OCE Voucher for Innovation and Productivity II (VIP II)

Sponsor

Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE)

Program

Voucher for Innovation and Productivity II (VIP II)​

Description

The Voucher for Innovation and Productivity II (VIP II) program helps established Ontario- based companies develop, implement and commercialize technical innovations by supporting partnerships with publicly-funded post-secondary institutions. Projects funded through VIP II address company needs by enabling the development of new products and/or processes, or facilitating productivity improvements, by leveraging post-secondary institutions' skills and resources. Projects must ultimately help generate new revenues and create high-value jobs for Ontario companies.

The VIP II program helps eligible companies develop, implement and commercialize technical innovations by supporting partnerships between Ontario's industries and publicly-funded post-secondary institutions. Benefits to the project partners include:

Companies

• Gain access to new talent 
• Develop relationships with researchers to extend company R&D 
• Gain access to unique facilities and research equipment available in publicly-funded post-secondary institutions 
• Create marketable solutions to current industry challenges 
• Increase productivity, revenue and jobs
• Gain access to OCE's research networks and exposure to other OCE programs

Research Institutions

• Access exciting research and development challenges
• Establish relationships with industry 

Students

• Leverage knowledge and innovative ideas to solve industry problems 
• Gain real-world experience 
• Build relationships with established companies 
• Gain access to OCE's research networks and exposure to other OCE programs

Eligibility

• Research partner (Applicant) must be a principal investigator at an Ontario-accredited post-secondary institution.
• The applicant must have an arms-length relationship with the industry partner as defined on NSERC’s website (refer to the section Conflict of Interest Guidelines for Partner Organizations).
• Projects must include at least one for-profit industry partner.
• Adjunct professors may be eligible on a case-by-case basis. At a minimum, the adjunct professor must:
  • actively conduct research at an Ontario institution
  • be allowed by the institution to hold a grant and given an institutional account, and
  • be allowed to supervise students.
• Industry partner(s) must have manufacturing and/or research and development presence in Ontario and the operations in Ontario must have the capacity (technical, financial and management) to commercialize and/or implement the results of the project.
• The lead industry partner must have a minimum of five full-time employees and been in operation for at least two years, or have successfully completed a previous VIP I project with the research partner.
• Company must use the results for the economic, environmental or social benefit of Ontario. This includes direct economic benefit to the industry partner (e.g. new jobs, increased revenue, increased productivity, cost savings), and/or indirect economic benefit to other members of the value chain, partners, or industry in Ontario (e.g. job creation, capacity building, strategic benefit). Contribution to the training and industry exposure of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) at the academic institution is also a desired element.
• Projects must leverage the unique capabilities of the research and development environment and team of the post-secondary institution be non-competitive with Ontario private-sector capabilities.
• Projects may range from early-stage R&D to later-stage validation and demonstration. Projects may be focused projects with specific short-to medium-term objectives, or discrete phases in a program of longer-range research. However, in all cases, the industry-led focus of the project, and the expected ultimate commercial impact on the industry partner(s), must be evident in the application.
• Intellectual Property (IP) arising from the project will be managed by the project participants as OCE does not claim or manage IP rights. Successful applicants and their industry partners must execute OCE’s standard funding agreement, including an executed Schedule D, Intellectual Property Term Sheet (for example, in the form of a Collaborative Research Agreement), within 30 days of notification of approval.
• Participants must be willing to co-operate in providing project and outcomes metrics.
• Applicants must be in good financial and reporting standing with OCE.
• Companies that have over $100,000 in active projects must complete those projects (including all final reporting) prior to OCE considering other applications for funding. This excludes TalentEdge internships and fellowships.

Funding Availability

• OCE will support up to 50% of the eligible research costs, with a minimum annual OCE investment of $50,000 and a maximum annual OCE investment of $75,000.
• The maximum OCE investment is $150,000 over two years.
• The industry partner must support at least 50% of the eligible research costs, i.e. must provide at least 1:1 matching on the OCE contribution. The matching contribution may consist of cash and in-kind support, however a minimum of 50% must be in cash. For example, for a request from OCE for $100,000, the industry partner must provide $100,000 with at least $50,000 of this in the form of cash.
• The cash (and in-kind) contributions from the industry partner are provided by the partner to the post-secondary institution. Project participants are encouraged to negotiate additional agreement(s) to enable the transfer of these funds.

​For complete details, please see OCE Section D: How Funding Works.

Indirect Costs

0%

Project Duration

Projects must be between 12 and 24 months in duration.

Special Notes

Please see OCE Section J: Downloads to access:

• ​Eligible Expenditures Guide
• OCE Funding Agreement
• VIP II Sample Application Template - this sample application template is for informational purposes only. Applications are only accepted through OCE's online system where full application requirements are listed.
• VIP II Application Instructions

​Please see the Office of Research Services website, Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) page to obtain Schedule D - Intellectual Property terms (under Resources).

How to Apply

To begin the application process you will first need to contact an OCE Business Development Manager (BD) to discuss the opportunity and assist you with developing your application.  Your OCE BD will also maintain oversight responsibility for the OCE components of any approved project.

Please see OCE Section H: How to Apply for a complete overview of the process.