Innovator Support Services

Program Guide for Applicants

1. Program Summary

The Innovator Support Services (ISS) program is designed to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) funded by ERA advance their projects and overcome non-technical barriers to commercialization. The program will provide eligible companies with up to 60 hours of mentorship and support from selected service providers. There is no financial cost to the SME and ERA will pay for the cost of services delivered.  

Services include advisory and consulting services, mentorship, coaching, structured acceleration or development interventions, individualized training, on-demand support and educational services.

Services are expected to address challenges related to people and talent, funding and financial management, market fit, go-to-market strategy, business model scalability, product development and delivery strategy, intellectual property strategy, regulatory compliance, and internationalization and exporting strategy.

2. Eligibility

Eligible proponents are SMEs approved for ERA funding who have identified the need for additional support to successfully complete their funded projects, commercialize their technologies, and grow their companies.

3. Program Roll Out

The program will be rolled out first to successful proponents of the Emerging Innovators Challenge (EIC) program in early August 2024. Other ERA proponents will be invited to apply in fall 2024, once the demand from EIC clients has been met.

4. Intake, Assessment and Referral Process

Application – ERA will invite eligible project proponents to apply. Interested applicants must follow the application link included in the email. Eligible companies who wish to apply are asked to complete a self-assessment using an online tool that has been developed for the program. This self-assessment will help ERA identify the areas where a company can benefit from support in their commercialization journey.

Applications are considered on an ongoing basis, so there is no application deadline. We encourage ISS proponents to apply as soon as they can as funding is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

ERA Assessment – ERA will review the application to confirm eligibility and to determine if the applicant would benefit from mentorship services under the ISS program. Applicants can expect to receive an email from ERA within 10 business days to confirm if they have been approved under the program.  

Referral to Service Provider – ERA will refer an approved application to a selected Service Provider. The ISS Service Provider will review the proponent’s background (i.e., technology and commercialization stage, gap dimension etc.) and identify the best fit mentor(s) from their pool of staff. The Service Provider will contact the ISS client to learn more about the barriers they are facing to commercialization and propose targeted services to address those barriers.

5. Action Plan Development

An Action Plan is required to capture the understanding between the ISS client and the Service Provider about the key actions that will support commercialization.

The Service Provider will work with the ISS client to develop a customized commercialization Action Plan outlining the services to be provided, including the number of hours (up to 60) required. The Service Provider will submit the proposed Action Plan (agreed to by the SME) to ERA for approval within 20 business days of ERA’s referral of the approved application.

6. Service Delivery

The Service Provider will provide targeted commercialization support as outlined in the ERA-approved Action Plan. Services are generally expected to be delivered over a period of 4-6 months but will depend on the commercialization needs of the proponent. 

Amendments to the Action Plan are expected as needs of the ISS client change or other service needs are identified. Adjustments to the total hours or types of activities require ERA approval. Adjustments of hours between activities only require concurrence of the Service Provider and ISS client.

7. Reporting Requirements

Both the Service Provider and ISS proponent are required to complete reports or surveys after service delivery to help ERA assess the performance and effectiveness of the program.

The Service Provider will provide ERA with a monthly invoice with a report of services provided, as well as a final wrap-up report summarizing the implementation and results of the Action Plan.

After services have been delivered, ISS clients will be required to complete and submit a Completion Survey to ERA. ERA will also request follow-up surveys one, two and three years later to assess the long-term impact of the services provided.

8. ERA Contact

If you have additional questions, please contact ERA’s ISS program manager at issprogram@eralberta.ca