Canadian Food Innovation Network’s (CFINs) Innovation Booster stream.
“The Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) is an industry-led, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to becoming the world-leading innovation network for food and beverage processing.”
– Canadian Food Innovation Network
This stream of CFIN is intent on helping companies that have found themselves burdened by a lack of funds to complete necessary tasks on the road to marketization, such as assessing a product’s fit in the market, testing a minimal viable product, or scaling/expanding globally.
Funding Amount
The Cfin Innovation Booster program is offering funding support with the following caveats:
- The CFIN Innovation Booster may fund up to a maximum of 50% of eligible expenses, in a cost sharing structure, for projects ranging from $20,000–$200,000 in total costs;
- For example, a project totalling $200,000 in eligible costs may receive a maximum of $100,000 in cost sharing support.
- Costs that are incurred prior to project approval are not eligible; and
- All approved projects are subject to a management fee that will be equal to 5% of total project costs to be charged by CFIN.
Eligible Applicants
To be an eligible applicant for the CFIN Innovation Booster program, applicants must meet all of the following eligibility criteria:
- Are an organization which is incorporated in Canada;
- Are engaged by a member of CFIN;
- Will lead a project that falls under the category of post-farmgate food production supply chain;
- Can clearly articulate an identifiable technical hurdle with an outlined methodology to address it;
- Have a specific goal or outcome with real commercial application;
- Will conduct research and development at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 1 to 7. Projects with TRL 8 and 9 components may be considered if they are an addition to, or correlated with a project that also includes a TRL 1 to 7; and,
- Will lead a project that will not exceed one year in length.
Eligible Projects
For a CFIN Innovation Booster program project to be eligible, the project should fall under one of the three pillar CFIN Innovation priorities:
Smart Product and Process Development:
- Empower benefits for health, wellness, and nutrition;
- Lead to increase in productivity and food/worker safety through robotics and machinery;
- Support new improvement to AI, sensors, and big data for an increase in output efficiencies; and
- Support sciences in emerging fields, such as cultured protein.
Food Ecosystem Sustainability:
- Reduce food waste;
- Increase value recovery;
- Lead to circularity and upcycling;
- Support environmentally friendly and smart packaging; and
- Use inputs, such as energy, water, and carbon more efficiently.
Agile and Safe Supply Chains:
- Improve logistics and strengthen supply chain;
- Improve consumer and customer analytics;
- Ensure food safety and security;
- Apply technologies in IoT and digital application to food chains; and
- Integrate blockchain technology and traceability.
To learn more about this CFIN program, visit our Canadian Food Innovation Network’s (CFINs) Innovation Booster program page.
Program Timeline
The CFIN Booster program has a variety of application deadlines scheduled for the 2022 year, with the following four dates currently mentioned:
- March 4, 2022;
- May 4, 2022;
- July 7, 2022; and
- September 10, 2022.
Learn More About Government Funding
Do you want to learn more about the CFIN Innovation Booster? Contact a Mentor Works professional today.
Find out more about more program opportunities, like the Innovation Booster, by visiting our government funding directory for food and beverage. Also, readers should consider subscribing to our government funding newsletter to learn about top programs and Canadian government funding news weekly.
Mentor Works truly believes in connecting Canadian businesses with government funding news, resources, and opportunities to foster innovation, productivity improvements, and strong economic growth throughout Canada.
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