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Home > Funding Programs > Accelerating Innovations into CarE (AICE) – Validate
The AICE - Validate program supports Alberta researchers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with up to $300,000 to validate their product, market fit, business model, and regulatory path, accelerating commercialization of their health technologies into care.
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AICE Validate provides funding support for Alberta-based researchers and SMEs developing health technologies. These technologies hold potential to generate a successful business, leading to positive economic and health outcomes for Albertans. The program is focused on the Committing and early Validating stages of the Health Innovation Client Journey Framework (see below).
Click the infographic to see details of each step and to assess your fit to the program:
Funding will help researchers and SMEs demonstrate the feasibility of their emerging venture and validate their product, market fit, business model and regulatory path. Our goal is to accelerate new innovations to market, attract external investments and grow the life sciences industry as a viable job creator and source of economic prosperity in Alberta.
A special opportunity is available for applications submitted by November 8, 2024 that relate to improving health for older adults and their caregivers through our partnership with AGE-WELL. See the AICE – Tech for Healthy Aging website for more information and supplementary application requirements.
A minimum of 25 per cent of total eligible Project Costs must be provided by the Applicant as cash or in-kind contributions.
The success of this program will be measured in aggregate across the portfolio of projects. While individual project outcomes are expected, all projects should align with the Program Objectives and contribute to the Indicators of Success outlined below:
AICE - Validate Program Guide
The AICE-Validate program is open to:
Consult the Program Guide for further eligibility criteria.
Ideal Applicants have:
Applicants must submit Intake Forms at least 4 weeks in advance of the posted application deadline to be considered, and must submit their applications by 4:00 pm on the following submission dates:
Applications are reviewed by Alberta Innovates employees and external expert reviewers. We evaluate submitted applications to the AICE Validate Program based on the strength of the market opportunity, competitiveness, advance-to-market plan, the project plan, and potential economic impact for Alberta. Applicants who are declined may re-apply after a six-month cooling-off period.
Consult the Program Guide for full evaluation details.
Entrepreneurial Investments – Alberta Innovates offers a variety of related, high demand entrepreneurial investment programs that are of interest to SMEs. View the Entrepreneurial Investments page here.
Technology Development Advisors – provide front-line business coaching and technology development advice to small and medium-size enterprises in technology or knowledge-based industries. View the Technology Development Advisors page here.
Regional Innovation Networks – Entrepreneur-centric, community-based networks with the goal of providing programs and services to accelerate growth of technology and knowledge-based businesses in Alberta jurisdictions. View the Regional Innovation Networks page here.
Alberta Diagnostic Ecosystem Platform for Translation (ADEPT) provides diagnostic innovators with access to expertise, biological samples, clinical data, lab and clinical trial resources, regulatory support, and health economics analysis to enable diagnostic user community connections across Canada and around the world. View their website here.
NAIT’s Center for Advanced Medical Simulation (CAMS) supports innovators to refine, revise and re-imagine their healthcare product or service. Providing custom simulations and connections to end-users for early customer feedback, usability testing, stress testing of clinical protocols and instructions for use, their team of experts will help expedite your commercialization timelines to get to market faster. View their website here.
HaloHealth‘s Specialty Matched Physician Advisory Program is a physician angel investor and advisor group composed of a team of over 390 physicians nationally who have an interest in advising high-potential, early-stage, health-tech startups related to product market fit, clinical feasibility, physician end user feedback and product medical validation. They have already invested in 40 healthcare startups and have had 4 exits. View their website here.
IHE’s Health Economics Supports for SMEs provides health innovators with early health economic research, analysis and modeling to inform market viability, data collection strategies, and to quantify the business/adoption case for payers. View their website here.
ST Innovations offers a menu of medical device development services and laboratory infrastructure, prototyping equipment, engineering, biological testing, health data analytics, validation expertise and services, as well as access to expertise and services in large animal preclinical testing. View their website here.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides evidence standards that enable innovators to determine what level of evidence may be required to facilitate adoption of digital health technologies. View their website here.
Health Canada‘s E-Learning Tool is a resource intended to educate stakeholders on premarket regulatory requirements for medical devices in Canada. View their website here.
Senior Business Partner, Health Innovation
The AICE - Validate program supports Alberta researchers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to validate their product, market fit, business model, and regulatory path, accelerating commercialization of their health technologies into care.
Registration closed: November 8, 2024 4:00 pm
Application deadlines Applicants must submit Intake Forms at least 4 weeks in advance of the posted application deadline to be considered, and must submit their applications by 4:00 pm on the following submission dates: • April 19, 2024 • August 16, 2024 • November 8, 2024
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Health & Life Sciences
Sectors: Health & Life Sciences
Initiative description: We are advancing digital health technologies to accelerate improvements in the quality and long-term sustainability of our health system and the health of Albertans.