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There are so many resources for funding projects, it's really hard to believe sometimes. The benefits of having so many different funding organizations are obvious. The only drawback is that each seems to have its own application form. However what is critical in finding an appropriate funding organization for a project is to do your homework and come up with the top three who are most likely to be interested in your project. Contact the organization, make a personal meeting with the Director or Manager of the fund or the person responsible for the specific program, often called the Fund or Program Manager. In any event do not proceed with a funding application without testing the waters to determine which agencies are most interested in your project. The Office of Applied Research and Innovation can assist you with this aspect, by providing advice and making first contact with the funding agency if needed.
In the end there is a lot of hard work involved in funding applications. The process is more likely to have a positive outcome when the funding agency is expecting your application, has been involved in fine tuning it and you've made sure the key points in the application have been directly addressed.
Two funding resources that are available right at RDC are:
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NRC-IRAP program - a federal initiative which assists small and medium sized technology companies with new product development. Rebecca Bjustrom, Industrial Technology Advisor, is located at RDC and is available to assist with the development of proposals from companies.
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Alberta Innovation Voucher Program - RDC is an approved service provider for the Voucher Program and offers services to assist in the development of voucher applications and the implementation and project management of vouchers for successful voucher recipients.
Here are some useful links to funding organizations. Once you've identified some of the ones that might be useful to you, contact the Office of Applied Research and Innovation for confirmation and potential information on other funding organizations that might be interested in your project.
Don't forget one of the most likely roads to success in a large number of funding applications is that you already have an industry partner (where applicable) lined up with their funding for the project confirmed.
And there are many more opportunities for funding....
Contact:
Eric Kokko
Director
t: 403.343.4070| e: eric.kokko@rdc.ab.ca
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