Ecosystem Development Partnerships Program

Building Alberta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and creating competitive advantage through collaboration.

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Program at a Glance

Program Status: Active
Priority Area(s): Building Alberta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and creating competitive advantage through collaboration.

Eligibility

Program Status: Active
Alberta-based: No

Overview

The Ecosystem Development Partnership Program aims to enhance Alberta’s research and innovation ecosystem. By working together to converge services and initiatives, we will foster provincial strengths, new industries and enhance value throughout the entire system and its operations. Click the image to view a larger version.

Partner with us as we build a research and innovation economy in Alberta that serves as a competitive advantage for innovators and simultaneously transforms products and services for Albertans.

The program is managed across multiple business units at Alberta Innovates, including Entrepreneurial Investments, Post-secondary Investments and Emerging Technologies, Health Innovation, Health Platforms, and Agri-Food Innovation.

Program priority areas

The program is focused on the following priority areas:

  • Agri-food innovation projects aim to connect technology development with practical use in the agri-food industry through collaboration and service-driven initiatives.
  • Technology innovation hub projects bring different activities and research together to strengthen Alberta’s technology development community, helping us discover, develop, and use new technologies. The goal is to create stronger industries and bring more value to our province.
  • Clean Energy projects focus on boosting economic growth and decarbonization in Advanced Hydrocarbons and Clean Technology by fostering collaboration and leveraging resources, accelerating innovative ideas to fruition.
NOTICE: Entrepreneur Ecosystem and Health Innovation focused projects are fully subscribed for the 24/25 funding year. Applications in these focus areas may resume intake starting April 1, 2025.

Open Intakes

​​Ecosystem Development Partnership Program​ - Intake

Due date: Continuous

More details

Eligibility

Qualified applicants are those focused on:

  • Providing communities, services and supports for inventors and entrepreneurs traversing the client journey.
  • Building capacity, platforms and/or networks.

This program is not meant to help individual applicants directly. Instead, its purpose is to support innovators in Alberta and promote collaboration and opportunities within the ecosystem. The program does not provide support for research projects, sponsorships, or product development projects at companies or post-secondary institutions.

How To Apply

  1. Interested applicants must connect with one of the following representatives prior to submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI)
    1. Clean Energy projects reach out to Karen Sharp.
    2. Agri-food Innovation projects reach out to Virginia Mulligan.
    3. Technology Innovation hub projects reach out to Adam Brown.
  2. Complete the Expression of Interest (EOI) form in our online application portal (SmartSimple) for evaluation. Successful applicants will be invited to submit a Full Proposal and assigned a Project Advisor.
  3. Submit Full Proposal for evaluation. Applicants will have four (4) weeks from EOI approval to submit the Full Proposal. Applicants may be requested to present their proposed project and/or provide additional information throughout the review.

Evaluation Process

All applications are reviewed and evaluated to determine fit with the Ecosystem Development Partnerships Program objectives and intended outcomes. Alberta Innovates’ staff and external expert reviewers are engaged to evaluate applications.

For more information, consult the Program Guide.

Support Resources

Contacts

Karen Sharp

Administrative Assistant


Virginia Mulligan, PhD

Director, Sustainable Agriculture


Adam Brown

Senior Business Partner (Ecosystem Development), Post Secondary Investments and Emerging Technologies


Open and Upcoming Intakes

​​Ecosystem Development Partnership Program​ - Intake

Building Alberta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and creating competitive advantage though collaboration.

Funded Projects

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