Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) announced two new funding programs on Jan. 16 that will support innovation projects in traditional northern British Columbia industries and key community-based strategic economic priorities.
The Northern Industries Innovation Fund (NIIF) and the Strategic Initiatives Fund (SIF) will provide up to $1.65 million annually in grant funding for projects throughout central and northern B.C.
These funds are part of NDIT’s ongoing response to mitigate the economic impact of the mountain pine beetle epidemic, with priority given to projects within the regions and communities most impacted by the pine beetle and decreasing timber supply.
Northern Industries Innovation Fund
Following the success of the Forest Innovation Fund, NDIT has restructured the program with a commitment of up to $750,000 annually to create the NIIF and support innovation projects across a variety of northern industries.
The NIIF will provide rebate funding up to $50,000 to a maximum of 50 per cent of a project’s budget for small and medium enterprises deploying innovative technologies in industries, such as mining, energy, agriculture, aquaculture and forestry.
By supporting applied research, the development of new or improved products/services and the testing of innovative equipment or technologies, the program will help the northern B.C. businesses improve their competitiveness, generate incremental revenue and create jobs.
Eligible companies must be privately owned, incorporated, have less than 500 employees, revenues less than $100 million and be operating within the NDIT region.
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the annual allocation for the fund is exhausted.
For more information, visit www.northerndevelopment.bc.ca/northern-industries-innovation-fund
During the Jan. 16 City of Quesnel council meeting, Mayor Bob Simpson said the NIIF used to be called the Forestry Innovation fund.
“So it’s money from their Mountain Pine Beetle account that was designed to assist in research and innovations in the forest sector.”
Corporate entities and not-for-profits that are specifically in the forest sector were eligible applicants in a 50-50 per cent funding formula, he explained.
The NDIT board has decided to expand that across a number of sectors; in our case, agriculture, but oil and gas, mining, energy, etc., he added.
“I continue to promote this with people we know who are doing work in this area, so we made our agricultural industry aware that agriculture is now eligible for this fund.
“I think we have a new group coming into existence that may be able to take advantage fund with some other funding that may be available. So it is good news for us even though it is moving away from the forest sector. “
Strategic Initiatives Fund
The SIF is a new proposal-based program that allows municipalities and First Nations to apply for grant funding to support significant projects that focus on long-term economic transformation and sustainability.
The program is supported with a $900,000 commitment from NDIT with grant funding only limited by the annual funds allocated to the program, up to 80 per cent of a project’s value.
The program allows NDIT to support strategic projects that may not otherwise fit into its suite of programs, but that are large in scale, regional in impact, enhance a community or multiple communities’ ability to overcome economic challenges and will result in incremental capacity or strategic economic infrastructure within a municipality or First Nation.
Applications for the SIF will be accepted until March 15 with decisions in April.
Visit www.northerndevelopment.bc.ca/strategic-initiatives-fund
Simpson also spoke about this fund.
“I want to thank council we all did on trying to get the [NDIT] to free up some of the pine beetle fund for more innovative and more direct applications based on our priorities, so that’s what this is.
“You can apply for the entire $900,000 if you think you have such a stellar, wow-factor project that you think you can grab all the money, so it’s a wide open program.
“We had to do a little bit of work with staff to make sure it goes out as a wide open program, but we will be meeting next week because the next intake for NDIT is Feb. 9. We have to meet on how we want to position ourselves to advance some of our own strategic initiatives.”