By the year 2041, it is expected that over 22% of Canada’s population (that is, approximately 9.7 million people) will be over the age of 65. In comparison, in 2016 only 16% (5.9 million people) of Canadians fell within that category.[1] The rapid growth of this segment of the population represents an increasing demand and opportunity for industry to develop and implement innovative solutions for the aging population.
To engage with industry, and help develop solutions for the aging population, the Canadian Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation (CC-ABHI) launched the Industry Innovation Partnership Program (i2p2) in October 2016 to bridge the gap between companies who have innovative aging and brain health products/services with healthcare institutions who are seeking these solutions. i2p2 will co-invest up to $600,000 (CAD) per project to fund a trial of the applicant company’s innovative product or service at a North American trial partner site.
The submission window for expressions of interest (EOI) closed on December 9th. CC-ABHI was pleased to see significant interest from industry partners to participate in the i2p2 program, with a total of 47 EOI’s being submitted for consideration. Submissions for funding came from Canada, Norway, USA, and Israel – making this program truly a global initiative.
Innovations being considered for the program include mobile and web-based task and life management portals, recreation & cognitive engagement technologies, digital communication solutions, fall detection devices, as well as virtual care solutions.
In the coming weeks CC-ABHI will notify applicants who have been short-listed for the program, at that time we will provide them with the links to the online application page, which is the next stage in the application process.
We wish all those who submitted EOI’s the best of luck, and look forward to moving forward with i2p2.
If you have any questions please email: info@cabhi.com, and be sure to follow us on twitter: @cabhi_
[1] https://www.med.uottawa.ca/sim/data/Aging_e.htm
