On This Page

Program at a Glance

Program Status: Active
Business Area: Health Innovation
Priority Area(s): 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.

Eligibility

Program Status: Active
Alberta-based: Yes
Organization Type: Academic Institutions & Researchers
Small to Medium Enterprise

Overview

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.

Funding Available: Up to $300,000 CAD

A minimum of 25 per cent of total eligible Project Costs must be provided by the Applicant as cash or in-kind contributions.

Term: Up to 24 months

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:

Program Objectives:

  • Stimulate the continued growth of the health technology innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
  • Attract investment to Alberta-based health SMEs.

Outcomes

  • Project-level outcomes are variable.

Indicators of success

  • (%) Validate projects progressing to a market-ready state.
  • ($) investment attraction.
  • (%) growth in employees.
  • (#) companies created.
  • (#) ownership transfers out of the University.

Open Intakes

AICE Validate - Intake

Due date: Continuous

More details

Eligibility

The AICE-Validate program is open to:

  • Alberta-based post-secondary institutions and government entities with a clear intent of creating a for-profit company to commercialize the technology.
  • Alberta-based for-profit SMEs with an Albertan footprint, which is determined by the following:
    • Significant physical and corporate operational presence in Alberta.
    • Appropriate Alberta ownership.
    • Discernable intent that operational benefits will flow primarily within the province of Alberta.

Consult the Program Guide for further eligibility criteria.

Ideal Applicants have:

  • Strong proof-of-concept data involving their technology.
  • A technology that outperforms its direct and indirect competitors.
  • Ownership or exclusive rights to the technology.
  • An experienced and well-rounded management team.
  • Completed an accelerator or business coaching program.
  • An emerging technology, preferably digital or data-enabled, with the potential to generate cost-effective, beneficial health outcomes.

How To Apply

  1. Self Assess Fit – Review the Program Guide (posted above) and Support Resources below to confirm fit to detailed eligibility requirements and program objectives.
  2. Intake Form – Complete the “AICE Market Access/Validate Intake Form” via SmartSimple, our online application portal. Intake forms can be submitted at any time and should be submitted well in advance of the Full Application deadline and no later than 4 weeks before any deadline. Please note: You will need to create an account to access our online application portal. If you have any questions about the application process or concerns about your project’s eligibility, feel free to contact Alberta Innovates at any time.
  3. Intake Meeting – Wait for us to schedule an intake meeting with you to ensure program fit and provide support. Applicants who demonstrate appropriate readiness and meet basic eligibility requirements will be invited to apply.
  4. Full Application – Complete the Full Application via our online application portal. Full Applications are reviewed in multiple cohorts throughout the year. Upcoming application dates are noted below.

Evaluation Process

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.

Additional Alberta Innovates Supports and Resources

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.

Partnered Ecosystem Offerings

Supports offered by other organizations in partnership with Alberta Innovates

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.

Support Resources

Contact

Jose Raez

Senior Business Partner, Health Innovation


Open and Upcoming Intakes

AICE Validate - Intake

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.

Funded Projects

View All Projects

Discover More

Related Stories

Qualisure – an AICE-Validate program success story

March 23, 2023

Qualisure uses digital health technology to produce and market a thyroid cancer diagnostic test called Thyroid GuidePx.

NanoTess – an AICE-Validate success story

September 26, 2022

In a conversation with the CEO and COO of NanoTess, learn how accelerator programs like AICE are helping innovative ideas become successful solutions.