What Is It?
The Accelerating Innovations into CarE – Concepts Program serves to accelerate early-stage health research and innovation that demonstrates high commercial potential in priority areas of precision health.
Alberta Innovates Client Journey and a Health Innovation Pathway1
AICE-Concepts enables innovators to advance their client journey across four commercialization domains for health innovation:
- Product Development,
- Business Readiness,
- Product-Market Fit, and
- Regulatory Compliance.
Priority Areas
This call is seeking to apply computational technologies or techniques to realize personalized health benefits in the following priority areas:
- Prevention
- Diagnosis
- Digital Therapeutics
Precision health approaches are being globally applied to optimize clinical decisions and maximize health benefits for individuals across the care continuum.
Early approaches examined the relationship between a single clinical marker and a disease for an individual. Though this reductive approach has proven to be effective in some cases, it is increasingly limited due to complex biological, social, and environmental factors influencing individual health needs. The rapid emergence and application of computational tools have enabled precision health research to overcome the limits of a reductionist approach.
Network medicine or network-based approaches is a leading example of system level precision health that interrogates interaction networks using computational tools.
Benefits
Applicants who participate in the program can expect the following outcomes:
- Advance along the health innovation pathway, progressing across the four commercialization domains related to product-market fit, business readiness, regulatory compliance, and product development.
- Contribute to Alberta’s growing and globally competitive digital health economy.
Eligibility
Projects must:
- Be led by an Alberta-based post-secondary institution, government health authority, or small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
- Apply a computational technology or technique to address at least one clearly defined clinical problem that is relevant to the precision health priority areas of this call, as stated in the previous section. Network-based precision health approaches will be prioritized.
- Address product development and at least one other commercialization domain within the health innovation pathway.
See program guide for full details (link below).
Funding
STREAM 1 – Post-secondaries or government health authority:
Alberta Innovates will contribute up to $600,000 CAD to support approved projects for a maximum term of 36 months.*
STREAM 2 – SMEs:
Alberta Innovates will contribute up to $200,000 CAD to support approved projects for a maximum term of 24 months.*
*Applicants can only apply to a single stream.
Application Process
- Application registration – deadline: May 12, 2023 at 4:00 PM MT. Complete the non-confidential summary tab and save a draft via online application portal. Important: Any drafts without a completed non-confidential summary section by the registration deadline will be removed and unable to apply. *Note for new users: If you are new to our application portal, then you will have to first create a user account (i.e., account registration) and then register your application.
- Full application – deadline: July 14, 2023 at 4:00 PM MT. Complete the application via online application portal.
Application Resources
- Program Guide
- Online Application Portal
- Application Form (for reference only – apply online)
- Investment Agreement (sample)
- Alberta Innovates Work Plan and Budget Workbook
- Health Innovation Checklist
- Progress Report Form
- Example Guiding Questions for Innovators Seeking Artificial Intelligence Services
Additional Supports & Resources
- Accelerating Innovations into CarE (AICE) – Validate Program – supports Alberta’s innovators along their journey in developing digital and data-enabled health technology from committing to validating.
- Accelerating Innovations into CarE (AICE) – Market Access Program – program that provides supports small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and real-world testing sites in carrying out implementation projects or clinical trials of innovative health technologies.
- Alberta Innovates, Entrepreneurial Investments – Alberta Innovates offers a variety of related high-demand, entrepreneurial investment programs that are of interest to SMEs.
- Alberta Innovates Technology Development Advisors – provide front-line business coaching and technology development advice to small- & medium-size enterprises in technology or knowledge-based industries.
- 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.
- Alberta Scaleup and Growth Accelerators – help companies scale and grow quickly by providing intensive learning experience, accomplished mentors and access to international collaborations and capital.