demonstrate that they have a credible strategy to commercialize the proposed innovation, identifying market risks and providing suitable mitigation strategies for these risks.

PR3: Adoption potential – Features and benefits, target market

This criterion is intended to assess to what degree the proposed innovation's features and benefits are attractive to the relevant target market.

PR4: Adoption potential – Cost to end user

This criterion is intended to assess to what degree the cost of the proposed innovation and the efforts required to adopt it are attractive and relevant for the target market.

The acquisition costs of the proposed innovation include the intended market price, the organizational impact, time and resources required for training and installation, and other direct costs for target market end-user (the customer) to acquire the proposed innovation.

PR5: Objectives, scope, and feasibility of proposed demonstration scenario

PR6: Proposed demonstration scenario risks and risk mitigation strategies

Maximum available points from all Stages: 180 points

Minimum total score^{Footnote *} from all stages to pre-qualify: 108 points

Pathway to commercialization (direct Buy) – Entry criteria

Recertification (RC)

RC1: Management structure

The Bidder must either demonstrate the management team cited in the original proposal submission has remain unchanged. Conversely, if changes have been made the innovator must provide relevant documentation attesting to and certifying the change(s).

• Innovator certifies their management structure is unchanged from the original proposal submission
  or
• Innovator certifies management structure has changed and has provided additional information detailing the changes and new organizational structure of the company

Screening criteria (SC)

SC1: Financial capacity

The innovator must demonstrate that they have sufficient financial resources and a credible financial strategy in order to complete any remaining steps to commercialization. This includes updates to financial readiness and the expectation that the innovator can provide the innovation and associated services in short order to potential clients based on available funding.

In determining the extent of financial capacity evaluators would consider: updates status on funding sources and the amount of secured and unsecured funds, reviewing the degree of risks cited in the initial application any determining they remain acceptable, and whether these risks are reasonable based on the context of the sector.

Financial resources must be readily available and demonstrate ability to commercialize the proposed innovation.

Pass

• The Innovator has demonstrated they have funds in place; and/or
• The innovator has a credible financial strategy and remaining unsecured funds will not significantly impede commercializing the proposed innovation.

Fail

• The innovator has not demonstrated they have sufficient funds to commercialize the proposed innovation; or
• The innovator has no credible plan to secure necessary funds.

SC2: Technology Readiness Level (TRL) validation

The innovator must demonstrate that the proposed innovation is ready for market commercialization, i.e. post TRL 9.

TRL 9:

Actual application of the technology in its final form and under real-life conditions, such as those encountered in operational tests and evaluations

Innovators failing this section will have a one-year period to advance their technological readiness and submit for re-evaluation.

Pass

• The post contract report has provided evidence demonstrating that the innovation is at TRL 9 or higher at the conclusion of the testing period (Testing Stream) or
• The Phase 2 exit evaluation has provided evidence demonstrating that the innovation is at TRL 9 or higher at the conclusion of Phase 2 (Challenge Stream)

Fail

• The innovation is not deemed to be at a post TRL 9 at the conclusion of the testing period (Testing Stream) or
• The innovation is not deemed to be at a post TRL 9 at the conclusion of Phase 2 (Challenge Stream)

SC3: Certifications

The innovator must demonstrate that they have obtained the certifications, licences, and approvals required to commercialize the innovation, including those considered a best practice in the respective industry, to achieve safe testing. In addition, the innovator must identify and demonstrate any certifications required for commercialization measured against daily market realities, product dependencies, and operational standards of the industry.

The innovator may be requested to submit copies of certifications as proof.

This will include medical certifications (i.e. MDEL).

Pass

• The innovator has demonstrated that they have obtained the certifications, licences, and approvals required to commercialize their innovation.

Fail

• The innovator has failed to demonstrate that they have obtained the certifications, licences, and approvals required to commercialize their innovation.

SC4: Intellectual Property (IP) strategy

The innovator must demonstrate that they have an updated Intellectual Property strategy suitable to commercialize relevant to the innovation. This includes pending issues identified in the original submission and an investigation as to whether they have been resolved, remain sufficient, or require further action

This can vary by industry and rate of technology turnover. For example:

• Software: Copyright and Source Code protection
• Hardware: Patent and/or Trade Secret protection
• System: Both hardware and software protection
• Service, Methodology, or Process: Copyright

Pass

• The innovator has demonstrated that they have implemented an Intellectual Property strategy suitable to protect the innovation.

Fail

• The innovator has failed to demonstrate that they have implemented an Intellectual Property strategy suitable to protect the innovation.

SC5: Company size

In accordance with the provisions in the Small Business Set Aside (SBSA), innovators must meet the following criteria:

• For profit
• 499 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
• Research and development activities that take place in Canada
• 50% or more of its annual wages, salaries and fees are currently paid to employees and contractors who spend the majority of their time working in Canada
• 50% or more of its FTE employees have Canada as their ordinary place of work
• 50% or more of its senior executives (Vice President and above) have Canada as their principal residence

Pass

• The innovator is fully compliant with each individual criterion state above

Fail

• The innovator is not fully compliant with one or more of the criteria stated above

Point rated screening criteria (PS)

PS1: Scalability

The innovator must demonstrate that they have sufficient resources and planning to support a minimum number of concurrent projects or contracts, including the provision of ongoing support. This includes assessment of product lifecycle, feasibility of delivering multiple projects at once, demonstration of any relevant manufacturing agreement, distribution agreements in principle, and available human and technology resources.

PS2: Innovation test performance

The post contract report (Testing Stream) or Phase 2 exit evaluation (Challenge Stream) issued in collaboration with the Government of Canada Organizations is designed to evaluate the performance of the innovation against the stated functionalities in the original bid submission (SC1 of the original proposal submission). Based on the report and any additional consultation with the Testing Department, it has been determined:

Standard component

There are four priority areas within ISC Testing Stream's standard component.

• Digital
• Clean technology
• Health
• Safety and security

Each priority area identifies a list of innovative goods and services (non-exhaustive) that could be supported under this Call for Proposals.

Digital

This priority area includes infrastructure, solutions and approaches that leverage current and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, quantum computing and blockchain. Digital infrastructure and solutions can support organizations or one or more sectors of the marketplace or economy, such as government, education, resources, agriculture and trade. To help you determine if your innovation fits within this priority area, consult the following list of goods and services. This is not a comprehensive list.

• Digital service delivery
• Digital credentials and wallets
• Data exchange solutions
• Digital identity
• Sandboxes and testing services
• Educational and training approaches
• Supply chain tracing
• Information, Communication and Technologies (ICT)
• Analytics and predictive analytics
• Digital infrastructure
• Cloud services
• Workplace technology
• Security of online services

Clean technology

Clean technology is a broad category that represents technologies or solutions that help to reduce environmental impacts in relation to climate change, air and/or water pollution, resource conservation, and biodiversity protection. To help you determine if your innovation fits within this priority area, consult the following list of goods and services. This is not a comprehensive list.

• Renewable and non-emitting electricity generation, transmission and storage
• Biofuel, biomaterial and biochemical production
• Energy efficiency technologies
• Advanced materials (e.g. light-weighted, composites, recycled)
• Monitoring and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and/or other pollutants, environmental degradation activities
• Low impact technologies (such as biodegradables, natural pesticides and cleansers as well as reduced human or environmental toxicity products)
• Management, control and monitoring systems – buildings and infrastructure
• Remediation and emergency solutions
• Water and wastewater technologies
• Recycling and waste management
• Precision agriculture
• Low-carbon transportation technologies

Health

Health is a broad category focusing on maintaining and improving the health of individuals or populations. Innovations that require regulatory approval must be certified from Health Canada at the time of bid submission or have had a previously-filed regulatory approval. To help you determine if your innovation fits within this priority area, consult the following list of goods and services. This is not a comprehensive list.

• Medical, biomedical and assistive devices
• Patient monitoring, tracking and wellness, including mental health
• Testing and diagnostic solutions and equipment
• Surveillance, tracking, situational awareness and critical response
• Bio and nanotechnologies
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Food security and supply
• Sanitization
• Laboratory, scientific and research solutions
• Safety, risk, compliance

Safety and security

Safety and security is a broad category focusing on domestic and international security, as well as the safety of Canadians and public infrastructure. To help you determine if your innovation fits within this priority area, consult the following list of goods and services. This is not a comprehensive list.

• Cyber-security solutions
• Border and transportation security – air, land, sea
• Critical infrastructure and asset protection
• Emergency management solutions
• Surveillance, monitoring and intelligence, and information gathering
• Space-related technologies and systems
• Synthetic environments and modeling simulation, training
• Sensor technology, algorithms and systems with applications to security, police and military users
• Security risk management

Military component

There are seven priority areas within the military component. Within each priority area, the ISC Testing stream provides a description of the innovative goods and services that would be of benefit or interest to the Department of National Defence /Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) from a testing perspective.

For additional context on the projected research and development needs of DND/CAF, please refer to the Defence Capabilities Blueprint.

Digital defence

Digital defence is a broad category that involves innovative modern digital technologies that will augment and empower all members of the Canadian Armed Forces. The initiative is led by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and its scope spans all elements of the naval enterprise, which includes financial, business and human resource management, engineering, logistics and warfighting functions. This priority area includes, but is not limited to cognitive computing capabilities, cloud computing and mobile technologies, augmented and virtual reality systems, enhanced data analytics, cybersecurity and Digital Twin technologies. To help determine if your innovation fits within this priority area, please consult the Digital Navy Initiative and Action Plan.

Cyber operations and resilience

This priority area involves innovative concepts, tools and capabilities for cyber operations and resilience to support the protection and defence of networks, the trusted exchange of information, and enhanced support to human decision-making. The Canadian Armed Forces rely on sophisticated air, sea and vehicle portable cyber tools and capabilities for defensive and offensive applications. These capabilities must be able to rapidly identify, disrupt and investigate unknown cyber activity, assess and attribute adversary activity, and/or engage in offensive operations when necessary; assist in the determination of cyber-physical-human vulnerabilities and make recommendations; maintain and protect critical systems; counter cyber agents (i.e., bots); prevent ransomware attacks; and support the identification and attribution of malicious cyber actors. Your innovation can fit within any of the above areas. Other tasks the Department needs to perform include, but are not limited to, the ability to secure and protect online identities, and the ability to use communication devices containing classified and unclassified information.

Fully networked command, communications and control

Canada's vast land, maritime and arctic boundary also requires that its military have a communications infrastructure that can support securing the sovereignty of this massive territory. This priority is a broad category involving technologies or solutions that help with command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR). Other goods and services can include, but are not limited to communications and navigation systems and components; Earth-based systems for the operation of space launch vehicles; electro-optical, radar and sonar systems and components; space launch vehicles; and systems deployed in space and related components.

Countering small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-sUAS)

This priority area involves solutions and approaches for countering small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-sUAS) that can perform one or more key functions as far away from the device as possible: detecting, tracking, identifying, and/or neutralizing the device. The Canadian Armed Forces is concerned about their ability to deploy these devices easily and readily; to automate these tasks to the extent possible to minimize training, user input and involvement in performing these functions. Also, the CAF needs to perform these functions to either defend fixed installations or in a moving vehicle.

Enhanced soldier systems – Close combat

The Canadian soldier is at the centre of a complex and integrated system of advanced technological systems. The Canadian Armed Forces vision sees a networked dismounted soldier with vastly improved situational awareness and command execution, coupled with improved navigation and access to improved target acquisition and recognition capability. This priority area includes technological solutions and approaches for enhancing solider capabilities in the areas of energy and power, lethal and non-lethal effects, command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I), sensing, survivability, protection and sustainability. Your innovation can fit within any of the above areas. Other goods and services can include, but are not limited to enhanced sniper systems; clip-on thermal scopes; wireless connectivity devices with low probability of interception and detection capabilities; female body armour; and technologies or solutions for reducing the sensor-to-shooter targeting cycle.

Training and In-service support (ISS)

This priority area covers activities that support effective use, operation and maintenance of Canada's military capabilities across all environments. Training systems prepare Canada's land, sea, air and civil security forces for operations in complex situations. In-service support maintains and modifies military equipment performance throughout its life-cycle. Other goods and services can include, but are not limited to aircraft, vehicle and vessel fabrication, structures and on-board systems and components; alternative and green energy to support military capability; maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services; simulation systems and components; training and troop support.

Other Defence Capability Enablers

This priority area covers innovations that support defence capabilities across a broad scope of areas that could be of benefit or interest to the Canadian Armed Forces or the Department of National Defence in regards to its mandate, policy objectives or operations. These would be innovations that may not be captured in the other priority areas of the military category, but equally could be of benefit or interest to DND/ CAF from an operational testing perspective.

Enabling the Government of Canada to buy what it tries – a Pathway to Commercialization for eligible Canadian SMEs

Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) is pleased to be piloting a Pathway to Commercialization under its Testing Stream. Established under the Call for Proposals dedicated to Canadian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), this opportunity will enable eligible SMEs to receive commercial contracts based on the successful testing of their pre-commercial prototype and fulfilment of related readiness requirements. It is important to note that this flexibility 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.

Important considerations:

• Government of Canada organizations will be able to purchase successfully tested prototypes through the Pathway to Commercialization, without the requirement for additional competition for up to a period of three years.
• 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.
• Contracts under this initiative will each have a limit of up to $8M.
• This feature is expected to  increase the Government of Canada's support for the growth and scale up of innovative SMEs.
• The Pathway to Commercialization will complement the Testing Stream's existing Additional Testing component, which enables GC organizations to buy and further test additional quantities of already qualified prototypes. Unlike Pathway to Commercialization 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.
• A Pathway to Commercialization already exists under the program's Challenge Stream as Phase 3, and reflects ISC's commitment to bringing the program into closer alignment with the highly successful US Small Business Innovation Program after which it was modelled.

How will the Pathway to Commercialization feature work?

• Once their initial ISC testing contract is completed, eligible ISC innovators will have up to 12 months to be assessed against criteria (see point 3 below), which would determine whether they are eligible to be placed on the Pathway to Commercialization  source list of approved innovations.
• Innovations on the source list will be available for purchase for up to three years.
• 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 CFP and related FAQs for more information on the Pathway to Commercialization.