Health Innovation Platform Partnerships Program

Program at a Glance

Program Status: Inactive

Business Area: Health Innovation

Priority Area(s): Provides funding to support a robust and coordinated health innovation ecosystem.

Eligibility

Program Status: Inactive

Alberta-based: Yes

Organization Type: Academic Institutions & Researchers
Government or Public Entity
Not-for-Profit
Post-Secondary Students

Overview

As the cost of healthcare in Alberta continues to increase, there are new methodologies and technologies being developed to achieve more efficient, effective healthcare. Alberta needs to harness the power of innovation to further realize the economic and health benefits of a world-class health innovation ecosystem.

If you’re a health innovator, we want to strengthen your ability to benefit the entire health innovation ecosystem through our Health Innovation Platform Partnerships (HIPP) program.

We’re looking to partner with like-minded organizations in Alberta to deliver platforms – meaning infrastructure, tools, and resources – to help accelerate the success of Alberta’s innovators and connect them with existing programs and services. These platform partnerships will help Alberta innovators overcome the hurdles associated with developing product-market fit, ensuring business readiness, regulatory compliance, and product development.

Alberta Innovates will contribute up to $200,000 over nine months for successful stage 1 applicants to develop a proof-of-concept. At six months, applicants will then be required to submit a stage 2 application to request up to 75 per cent of eligible expenses to support the partnered platform for up to three years.

No maximum budget has been set per platform.

Program Guide

Download Program Guide

Eligibility

Each project funded must be led by an applicant who meets the criteria below. To qualify as an applicant, an entity must be:

An Alberta-based post-secondary institution;
A government entity or health delivery agent; or
A for-profit or not-for-profit organization.

Applicants must also be an Alberta-based entity with a presence in the province.

Complete applicant eligibility details can be found in the program guide.

To qualify for funding, all projects must:

Address at least one clearly defined health innovation client journey bottleneck that is inhibiting the growth of our health research and innovation ecosystem in Alberta. View the checklist here.
Serve Alberta-based clients by making the proposed platform readily available and accessible.
Create novel or significantly improved services over currently available offerings.
Include key project milestones based on measurable goals and deliverables, stepped with critical go/no-go decision points.
Submit to other criteria that Alberta Innovates may develop.

Complete project eligibility details can be found in the program guide.

How To Apply

Access the stage 1 application form on the online application portal SmartSimple, complete the ‘Non-Confidential Summary’ section, and simply save a draft to register your intent to apply. This information is critical so that Alberta Innovates can manage and allocate resources as needed. Any drafts without a completed ‘Non-Confidential Summary’ section by the registration deadline will be removed and unable to apply.
Wait for your application to be reviewed; successful applicants will be notified. Alberta Innovates may at this time encourage similar platforms to work together.
Submit your full proposal. Full proposals must have consistent scope within approved stage 1 applications and will be reviewed by a panel. Applicants may be required to provide additional information, appear in front of the panel, and/or host the panel at a site visit to support decision making.

Evaluation Process

During the different phases of the program, Alberta Innovates uses internal staff and external expert reviewers to evaluate applications submitted. Alberta Innovates evaluates promising projects based on criteria related to relevance to the program and associated priority areas, client demand and market need being addressed, ecosystem leveraging and integration, viability of the operating plan and management, and potential impacts and return on investment to Alberta. Detailed evaluation criteria are outlined on SmartSimple.

Alberta Innovates retains the sole right to determine the evaluation process and does not disclose the names of its external reviewers to ensure their objectivity and impartiality. All external parties are subject to both confidentiality and conflict of interest policies set by Alberta Innovates.

Closed Intakes